La Ratte Fingerling Potatoes

La Ratte Fingerling Potatoes…. “La Difference”

(Solanum tuberosum)



The differences between the Americans and the French can be illustrated in a single dish that everyone knows:  whipped potatoes.   

On this side of the Atlantic whipped potatoes are prepared by boiling anonymous potatoes in water until they are soft.   Using the easiest method at hand, the potatoes are then whipped. Additions of an idiosyncratic amount of hot milk and a whimsical wedge of butter are made while tending to other tasks in the kitchen.   When everything is mixed you are done.  Serve. 

The French, however, begin with a history lesson:  One first contemplates the contrasting meanings of "La Puree de Pommes de Terre" for the peasant class vs. the aristocracy.    In the kitchens of the poor "La Puree" was a simple dish enriched by the restrained use of precious butter and milk.   But for the rich "La Puree" was a chance to show off food bling.  The liberal use of butter and refined cooking techniques elevated grandmother's sturdy potato dish into the realm of a light, ethereal essence.

Thus the process of making whipped potatoes in France begins with a philosophic question:  are you a simple, close-to-the-earth peasant or are you a person of refined tastes and ample means?   There is no morally correct answer to this question but culinary hell awaits those who try and straddle it.

La Ratte potatoes enter this story as the darling, potato-of-choice in the "La Puree Pomme de Robuchon” recipe by a modern and famous French chef, Joel Robuchon.  The dish can be described as the union of potato and butter in the body of a light but luxuriant sauce.  It has inspired as many “wows” from critics as it has professional chefs to re-create the dish in their own restaurants. On its surface the dish is seductively simple yet it is technically challenging to execute perfectly. Despite several published versions of “tell-all” Robuchon recipes both the ingredients and the process remain uncertain and slightly mysterious.  In regards to the potatoes most sources and Robuchon himself cite La Ratte fingerlings as “the potato.”  To gardeners, however, this seems an odd choice given that La Ratte is a waxy spud that is prone to becoming gummy in a puree. But Robuchon acolytes defend his choice of potato claiming it to be his version of a culinary handicap that showcases his superlative technique.  His critiques respond by hinting that he may actually use a floury potato, BF15, which is common in France.  They claim the La Ratte suggestion is a smoke screen intended to sabotage his competition.  You may choose to believe it or not but these kinds of debates fill culinary blogs and keep some people up at night.

Whether you are tempted to scale the heights of Robuchon’s whipped potatoes or not La Ratte remains a fine potato with a long history.  Its genetics suggest that is a ‘New World” potato that came out of 18th century European crosses.  Legend more than record suggests it was grown in France for a long time before being lost in the late 1800s.  It was re-introduced to France from the Alps in the early 1900s and has been a small-scale agricultural item since that time. At present its grown primarily around Burgundy but its recent fame has encouraged larger production outside the region.

In the United States La Rattes have captured the imagination of several high-end chefs, including Thomas Keller and Charlie Trotter.  Commercially a selection of La Ratte called  “Princess La Ratte” is making the rounds but its distributor hasn’t offered evidence of its genetic provenance or of its improvements over open pollinated stock.

My experience with La Ratte is only a few seasons deep but I have grown both open stock and the “Princess” selection.   I have also attempted Robuchon’s whipped potatoes several times.  I don’t have the training of a French chef nor do I own a proper tamis but I ate the results with relish.  If anyone wants my recipe I will sell you a few La Ratte potatoes plus vague and slightly mysterious instructions about growing them.  I might be different than the French but I can learn.

C Lindquist

Comments

[Jacquelyn Goudeau]

Today is 8/12/08 and I have not been able to find La Ratte fingerlings anywhere in the Bay Area! Help! Even went to the Potato Man at Ferry Plaza on a Saturday...he had never heard of them. I work in SF and if you have a source, I would love to know...svp.
Merci,
Jacquely Goudeau

[wally]

I bought some yesterday at the farmer's market in Occidental.

[JCorbin]

The La Ratte is easy to grow and high yielding. 2008 was my 5th season growing them. Harvested about 450 pounds in August and sold out very quickly. Make sure you purchase true La Ratte certified seed stock and not Russian Banana fingerlings. They look identical in the field. The La Ratte has a nuanced hazelnut flavor and is not quite as waxy as the Russian Banana. (The Russian Banana is also excellent). Be sure to ask your seed vender to tell you the generation of the seed stock available.
Do not save your harvested potatoes for seed unless you planted 3rd or 4th generation seed stock, otherwise you may end up with a disappointing yield due to build up of diease in the seed stock. You may develop and sustain your own seed stock using tissue culturing methodology, but this requires a bit of patience and zeal.
If you are planting in well tilled soil, inoculate with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus (AMF) and spray potatoes in row with a solution of unsulfured molasses before covering them. The molasses will enhance the soil bacterium that helps the AMF. Foliar spray every 10 days until flower drop with compost tea, fish emulsion, and kelp to fertilize and inhibit mildew and wilts.
The La Ratte potato is very sensitive to soil moisture, so keep them moist. Drip tape is an excellent irrigation methodology but will not work with a foot of hilled soil on top. It is best to install drip tape after the second hilling adapting system so the drip line does not have a 90 degree bend from the feeder line. In small plantings (50 feet or less), a soaker hose works fine as long as it doesn’t spay water on the plants. Overhead irrigation should be avoided as it increases the opportunity for mildews, wilts and blights. Stop irrigation 3 weeks prior to scheduled harvest.
To increase sanitation and speed up harvest, flame kill plants at scheduled harvest and allow the tubers to remain in the soil 2-3 weeks to harden up. This will increase overall quality, reduce damage at harvest and improve storage ability. They are excellent in salads; pan roasted, and mashed with Blue Solaize leeks.
And yes, don’t plant too early or frost will kill them off. We plant 3 weeks prior to average last frost date. If you get stuck with an expected frost, get up before sunrise and hose them down before the sun hits them dead.
I almost forgot planting…plant 4 inches deep in soil that either has good tilth or tilled down to 10 inches. Hill once plant is 8 inches and hill again at 8 inches. Don’t bury the plant but don’t be afraid to hill them up either. Hilling is essential to keep the weeds down and increase yield and decrease sun scald.

[Southwind Farms]

We have La Ratte potatoes for sale

[irrigation systems]

I would like to grow La Ratte Potates in my farm. What the are required climate condition for it ? Can you please tell me..Thanks in Advance !

[Denny Hunt]

This is my second year growing them in Sebastopol. We sold seed from last year's crop and then bought some more certified seed for this year. They are perhaps my most popular variety. This year I should be able to get one planting through without watering, but my first and last plantings will probably need some. I plant late like the old-time growers further west towards Valley Ford. Recently did a brix reading on some young ones and you can read about that in the news section at www.blankityblank.biz This is a great and informative blog and I am glad to find it. Thank you Craig! Sincerely - Denny

[Sha]

Wonderfull

[Potato dish]

Great job!! You have shown many difference in potatoes which i never knew it before.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrSTQDVc0tc This article is very interesting that we can find right potatoes for right dish. Very usefull, thanks to the author.

[UGGs On Sale]

The discussion an on going discussion and analysis of the moral the fact that this is so ought to be an embarrassment to white liberals who are die. Thanks for sharing informative post.

[Doug Pike]

We have La Ratte and Russian Banana potatoes (amoung many others) at our small vegetable stand (Pike Farm) in a very small town in northern Maine (Exeter). Cooking, farming and dining are fun even without customers.

Thanks for the information!

[LouisVuitton]

Achievement presents the only genuine delight in life

[Evering2010]

Thak you for sharing them with us , I think it's worth reading