Ask Dr. Potato

Does the freshness of a potato matter? Specifically, does a "just-harvested" potato have any better qualities than say a properly stored one-month old potato?

I’m opening up a new restaurant near several office buildings, so I know catering is going to be a big part of my business. I want to serve a lot of different potatoes items, but I need to know how to fix them. Any visuals or tips?

I went to lunch early and wanted to compliment Idaho on the great fresh cut fries we had today. They were crisp, hot and not too salty. I tried to take a picture of the fries at the table but everyone’s hands were in the way and then they were gone. Here is my picture into the kitchen area. Can you guess where I was, Dr. Potato?  

I want to serve bake potatoes in my food truck. What would be the best and fastest way to cook them?

I peeled and sliced a LOT of potatoes for homemade French fries - ended up not cooking them yet. They've been in cold water for 10 days in the refrigerator, are still white and healthy looking. Are they safe to rinse, dry and fry - and eat?

Do you have any suggestions for potato based appetizers for my restaurant and bar?

We’ve been doing fresh cut French fries from Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes for years and because of the volume we are up to I was wondering if there is a better way to cut the potatoes than a small wall mounted tool that requires a staff worker with an extra strong arm to spend most of the day cutting one potato at a time. Save Save

I recently attended a Media Communications workshop in Denver and the panel on Collaboration included a writer/restaurant reviewer and a restaurant publicist. They brought up a wonderful idea about putting together food or gift packages from your restaurant to deliver to radio or TV hosts in the hopes of getting a story across about your programs and operation. In other words, tempt them with food, rather than sending out blind press releases to 15 local stations at a time. Since you were in the audience too, I noticed that you were nodding your head positively and smiling and overhead you whisper "that really works."  Can you share your experience with this subject?

I have to store 5 boxes of Russet potatoes in my walk-in cooler for 1 week at a time. They will then go into my kitchen to be used throughout the next week for French fries, mashed and baked potatoes. My walk-in ranges from 35-40 degrees depending on how often the door is opened. Will that one week in the cooler cause the sugar content to get too high in the potatoes for my cooking needs?

I Have a Gourmet Food Truck and want to serve fresh cut French fries.  Can you give me some tips?