The Most Popular Varieties in Ireland
Maris Pipers
Maris Piper has a golden skin colour with dry creamy white fluffy flesh of good flavour, that rarely discolours on cooking. They are a a versatile ‘all rounder, excellent for roasting and the one of the best chipping variety available, indeed, they are the variety of potato most favoured by chippers throughout Ireland.
Rooster
The Rooster has a distinctive coloured skin. It’s dark pink or red as opposed to the more common tan or brown coloured skin of many other varieties. Once you peel it however, the Rooster’s flesh is a yellow colour like any other potato. It’s often mistaken for the Desiree potato because it’s pretty similar in colour and appearance. You can tell them apart because the Rooster has a deeper coloured red skin and has deeper set eyes or indentations on the skin.
Kerr's Pink
Kerr’s Pink are a traditional maincrop variety. They have a white to pink skin color with cream flesh.They have a wide range of uses. As Pinks are usually flourier than Rooster, slightly more care is required when cooking and steaming is a less aggressive option to achieve excellent results.Suitable for a wide range of uses including boiling,steaming, baking,and chipping.Available from late august to May/June
Golden Wonder
This is a very tasty traditional Irish potato and the most floury potato variety available. Skin finish is rough and russet with pale lemon-cream coloured flesh. This variety is suitable for boiling,steaming or chipping but may be too dry for roasting. As with Pinks steaming may produce better results than boiling.
Cultra
Cultra has a white skin with pink eyes and a cream flesh.It is probably the most popular home grown white potato in the country.The potato is slightly waxier in texture with a good skin finish.The variety is suitable for baking,boiling steaming and roasting.
Home Guard
Home Guard is the traditional first early potato grown in Ireland.Typically it available from mid May in small quantities with loose fluffy skins. Texture improves as the season progresses.
Home Guards tend to be gone from the market by early July.
Queen's
Queens are a second early potato variety and are available from late June to September. Generally Queens begin to replace Home Guard in late June and become the mainstay of the Irish potato market for the summer.The variety has white skin and flesh,an excellent floury texture,beautiful taste and can be used for boiling,steaming,roasting and chipping.
Record
Record is a cream coloured potato with an oval shape and a slightly rough yellow-brown ‘netted’ skin finish and yellow flesh. Records are dry and floury when cooked and are particularly popular in the Midlands and the West of Ireland for all round use. Peak availability is from September to Mid June.