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Top crops
It was once a curiosity. Now it's a prime item in the top chefs' kitchen
IT was just a meat and two veg dinner round at farmer Hugh de la Haye's house, and it made history.
The story of the Jersey Royal potato began in 1880 when Hugh invited some friends for supper. After the meal he showed them a curiosity: a huge potatoes with 15 'eyes' in it, just waiting for new plants to sprout.
The farmers cut this potato into pieces and decided to plant the bits on a steeply sloping field - a c™til - above Bellozanne Valley. And they waited.
The following spring the chunks of broken-up potato produced a large and early crop. For the most part it was unremarkable, but among the traditional round potatoes was one peculiar plant.
Although the parent potatoes and most of the new crop were round, this plant had produced nothing but kidney-shaped potatoes.
They may have been small and peculiar in size but they had a fantastic flavour and paper-thin skin, and Hugh and his friends christened them the Jersey Royal Fluke.
Since then, more than 120 years have past and the Jersey Royal has been a huge success, grown solely on Jersey soil. It has been nurtured and developed and now accounts for almost half of the
Island's agricultural income, being grown on about 19,000 vergˇes - 8,636 acres - of land.
The potato's unique and traditional method of production has meant that it has been given protection by the same EU 'product designation of origin' that has protected champagne.
Of all the potatoes that are grown in Jersey - an average of 45,000 tonnes - 99 per cent are exported to mainland Britain. In 1999 a total of 44,278 tonnes were exported at a value of just under £28 million.
Sadly, Hugo de La Haye never saw any of this money coming. In fact, he never became rich and famous because he shared his discovery with his fellow farmers. He did not exploit the success of the potato, so in gratitude for this, the other farmers presented him with an illuminated address and a purse of gold. And Hugh died a poor Jersey farmer.
The delicate thin skin of the Jersey Royal is what makes it so tasty, because not peeling a Jersey Royal adds to its distinctive flavour. And with this natural flavour, unique skin and excellent nutritional value, the Jersey Royal is not only good to munch on, it is the potato to be seen to be eating.
Jane Griffin, who is dietician and nutritionist to the Olympic Association, Aston Villa Football Club, National Rugby Association and the Central School of Ballet, recommends Jerseys as part of healthy diet.
And top chefs such as Delia Smith and Gordon Ramsay know that seasonal produce is unbeatable for flavour and freshness. They recommend the Jersey Royal because it is grown in natural conditions and can be bought fresh within hours, rather than days, of being picked. As Delia says in her book, The Complete Cookery Course: 'No foreign imports can usurp the native delights of British runner beans or potatoes like Jersey Royals.'
From April to June, Jersey Royals are at their very best and are a lighter alternative to the swedes and parsnips traditionally eaten in the winter months.
And, who knows, if the latest plans for the potato prove to be feasible, Jersey Royal vodka may be the next thing on the menu for the discerning food buff.
The Royal potato season begins in November with planting under glass, and the first crop is harvested in February and March.
However, true Jersey Royals are hand-planted outdoors in January and harvesting begins in April and carries on through to the end of June. Because the c™tils on which they are planted slope so steeply, and face the east, south or west, they all have excellent drainage and catch most of the winter sunshine.
Potatoes planted on the early slopes are hand-lifted, with mechanical lifters used only for the later, flatter fields.
After they have been harvested, the potatoes are graded, packed, distributed to shops around the Island and shipped to Portsmouth.
The average Jersey Royal contains: 66/281 energy kcal/kJ; 1.4g protein; 0.3g fat; 0.1g saturated; a trace of mono-unsaturated; 0.1g polyunsaturated; 15.4g carbo-hydrate; 14.4g starch; 1.0g sugars; 1.5g dietary fibre; 10mg sodium; 15mg vitamin C.
To cook, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water with a sprig of mint, then serve with a knob of butter.
This article first appeared in the Jersey Evening Post as part of the Pride in Jersey series, marking the Island's 1204-2004 celebrations.
author - Anna Heuston
This article updated: 2004/01/08 12:01:31
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| ......timelines...... |
| In 1638 William Prynne, a Puritan lawyer, was imprisoned in Mont Orgueil, but soon became a friend of his gaoler, Sir Philippe de Carteret. |
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