Discovery Garden's ramps up production of Sierra Gold potatoes
Discovery Garden's ramps up production of Sierra Gold potatoes
Oakdale, CA-based Discovery Garden's has ramped up production of its Sierra Gold gourmet potatoes.
Discovery Gardens, a subsidiary of California Oregon Seed Co. in Bakersfield, has added potato acreage by leaps and bounds in each of the past four years, with 410 acres in production this year and year-round production. The companys 71 acres in the Bakersfield area were harvested in June.
Discovery Gardens is in a joint partnership with Edison, CA-based King Pak, which grows, packs and ships the potatoes. King Pak is owned by Bakersfield-based Grimmway Farms.
Discovery Gardens is partnered with grower Wong Potato in the Klamath, OR, area and grower-packer-shipper Alsum Produce in Friesland, WI. It will harvest its potatoes in Oregon, Wisconsin and Colorado in September.
By 2008, Discovery Gardens should have about 10,000 acres in production, said Amanda Leo, the companys sales and marketing manager. Her father, Robert Campbell, is the companys vice president and general manager, and was the driving force behind fine-tuning the Sierra Gold potato variety. The Sierra Gold potato was specifically developed for Discovery Gardens by Texas A&M University.
Discovery Gardens potatoes are carried by retailers in Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California and Florida, but are "not in any large chains," Ms. Leo said. The Sierra Gold potato does well in storage like a Russet, Ms. Leo said. It looks similar to a Russet Norkotah on the outside but its rich, creamy texture on the inside is similar to a Yukon Gold potato, she said. In the oven, the [Sierra Gold] skin gets crispy and it keeps creamy in the middle, Ms. Leo said.
Discovery Gardens has made some inroads with its potato in foodservice and intends to make a further push in that arena, Ms. Campbell said. Toward that end, the company has struck a deal with Sysco in central California.
One Oakdale restaurant House of Beef plows through four 50-pound cartons of Sierra Gold potatoes in a week, using them for both mashed and baked potatoes, Ms. Leo said.
The Sierra Gold potato is a non-GMO potato and is a standardized cross between Delta Gold and Krantz potatoes, Ms. Leo said.
Discovery Gardens has a variety of packs, including a 24-ounce pillow pack with petite sizes on up to 50-pound cartons.
Discovery Gardens, a subsidiary of California Oregon Seed Co. in Bakersfield, has added potato acreage by leaps and bounds in each of the past four years, with 410 acres in production this year and year-round production. The companys 71 acres in the Bakersfield area were harvested in June.
Discovery Gardens is in a joint partnership with Edison, CA-based King Pak, which grows, packs and ships the potatoes. King Pak is owned by Bakersfield-based Grimmway Farms.
Discovery Gardens is partnered with grower Wong Potato in the Klamath, OR, area and grower-packer-shipper Alsum Produce in Friesland, WI. It will harvest its potatoes in Oregon, Wisconsin and Colorado in September.
By 2008, Discovery Gardens should have about 10,000 acres in production, said Amanda Leo, the companys sales and marketing manager. Her father, Robert Campbell, is the companys vice president and general manager, and was the driving force behind fine-tuning the Sierra Gold potato variety. The Sierra Gold potato was specifically developed for Discovery Gardens by Texas A&M University.
Discovery Gardens potatoes are carried by retailers in Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California and Florida, but are "not in any large chains," Ms. Leo said. The Sierra Gold potato does well in storage like a Russet, Ms. Leo said. It looks similar to a Russet Norkotah on the outside but its rich, creamy texture on the inside is similar to a Yukon Gold potato, she said. In the oven, the [Sierra Gold] skin gets crispy and it keeps creamy in the middle, Ms. Leo said.
Discovery Gardens has made some inroads with its potato in foodservice and intends to make a further push in that arena, Ms. Campbell said. Toward that end, the company has struck a deal with Sysco in central California.
One Oakdale restaurant House of Beef plows through four 50-pound cartons of Sierra Gold potatoes in a week, using them for both mashed and baked potatoes, Ms. Leo said.
The Sierra Gold potato is a non-GMO potato and is a standardized cross between Delta Gold and Krantz potatoes, Ms. Leo said.
Discovery Gardens has a variety of packs, including a 24-ounce pillow pack with petite sizes on up to 50-pound cartons.
