New potatoes are, in general, common or garden potatoes which are dug early in the season. Clearly there are some varieties which are best as new potatoes and so are routinely planted for early harvesting. However, you may find Maris Piper new potatoes early in the season before the main crop Maris Pipers arrive. All new potato varieties are grown from seed rather than from tubers. Unlike old potatoes, new potatoes can be stored in the fridge.
I love new potatoes, especially the extraordinary Jersey Royals, one of the truly seasonal vegetables which I await each year with such joy. A bit of home-baked ham, a simple salad and boiled Jersey Royals with some good Jersey butter – nothing better.
I’d also like to make a plug for new potatoes grown in the Arctic circle in some of the Nordic countries. As with berries, it is the exposure to light, not to heat, which gives extraordinary flavour to new potatoes. The early harvest provides potatoes of such unbelievable deliciousness that it is worth making a special excursion there in spring to taste this rare treat.
