Three cheers for British spuds

FOR a few years now, most of the potatoes I’ve grown have been nutty, early, French salad potatoes.

- Marc Diacono

I love them, but, delightful as this Continental affair has been, it has rather clouded my memory about the pleasure of potatoes from these islands. This year, my hand may be forced: the twin delights of an unresolved Brexit and Covid-19 mean that no one knows if, when, or for how much they might be able to import and sell varieties from the EU. Like it or not, it may be only British varieties this year. And I like it.

Looking at the list of varieties is similar to going through a box of old records; so many remind me of years past, before my head was temporarily turned. English, French or whatever, it is my stomach that helps me choose which varieties to grow: I pair them with how I want to eat them.

My weakness for small, waxy early salad potatoes, steamed or boiled, saves me a fortune on expensive, early-season new potatoes, but also makes gardening easier as most are sown, grown, lifted and eaten before any hint of blight; this also frees up space for later crops such as courgettes and squash. I grow International Kidney every year. It’s grown commercially as Jersey Royal and, although technically an Early Maincrop, most —me included—harvest it as a First Early.