Jersey Royal
The Jersey Royal is the marketing name of a type of potato grown in Jersey which has a Protected Designation of Origin. The potatoes are of the variety known as International Kidney and are typically grown as a new potato.[1]
| Potato 'Jersey Royals' | |
|---|---|
 'Jersey Royals', raw | |
| Genus | Solanum |
| Species | Solanum tuberosum |
| Variety | International Kidney |
| Cultivar | 'Jersey Royal' |
| Origin | Jersey |
History
In around 1878 a Jersey farmer, Hugh de la Haye, showed friends a large potato that he had bought. It had 15 'eyes': points from which new plants sprout. They cut this potato into pieces, which they planted in a côtil (a steeply sloping field) above the Bellozanne valley. One plant produced kidney-shaped potatoes, with a paper-thin skin, which they called the Jersey Royal Fluke. This was later shortened to 'Jersey Royal'.[2]
Present day
In modern times, the Jersey Royal is Jersey's biggest crop export, accounting for around 70% of agricultural turnover.[3] Ninety-nine percent of production is exported to the United Kingdom.
In 2012, 28,600 tonnes of the potato, worth £28.6m, were exported from the island. This figure was down from 30,890 tonnes in 2011.[4]
Under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union Jersey Royals are covered by a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).[5][6]
References
- Redcliffe N. Salaman; William Glynn Burton (21 November 1985). The History and Social Influence of the Potato. Cambridge University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-521-31623-1.
- "Jersey Royal", This is Jersey, accessed 18 January 2009.
- "No 'small potatoes' for marketing", BBC News, 1 April 2008.
- "BBC News - Jersey Royal potato exports fall". BBC News. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- "Policy paper Protected food name: Jersey royal potatoes (PDO)". London: TSO. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- Jersey Royal
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