Potatoes

The humble potato: botanically it is the swollen root tip of the Solanum tuberosum. The humble ‘spud’ was brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th Century having conquered much of the Inca empire.

To be honest I probably have more meals that involve potato than just about everything. For nearly every recipe (except mash) I leave the skins on. I say this is because it is nutritionally better but it may be because I don’t like to peel ’em.

Here’s a table of some reasonably common cultivars from the manyfacesofpotato.com website

Variety	Description	Best For	Category	Season
Annabelle	Annabelle is an oval shaped yellow salad potato with a waxy yellow flesh. It is ideal in salads and for best results steam instead of boil.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Salad
Anya	The Anya is a fingerling potato. It has a firm waxy texture and knobbly appearance with a slight nutty flavour. It can be enjoyed boiled or steamed, either hot or cold in salads but also tastes delicious roasted. It mixes well into vegetarian dishes and with green leafy veg.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Salad
Apache	The Apache has a very striking appearance. It has red skin dotted with cream coloured patches. It is small and round in shape with a slightly waxy texture. It has a slight buttery and chestnut flavour. Scrubbed and roasted whole they make an excellent change from the conventional ‘peeled and cut’ roast potatoes.	salads Boiling Steaming Roasting	Selected Retailers	Main
Bambino	This is a small firm potato with a fresh flavoured, waxy texture and is most suitable for boiling or steaming, eaten hot or cold, it works in many simple recipes.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	New
Cara	Cara is white-skinned, with creamy flesh, pink eyes and a soft, waxy texture. It makes great mash and is also good for quick and tasty meals and baking.	Mash Baking	Selected Retailers	Main
Carlingford	This is a small firm potato with a fresh flavoured, waxy texture and is most suitable for boiling or steaming. It can be eaten hot or cold and is great in salads as part of a balanced diet.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	New
Charlotte	Charlotte is a small, deep yellow fleshed potato with a firm waxy texture and is often used in salads. Great for baking, boiling, steaming or sauteeing, they’re also good eaten hot or cold.	salads Boiling Steaming Baking Roasting sauté	Commonly Available	Salad
Chopin	This uniformly round white potato has a wonderfully creamy texture. It makes them ideal as an all round potato for quick 30 minute meals and its buttery taste is perfect for a healthier jacket potato.	Mash Baking	Selected Retailers	Main
Corolle	Corolle is a sweet and buttery flavoured potato with a smooth firm texture. The smaller sizes are most suitable for boiling but the bigger sizes are also suitable for baking baby jackets and diet meals.	Boiling Baking	Selected Retailers	Main
Desiree	Desiree has a red or pink skin with a yellow and creamy flesh. It has a deep flavour making it suitable for many forms of cookery – boiling, baking jackets, roasting, chipping or sautéing.	Boiling Baking Roasting Chips sauté Mash Wedges	Commonly Available	Main
Duke of York	This variety has a yellow flesh and loose skin. They are harvested early before maturity for a fresh flavour and are ideal for boiling or steaming as part of everyday healthy meals.	Steaming Boiling	Selected Retailers	Main
Dunbar Rover	This is a very rare variety with an oval shape, white skin and snowy white flesh. It has a lovely buttery flavour and fine texture. It is suitable for baking, boiling, roasting or chipping.	Baking Boiling Steaming Roasting Chips	Speciality	Main
Estima	Estima has a pale yellow skin, with a firm, moist texture and mild flavour. It is best for simple recipes like mashed potatoes, but especially good for baking.	Mash Baking	Commonly Available	Main
Exquisa	Exquisa has a unique teardrop or apostrophe shape. It has a smooth, soft texture and a rich, buttery taste. It is best in a recipe that calls for steamed or boiled potatoes.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Salad
Galante	This is an early potato with yellow flesh and smooth yellow skin. It is excellent for simple recipes like salads as it has a firm texture.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Salad
Harmony	Harmony is a very smooth round potato with a firm texture. It has a very pale white skin and flesh and is suitable for potato recipes that require wedges, boiled or baking jacket potatoes.	Mash Baking Wedges	Selected Retailers	Main
Inca Dawn	This is an unusual potato, which has a yellow “egg yolk” colour flesh. It is noted in culinary circles for high levels of umami, which is reported to play an important role in making food taste great. It is good in a steamed or boiled potato recipe.	Steaming Boiling	Selected Retailers	New
Innovator	Innovator has a long oval shape with a rough, russet, tan coloured skin and shallow eyes. It has a pale yellow flesh and creamy texture making it an extremely versatile potato. It is famed for making French fries and is also great for baking, mashed or roasted potatoes.	Boiling Baking Mash Roasting Chips Wedges	Selected Retailers	Main
Kerr’s Pink	Rosy-skinned,with creamy white flesh, which has a mealy, floury texture when cooked, Kerr’s Pink is best for simple recipes like mashing and roasting.	Boiling Steaming Mash Roasting	Speciality	Salad
Kestrel	This is a relatively new variety, grown since 1992. It is suitable for all cookery methods but particularly for salads, steaming or boiling. It has a purple blushed flesh and floury white skin.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Salad
