Potato

[i am bob]

Yes, just as the title says - Potatoes!!!I keep reading that potatoes are hard to find and expensive... Yet when I look at menus for many restaurants, they all sell Francais Frites... I mean French Fries.... Many have baked potatos on their menus now (well, the upscale places do) and I have seen potatoes advertised in the past in grocery specials online...So I guess what I am asking is this: What is the issue with finding potatoes? And, if they are hard to get, is it possible to either buy or import a few seed potatoes for our own growning and consumption pleasure? I'd only need a barrel, lots of soft dirt and a shovel...

[OldUgly&Cranky]

hi bob i dont know too much about that i also find it hard to get good potatoes in the philipiines i have given up looking for a russet or a PEI , everyone i have seen have been the small ones or comotes which isnt bad if your doing a roast or something but how many people have a oven hahaha i dont so i guess im outa luck but i will ask the wife tonight if she knows where to get the big potatoes or the seeds but please you might be outta luck because me asking her that question would be like her asking me what kind of rice do you have there in canada hahaha i dont know WHITE !!! :)O-U-C

[Mike S]

Bob ...... they do have potatoes here but for the most part they are local grown or come from Asia somewhere ..... BUT for baking they just don't taste the same and are much smaller (normally) but I have seen some a tad bit larger ...... we have to remember that here most things are cooked in a single pot (except rice it has it's own SPECIAL pot .... :no: ) so the need for huge anything is not really needed ..... in the US unless I was cooking in my micro-wave I would have a minimum of 4-5 pots or pans ..... here you can get by with 2 ..... ulam is generally cooked in one pot and rice in another ...... now a fiesta is another thing all together with tons of different food ...... but for plain everyday cooking it is normally ulam and rice ...... or dried fish and rice ..... or dried fish and rice ....... did I say dried fish and rice ...... :hystery:

[i am bob]

what kind of rice do you have there in canada hahaha i dont know WHITE !!! :hystery:

Since you are only about half an hour up the 403 / QEW from me, I thought you would know the answer to that one!!!Imported!!! :no:

[sonjack2847]

I don`t know where they come from but Fooda usually has quite big potatoes. I find they are ok to roast or mash even make English chips with them.If you have a gas stove you can make an oven out of one big pot and a smaller one inside. All you need to do is make the bottom of the smaller pot inside is 2-3 inches off the bottom of the big pot.To achieve this you can buy a metal trivet to put between them. You will have to use trial and error as for cooking times and amount of heat as guess what? They don`t have a thermostat!.Or you can buy a small electric oven for about p2000 big enough for two people, these come with thermostats and timers and have 3 functions or the ones I have seen do.Happy cookingKevin

[Jack Peterson]

Yes, just as the title says - Potatoes!!!I keep reading that potatoes are hard to find and expensive... Yet when I look at menus for many restaurants, they all sell Francais Fries... I mean French Fries.... Many have baked potatoes on their menus now (well, the upscale places do) and I have seen potatoes advertised in the past in grocery specials online...So I guess what I am asking is this: What is the issue with finding potatoes? And, if they are hard to get, is it possible to either buy or import a few seed potatoes for our own growing and consumption pleasure? I'd only need a barrel, lots of soft dirt and a shovel...

:no: Well Bob, This thread prompted me to ring home, I am not too keen on Rice every day so I just had to ring home, Azon tells me me that she bought today, 5 Kilos from the local market here in Dumaguete @40p per kilo, that makes them about .24€ per kilo, not bad I thought. I asked her if they are plentiful, her answer was yes. (No Doubt imported but to me a Potato is a Potato) She tells me that Robinsons have plenty but @65p per kilo what should she do. I explained why i was asking and she said she had no idea about there in Cebu. Negros itself is pretty good for most fresh produce and we have 2 local veg markets that seen to have the majority of veg in good supply.I was interested in this, mainly as a selfish thing, next year, I will be home for good, WOW! days without Potatoes mmm not a nice thought.I can only hazard a guess, that retailers there are not going to have perishable goods in large Quantities just in case they cant Shift them.So bob, I guess it is just in your locality that you are having a problem with this. Dumaguete seems to have an Abundance of them.Mind, it has prompted me to think hard about growing them if I can.Jack P. :hystery:

[Jollygoodfellow]

Last year I found the veggies in the Cebu supermarkets to be of higher quality than previous visits. Somewhere here on the forum I once recall describing them as Chernobyl veggies by the way they looked. As I have not been to the Philippines for 12 months now I do not know if the standards are better or worse, anyone been shopping lately?

