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Potatoes - What Varieties to Grow For Flavour

Potatoes

What potato to grow?

There are around 500 varieties of potatoes available to the gardener to grow. Yes, that’s right 500 varieties of potato. Finding all of them would be a bit of a task but the selections easily available will probably be more than you need anyway.

Why all this choice of potatoes?

One good reason, apart from growing habits and disease resistance, is taste.

Different potatoes taste differently. The supermarkets may offer you a choice beyond the simple ‘White or Red’ nowadays but the home grower has a range of flavours far beyond that available in the shops.

The taste of the potato is not just a product of the variety; the type of soil and growing conditions will have an effect. I may enjoy one variety but it can taste quite different when grown on your soil.

Because of the water content and flesh structure, different potatoes cook differently. Some fry well, making great chips (or crisps – Golden Wonder is a potato variety) some boil well and some mash well. Waxy potatoes are better for salads than floury potatoes.

The tables below should give you some help on what to grow for what purpose. I have not covered all the varieties available but I think I've got the main ones that are readily available from both garden centres and specialist suppliers. You may find one variety appears in two or more sections as some potatoes are more multi-purpose than others.

Best Potatoes for Boiling
First Earlies	All first earlies boil well
Second Earlies	Anya Cosmos Edzell Blue	Marfona Maris Peer Estima	Nadine Saxon	Kestrel Wilja
Main Crop	Ambo Arran Victory Cara Celine	Maris Piper Maxine Pentland Squire Picasso	Romano Sarpo Mira Stemster Pink Fir Apple	Desiree Harmony King Edward Kondor

Best Potatoes for Baking
First Earlies	Arran Pilot Duke of York Epicure	Red Duke of York Rocket Swift	Foremost Pentland Javelin	Vanessa Winston
Second Earlies	Cosmos Edzell Blue Estima	Maris Peer Nadine	Kestrel Marfona	Saxon Wilja
Main Crop	Ambo Arran Victory Cara Celine	Maris Piper Maxine Pentland Squire Picasso	Desiree Harmony King Edward Kondor	Pink Fir Apple Romano Sarpo Mira Stemster

Best Potatoes for Roasting
First Earlies	Accent	Ulster Chieftain	Swift
Second Earlies	Catriona Cosmos	Mona Lisa Osprey	Edzell Blue Kestrel	Wilja
Main Crop	Arran Victory Cara Celine Desiree	Maxine Picasso Remarka Romano	Dunbar Standard King Edward Kondor Maris Piper	Sante Stemster Valor

Best Potatoes for Chipping
First Earlies	Accent International Kidney	Swift	Premiere	Winston
Second Earlies	Kestrel	Saxon	Yukon Gold	Nadine
Main Crop	Cara Celine Desiree	King Edward Majestic Maris Piper	Dunbar Standard Golden Wonder Kerrs Pink	Pentland Dell Stemster Valor

Best Potatoes for Mashing
First Earlies	Accent	Winston	Epicure
Second Earlies	Cosmos Kestrel	Nadine Osprey	Merlin	Wilja
Main Crop	Arran Victory Desiree Harmony Kerrs Pink	Maxine Pentland Crown Remarka	King Edward Majestic Maris Piper	Sante Sarpo Mira Stemster

Best Potatoes for Salads
First Earlies	Amandine Belle de Fontenay BF15	International Kidney Pomfine Red Duke of York	Cherie Anoe (Claire) Duke of York	Rosabelle Swift Ulster Chieftain
Second Earlies	Altesse Anya Carlingford	Linzer Delikatess Maris Piper Nicola	Charlotte Franceline Juliette	Roseval Wilja
Main Crop	Pink Fir Apple	Ratte	Pompadour	Sarpo Mira