Did you buy them at Aldi? LOL

Nope. Woodmans where I always shop.

A few months ago we purchased potatoes at an Aldi store in Michigan, and inside the bag we found two large rocks.

They were definitely small red potatoes.

Yes, Imade a new brussels sprouts recipe with a cut up potato in it and the dang potato wouldn't cook, even after being boiled

Never had that problem. I wonder if potatoes need to be hotter than meat or cabbage to cook? but that doesn't make sense, does it. I bet Grainlady would have been able to explain!

From Brenda L. On the Internet:

Hard potatoes usually result when the cooking temperature is not high enough to soften the starch in a potato. Usually that combination happens in an older style of slow cooker which does not have a very high temperature setting. As you write that you boiled the potatoes first, we probably need to go back to that first step and check if the potatoes were "done" from the first cooking step. If they were still firm enough to grate, they were likely not fully cooked. Once a sauce was added to them, the uncooked starch in the potatoes may have formed a protective covering over the potatoes, preventing any further moisture to reach their interior and complete the cooking process.

If you cook in a Crock Pot of any age, the potatoes and carrots need to be on the bottom with the roast on top. Never fill more than 3/4 full. If you cook on the stove top, cook the roast until done and add the potatoes and carrots in the broth around the roast the last hour or so.

As Sherry said, if the potatoes were on top of the roast, they would be rock hard. Same as those fake 'baby' carrots. They take forever to cook. I don't buy them, ever, but I've read that.

I have had Crock Pots since they didn't have a removable liner! Got rid of those quick!. Most of mine have been the Crock Pot brand. I have had one Hamilton Beach. For various reasons, they have "bit the dust". The only thing I prefer about the old Crock Pots is the one piece glass lid. The new ones have a handle with screws and if you submerge it in water, you have to take the handle apart to dry. I do like the "warm" setting in addition to high and low.

I use Crock Pots, stove top, and the oven, depending on what I am cooking and the time available to watch. If I get busy, I kinda forget to add water to the stove top, lol.

ETA: I do not have or use the programmable cookers. I like the manual ones.

Two25, I have had that exact problem . It only happens with pork and kraut. I cook on stove in covered pan . Always bring to hard boil, then reduce heat to simmer. After awhile I check potatoes and they will be soft and what I would expect. If I continue to simmer a bit more for the meat to soften, the potato gets hard . I have never figured out why it happens. We always manage to eat the potato, butter cures everything.

Another theory I have is the acid in the kraut. I make a delicious carrot dish with julienned carrots that are simmered in a white wine and chicken broth, butter mixture. They can simmer forever without getting beyond tender crisp. I attribute that to the addition of wine.

I think y'all are onto something. I don't think it would be the pork, because it is just meat and I make a pork stew that has potatoes in it. It has to be the acid in the kraut.

Red potatoes may seem hard when cooked because that is just what they do vs. russets that are soft when cooked. Red potatoes are at type that does not contain as much starch as the potatoes that most are used to. They actually have mouth feel when eaten rather than just soft and creamy. They do tend to take longer to cook especially the small type. When a fork or knife sticks into them they should be done but they will seldom become soft.

Acid prevents the starch in the potato from doing what ever it does when potatoes cook. I forget what it is called. It breaks down as it softens. You could have the same result in a stew if you used very acidic tomatoes although we don't run into that much these days as in acidic tomatoes. Also sometimes you might get potatoes that were harvested too soon, before they were done, that is what gives real new potatoes their chew, not the same as the small reds you see in the average store. The real thing is very waxy. If it was too cold when the potatoes are growing some varieties of potatoes can have a tough fiber core sort of thing but that doesn't affect reds.