[i am bob]

I don`t know where they come from but Fooda usually has quite big potatoes. I find they are ok to roast or mash even make English chips with them.If you have a gas stove you can make an oven out of one big pot and a smaller one inside. All you need to do is make the bottom of the smaller pot inside is 2-3 inches off the bottom of the big pot.To achieve this you can buy a metal trivet to put between them. You will have to use trial and error as for cooking times and amount of heat as guess what? They don`t have a thermostat!.Or you can buy a small electric oven for about p2000 big enough for two people, these come with thermostats and timers and have 3 functions or the ones I have seen do.Happy cookingKevin

And here I was debating on either getting a microwave / convection oven (oh Panasonic how I crave thee!) or just barbequing everything... Nothing like chicken done on the barbie.... Or pizza... Or pork roast... Just not sure, since I am big on making my own bread, how that will work out!

[i am bob]

Yes, just as the title says - Potatoes!!!I keep reading that potatoes are hard to find and expensive... Yet when I look at menus for many restaurants, they all sell Francais Fries... I mean French Fries.... Many have baked potatoes on their menus now (well, the upscale places do) and I have seen potatoes advertised in the past in grocery specials online...So I guess what I am asking is this: What is the issue with finding potatoes? And, if they are hard to get, is it possible to either buy or import a few seed potatoes for our own growing and consumption pleasure? I'd only need a barrel, lots of soft dirt and a shovel...

:) Well Bob, This thread prompted me to ring home, I am not too keen on Rice every day so I just had to ring home, Azon tells me me that she bought today, 5 Kilos from the local market here in Dumaguete @40p per kilo, that makes them about .24€ per kilo, not bad I thought. I asked her if they are plentiful, her answer was yes. (No Doubt imported but to me a Potato is a Potato) She tells me that Robinsons have plenty but @65p per kilo what should she do. I explained why i was asking and she said she had no idea about there in Cebu. Negros itself is pretty good for most fresh produce and we have 2 local veg markets that seen to have the majority of veg in good supply.I was interested in this, mainly as a selfish thing, next year, I will be home for good, WOW! days without Potatoes mmm not a nice thought.I can only hazard a guess, that retailers there are not going to have perishable goods in large Quantities just in case they cant Shift them.So bob, I guess it is just in your locality that you are having a problem with this. Dumaguete seems to have an Abundance of them.Mind, it has prompted me to think hard about growing them if I can.Jack P. :yes:

Thank you sir! It sounds like I won't have to bring any with me!If you want to grow your own, it's really easy! just get a plastic barrel and put a couple holes in the bottom for drainage... Put about a foot of loose soil in the bottom and drop in your potato pieces (the potato is cut up so that there are 1 to 2 eyes on each piece). Water and, as it grows higher, add in a bit more soil to cover most of the leaves. It is best if the soil you use is a bit sandy but you can use a good loamy soil mixed with something to keep it from packing in too much - last time I used just plain garden soil and shredded coconut shells. When the season is over, you will have a nice barrel full of potatos!

[sonjack2847]

I don`t know where they come from but Fooda usually has quite big potatoes. I find they are ok to roast or mash even make English chips with them.If you have a gas stove you can make an oven out of one big pot and a smaller one inside. All you need to do is make the bottom of the smaller pot inside is 2-3 inches off the bottom of the big pot.To achieve this you can buy a metal trivet to put between them. You will have to use trial and error as for cooking times and amount of heat as guess what? They don`t have a thermostat!.Or you can buy a small electric oven for about p2000 big enough for two people, these come with thermostats and timers and have 3 functions or the ones I have seen do.Happy cookingKevin

And here I was debating on either getting a microwave / convection oven (oh Panasonic how I crave thee!) or just barbequing everything... Nothing like chicken done on the barbie.... Or pizza... Or pork roast... Just not sure, since I am big on making my own bread, how that will work out!

I am not sure Bob but the electric one works for pies and pastry ok. The big pot will work as well but like I said it will be trial and error but as you already make bread you should be ok. If you use the big pot method buy the pots with metal handles as plastic will be affected by the heat.