Since 1924 Downey Potato Farms has
provided #1 Canadian Grade potatoes to
retailers and consumers across Ontario

Consumer Information

When choosing a potato, make sure it feels heavy and avoid any potato with decayed areas, usually at the ends, blemishes or sunken spots. Choose potatoes of comparable size for uniform cooking. When boiling, steaming, roasting or gratins, choose yellow, white or red potatoes because these have a firmer texture and won't fall apart when cut. Yellow and reds can also be mashed.

Storing Potatoes

Retail
Do not place direct lighting over the potato display, turn down lighting in your store during non-peak hours, cover the display with a produce cover cloth when the store is closed and protect the product from light when in a backroom as greening, which occurs as a result of direct and/or sustained lighting, causes a bitter flavour and must be pared away before the potato is used.

Home
Do not refrigerate potatoes in a plastic bag, as they will become too sweet. Instead, the preferred way to store potatoes is in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated space with a temperature somewhere between 45- to 50-degrees Fahrenheit. A root cellar is your best option. Do not rinse potatoes before you store them and avoid placing them with onions because, when close together, they produce gases that spoil both.

Store potatoes no longer than two months if mature; no longer than one week if they're new. And, check on them occasionally and remove those that have become soft or shrivelled, as well as those that have sprouted.

Nutrition & Recipes

Potatoes are fat-free, cholesterol-free, saturated fat-free and sodium free. They're high in Vitamin C and a good source of potassium. One medium potato has about 110 calories. According to nutritionists, a plain, seven-ounce baked potato eaten with the skin provides nearly 50 percent of vitamins C and B6 recommended for adults each day, as well as plenty of potassium and nearly five grams of fibre.

Download our Preparation & Recipe Guide (275KB PDF) for great potato ideas.

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