‘8° ~ Nort Shore News — Wednesday, August 2, 2000

WITH the recent royal
visit to Prince Edward
Island, this province
has been very much in
the news lately.

Fortunately, the visit my

wife and I made to the island
came just before the arrival of
the royal couple and the mil-
lion visitors who are expected
to descend on the island dur-
ing the months of July and
August.
: The entire province is less
than one-third the length of
Vancouver Island and has a
population about equa! to the
North Shore. Until the 13-
kilometre Confederation
Bridge was completed a few
years ago, the island was
accessible only by air and
ferry. This no doubt helped

~ to preserve its rural nature
and exceptionai beauty. Let’s

_ hope the politicians and plan-
ners have the good sense to
preserve what the tourists go
_ there to see. --:

is Our visit during the last
week of June coincided with

. the lupin season. <

My immediate reaction

was to photograph the first
large feplay © of lowers rs along.

es atl ea design

the roadside but then realized
that there was always a better
show around the next corner.
The roadsides were lined with
flowers and in some cases
whole fields of lupins in
mauve, blue and shades of
pink.

Even though P.ELL. is
called the “garden island”
there were few notable public
and private gardens to visit at
this time. This appears to be
a function of tradition and a
late spring. What the island is
noted for is growing some of
Canada’s finest potatoes. The
red sandy soil and climate on
the island seem well suited to
potato production. The
island’s isolation has been an
added benefit when it comes
to growing disease-free seed
potatoes that are shipped all

e dirt ©

over North America.

Part of the beauty of the
island is the patchwork of
rolling fields devoted to pota-
tues and other rotation crops
such as barley and hay. Each
row of potatoes is planted
and hilled with great preci-
sion in the dark red soil.

After seein all these pota-
to plants you can imagine my
surprise when I ordered 2
baked potato with my dinner
and was told they didn’t have
any. Their explanation was
that potatoes are only good
for baking from August to
December and after that they
are too old. Unlike us, they
grow and buy potatoes with a
more specific purpose in
mind depending on whether
they plan to bake, boil, mash,
fry or microwave them.

Some of the most popular
Varieties grown are Russet
Burbank, Frontier Russet,
Shepody (long white);
Superior, Kenebec (round
white); Red Pontiac,
Chieftain (red) and Yukon
Gold (yellow). Choosing the
right potato variety depends
on individual taste and cook-
ing preference.

All potatoes, whether

your

nof Creative Kids Day2,000,

commercial or home
grown, are prone to
various problems.
When a potato grows
too close to the soil
surface, the extra
light causes excess
chlorophyll and
solanin to form and
this gives the potato
a bitter flavour when
cooked. Contrary to
popular belief the
green skin on a pota-
to is not harmful as
the body excretes it
very quickly.
Potatoes that have
a brown centre or
“hollowheart” in
them may have been
subjected to sudden
changes in spring
growing tempera-
tures and then rapid
growth. The brown
section is not harm-
ful and can be cut
out before being
served. ;
Black spots under
the skin or deeper
inside the potato are
usually caused by
rough handling,
bruising or too much
weight on the pota-
to. It is best to
remove the spot
before cooking.
There are two rea-
sons why potatoes
can go dark when
cooked. Excess iron can cause
a natural reaction, although
this can be prevented by

" adding a little lemon juice or

vinegar to the cooking water.
Storing potatoes in the

refrigerator can change some

of the potato starch to sugar.
When cooked at a high tem- °

- perature, the sugar -

caramelizes and darkens the

potato. .

Store potatoes in a cool”
but not cold temperature. A
similar problem can occur
when french fries are stored
in the fridge before being :
cooked. Blanching fries in

~ hot water (90 C) for several

minutes before putting them

‘in the fridge removes most of. -

the sugar and allows you to:

rele “NEWS photo Paul MeGrath

HOMEGROWN spuds ¢ dress up s summer menus. Choosing the.
right variety depends on taste and cooking preference. :

cook the fries at a later time’
without discolouring. _

If you like new potatoes’.
flavoured with dill and butter
it might be worth growing a

* special variety, to. satisfy your
~ own individual taste. Plan’

them early and you will have :

‘a culinary delight to look for

ward to at this time f the

The Office of Natural Health Products at Health Canada
would like to consult with interested Canadians on a proposed nation
regulatory framework for natural health products. (eg., vitamins
minerals, herbal remedies and homeopathic. preparations). ;
Two sessions. are planned for the Vancouver regio:
Areas of discussion will include the requirements for. ‘Product:
labelling, product quality and health claims.:

The first consultation will be. held on.

August 16th, 2006

from 9:00 a.m: to 12:30 p.m.

. The second consultation will be held’ on:

August 17th, 2000

Simon Fraser University.
at Harbour Centre,

from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p. m.
Both sessions will-be. held: at

515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC,

Segal Centre.

All members of the public are invited to attend either session...

Pre-registration for either session is required, -
Please call 1-877-903-8202 to register, -
indicating which session you ‘would like to attend. -

For information on the proposed regulatory framework, or on’
the consultation process, or for a copy of the consultation’ workbook,
please visit the Office of Natural Health Products Web site:.-

www.hce-se. gc.ca/hpb/onhp :

. Printed copies of the consultation workbook are available’ upon reques
Please call 1-877- 7903-8202 for your | free copy.

it

“Health - . ‘santé
‘ Canada’ Canada