ORONO (NEWS CENTER Maine) — The University of Maine says it has developed a new potato.
The new variety, called Pinto Gold is a gourmet potato, and the university is trying to market it to specialty outlets, like restaurants.
The potato is a high-yielding, yellow-fleshed specialty variety with excellent roasting and eating quality, according to Gregory Porter, who leads UMaine’s potato breeding program.
Although Pinto Gold will likely never be produced on thousands of acres in the state, Porter says, he believes it will be grown by small-scale growers, and hopes it will be used by restaurants, home cooks and gardeners.
“They’re pretty, unique and the tastiest roasting potatoes you could ever have,” he says.
The University of Maine says the new variety has been available in seed catalogs under the identification number AF4659-12 since 2015.
Pinto Gold is the fourth potato variety released by UMaine since 2014.
Porter says the potato can be harvested around 100 to 110 days after planting. However, they need a longer growing season to produce tubers that are large enough for baking.
The variety is adapted to cooler, northern growing climates and produces a high yield of small potatoes under those conditions.