King Edward	This is a traditional English potato, with some red blushes on the skin. It has a floury texture making it ideal for potato recipes that include baking and roasting.	Boiling Baking Roasting Mash Chips	Commonly Available	Main
Lady Balfour	This variety was named after Lady Eve Balfour – a pioneer of the UK organic movement. As hard working as her namesake, this variety is extremely versatile and can work in many different potato recipes. It has a uniform oval shape, creamy skin and pale tasty flesh. It performs well as a baking potato, mashed, roasted, chipped or made into wedges.	Baking Mash Roasting Chips Wedges	Selected Retailers	Main
Marabel	Marabel has a smooth yellow flesh, a particularly creamy texture and a sweet flavour. It is great for roasting and mashing with no need to add butter. It is particularly good with fish or chicken recipes.	Mash Baking Roasting	Selected Retailers	Main
Marfona	With a golden brown skin, buttery taste and fluffy texture this variety is ideal for baking and sometimes used for roasting.	Mash Baking Roasting	Commonly Available	Main
Maris Peer	This is a small firm potato with a fresh flavoured, waxy texture and is most suitable for boiling or steaming. It can be eaten hot or cold.	salads Boiling Steaming Roasting Chips Wedges	Selected Retailers	New
Maris Piper	This is one of the best varieties for chipping but can also be used in simple recipes like roasting, baking and mashing. It is a white fleshed potato with a dry floury texture and full flavour	Baking mashing Roasting Chips Wedges	Commonly Available	Main
Melody	Melody is a smooth skinned potato, with a yellow flesh which is quite dry. This makes it suitable for all types of cookery, however it is mostly used for baking jacket potatoes or mashing.	Mash Baking Roasting	Selected Retailers	Main
Mozart	This is a new red variety with distinguishing yellow eyes. It has yellow flesh and is suitable for all types of cooking but particularly mashing, baking or roasting potato recipes.	Mash Baking Roasting	Selected Retailers	Main
Nicola	Nicola has a creamy yellow skin and yellow flesh, with a firm, waxy texture. It is best in healthy meals such as salads.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Salad
Osprey	Osprey has smooth skin and shallow pink eyes. It is best hot and is a great all rounder but is often used as a baking potato in simple recipes. It has a soft, moist texture.	Baking Boiling mashing	Selected Retailers	Main
Pink Fir Apple	This variety is a very long potato and is red or pink in colour. It is suitable for boiling and salads.	salads Boiling Steaming	Speciality	Salad
Red Duke of York	The Red Duke of York has a thick red russetted skin and soft floury yellow flesh with a delicate flavour. It is most suitable for crisp wedges, roasted potatoes or baking jacket potatoes.	Wedges Roasting Baking	Speciality	Main
Red King Edward	This is a rare version of the King Edward and is oval in shape with red skin and a white flush. It has a floury texture suitable for potato recipes that call for baking, boiling, roasting, steaming or chipping.	Baking Boiling Roasting Steaming Chips	Speciality	Main
Romano	Romano is red-skinned, with creamy, mildly nutty flesh and a soft, dry texture. The skin fades to rusty-beige during cooking and it is best for simple recipes like baking, mashing or roasting.	Baking Mash Roasting	Selected Retailers	Main
Rooster	The Rooster potato has red skin and shallow eyes. It is a floury potato with a full flavour and is a good all rounder in the kitchen. It is particularly suitable for boiling, mashing, roasting, steaming, baking and also good in soups.	Boiling Mash Roasting Steaming Baking soups	Commonly Available	Main
Roseval	Roseval is a small red oval variety with deep yellow flesh and a waxy texture. It is best steamed or boiled and can be eaten either hot or cold.	salads Boiling Steaming	Selected Retailers	Main
Saxon	This variety has white skin and white flesh with a firm and moist texture. It has a creamy flavour and is suitable for chipping, boiling, mashing or baking jacket potatoes.	Chips Boiling Mash Baking	Selected Retailers	Main
Sante	Sante is yellow-skinned with a dry, firm texture. It is best in a recipe that would call for boiling, roasting, chips and wedges.	Boiling Roasting Chips Wedges	Selected Retailers	Main
Shetland Black	This is an unusual variety with dark purple skin, yellow flesh, and a dark purple ring inside. It has a fluffy, floury texture and is best for baking and boiling.	Baking Boiling	Speciality	Main
Vales Sovereign	This is a relatively new variety on the culinary scene and has a great all round cooking quality with an oval shape, a good texture and cream coloured flesh. Particularly good in creamy mashed potato recipes, it’s also a good baking potato and is suitable for roasting, chipping or being made into wedges.	Mash Baking roasing Chips Wedges	Selected Retailers	Main
Vivaldi	Vivaldi is a pale yellow potato with a velvety texture. This makes it good for mashing, steaming, baking and microwaving but is particularly good as a boiled potato holding its shape whether hot or cold. It has a mild sweet flavour and complements Mediterranean potato recipes and is also good in fish or chicken recipes.	Mash Steaming Baking	Selected Retailers	Main
Wilja	This variety has yellow skin and light yellow flesh. It is firm with a slightly dry texture and is suitable for most cookery methods: boiling, mashing, roasting or chips.	Mash Boiling Roasting Chips	Selected Retailers	2nd Early
Yukon Gold	Yukon Gold has an attractive smooth yellow skin with very yellow flesh. It makes a great baking potato but also a lovely roast or chip potato recipe.	Baking Roasting Chips	Speciality	Main
Witchill	This is an attractive small, round white potato with a good flavour. Great for healthy meals, it is suitable for boiling, roasting or steaming.	salads Boiling Steaming Roasting	Speciality	Main