Yukon Gold Potatoes

The Yukon Gold potato is sold as an all-purpose potato with thick yellow skin with pink eyes and yellow flesh. This colour, plus its creamy taste, gives the illusion that it has already been buttered. They are slightly sweeter than many other potatoes as their sugar content is a bit higher.

There are other yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Delta Gold, Banana, Michigold, Saginaw Gold, Donna and Yellow Finn. But with its romantic name, the Yukon has achieved more market recognition.

German Butterball Potatoes are a good royalty-free substitute for growers.

Cooking Tips

Even though these are all-purpose potatoes, don’t press your luck by over-boiling them, as they will fall apart.

Yukon Gold Potatoes are not considered good for home canning, for that reason. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says, ” Yukon Gold may not be the best potatoes for canning.  While they seem good for boiling, they do tend to fall apart when overcooked.” ^[1] NCHFP blog posting. Preserving Potatoes. 6 October 2014. Accessed July 2016. .https://preservingfoodathome.com/2014/10/06/preserving-potatoes/

Storage Hints

Yukons don’t store quite as well as other potatoes, owing to their higher sugar content. Ideally, they should be used within a week of purchase.

History Notes

Yukon Gold Potatoes were developed jointly by Agriculture Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, and the University of Guelph (Ontario) in Ontario, Canada and released in 1981. Referred to during development as “G666-4Y”, the potato was bred from a cross between Norgleam potatoes and a potato referred to as “W5279-4”.

At first, it was considered a gourmet potato, but now is broadly available for a small premium in price.

Literature & Lore

This potato doesn’t have anything to do with the Yukon; the name was picked for marketing purposes.