The King Edward is, of course, a famous variety and if you asked riders of the Clapham omnibus to name a potato variety the chances are they would name this one. These days they are far less likely to be eating them, however. Despite their commendable culinary attributes they are not a particularly high yielding potato so they are not the variety favoured by farmers. Or should I say supermarkets?
Most consumers will get their potatoes from the supermarket with whom farmers have contracts. The table below, published by AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board), shows the top ten most widely planted potatoes in Great Britain in 2019. (It would be interesting to compare a similar list for amatuer and other small scale growers).
It seems odd that the once almost obiquitous King Edward is becoming a 'speciality' variety which, if you don't grow them yourself, you might have to search out.
Their kitchen-worthiness and their good storage charcteristics are reasons why I will grow King Edwards again this year. I normally grow at least one other maincrop and this year I will be growing one I've not tried before - Pink Gypsey - as well as Pink Fir Apple.
I'm always interested in the origins of notable fruit and vegetable varieties. If you had assumed that the King Edward, which dates from around 1902, was named after King Edward VII you would be correct. Royal approval for the name was sought and was forthcoming.
In the The History and Social Influence of the Potato by Redliffe N. Salaman (1949), the following information is provided about the origins of the King Edward:-
"The variety 'King Edward VII', whose parentage is unknown, was raised by a gardener in Northumberland who called his seedling 'Fellside Hero'. From Northumberland it passed into the possession of a grower in Snaith, Yorkshire, who brought it to the notice of a Manchester potato merchant. The latter could make no immediate use of it and gave his tubers to Mr J. Butler of Scotter [in Lincolnshire], who eventually bought all the stocks that were in the hands of the Yorkshire grower. Mr Butler grew on, until he had 50 acres of the variety in hand. On the advice of a Mr Paxton, potato merchant of Manchester, he rechristened the potato 'King Edward', and placed his stocks on the market in 1910 at £12.10s. a ton. This variety is to-day the most popular in England, and commands the highest prices on account of its excellent cooking qualities. This account, which I derived from Mr Butler himself, illustrates not only the spirit of the period then drawing to an end, but the fact that the producer of potato varieties is the last to reap any reward. Bred by an amatuer, chance dictated its birth, a native flair its survival, and the juggling of names its successful debut".
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| King Edwards with the characteristic red blush |
That chart is fascinating. I'd not heard of some of them. And what about Albert Bartletts Roosters? I watched a fascinating programme on bbc4 once about the Potato marketing board (I'm not sure that still exists) and their farm in Scotland (Pentland) where they developed new varieties. My Dad grew King Edwards in the garden. As a student, I had a boyfriend from Jersey - he would fly home regularly to tend his field of Jersey Royals, and he brought back a bag of freshly harvested ones for my landlady and me. I considered it extremely romantic!
ReplyDeleteI've only heard of 2 out of the 10 commercial varieties and I think Charlotte would be quite high on a amateur list
ReplyDeleteAgree about Charlotte and I am growing this one as usual this year.
DeleteI'm not familiar with several on that list too Angela. Like so mcuh fruit nd veg it is largely supermarket led so yields, uniformity and disease resistance are paramount. The Pentland Javelin is an excellent early potato. Sagitta (number 8 on the list) is chip shops' favourite. I think every home gardener in th 50s and 60s would have grown King Edwards like your Dad. A bag of Jersey Royals? Has Bob ever matched that!
ReplyDeleteBob doesn't grow ANYTHING!! I just cycled into town to collect a prescription and went in Tesco. They had bags of King Edward potatoes on offer. So I bought some in your honour Philip!!
ReplyDeleteA wise purchase and indeed an honour!
DeletePS Bob has other great qualities. I definitely ended up with the right man!!
ReplyDeleteThere is much else to value in a lifelong partner than a bag of potatoes!
DeleteThat phrase should definitely be made into one of those 'quotation' plaques they sell in garden centres!!
DeleteA good baking and chip potato.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you there Dave.
ReplyDeleteI remember King Edwards when I lived in England 50 years ago, but here in Canada we have different kinds and I am currently using a bag of "Yellow" potatoes (no other name) which are said to be good for mashing. We can also buy some red potatoes which are good with their skins on to cut up and roast with other root veggies or boiled and used in salads. (On a trip to Peru we sampled some South American varieties which are interesting.) When we had our first house over here, husband was very keen to grow potatoes but quickly became disenchanted when the Colorado Beetles moved in and the fat dull pink larvae started to munch all the leaves!
ReplyDeleteThat trip to Peru to sample their potatoes must have been fascinating. Colerado beetle is not such a problem in the UK but potato blight can put people off growing them in wetter areas of the country.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child in England there was a poster in the post office with a picture of a Colorado beetle and instructions that if you found one you were to put it into a matchbox and take it to the police station. I never saw a single one until we tried to grow potatoes in Canada!
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