THIS season's new potatoes, the first earlies, have been on the market for the past few weeks.
Most of the crop are Home Guards and British Queens of fairly good quality are also on sale now.
In Capparoe, in Scarriff, in East Clare, the potato has a status all of its own.
On the 20 acres of gardens and orchards of the Irish Seed Savers Association, the early potato crops have blossomed and fine yields are expected.
Many of the old varieties have been grown, some even saved from extinction.
Some were indeed endangered species, but expert horticulturalist Frank Bouchier and his staff have saved them, thankfully.
Culinary, the spud seems to have lost its important place on the kitchen table.
Modern tastes groomed on the cuisine fashions acquired during travels abroad no longer put the same emphasis on the quality of the potatoe its texture and its flavour.
In the past the early potato was more or less the product of the town, suburban or cottage garden, rather than a farmer's crop of the late variety that matured later in the year.
The Emergency years too were very important for the early potatoes.
This was the era when townspeople were given plots or allotments by the Government so that they could produce essential food.
May Queens and Land Leaguers were widely grown at the time.
The Irish Seed Savers Association, launched about ten years ago has been a particularly significant in the horticultural scene.
Founded by Anita, an American who lives with her husband, Tommie Hayes, an Askeaton man, in Feakle, she realised that many of the old varieties of potatoes, apples and vegetables could be lost.
The gardens at Capparoe have expanded recently and Frank Bouchier, a Dubliner, has now about 40 potato varieties safe and well.
Some were collected from gardeners around the country who had protected them over the years; others from the Department of Agriculture garden centre at Raphoe in Donegal.
"We had a potato day in June where we tasted (with butter only) the eight first early varieties we have in our collection," Frank, told me.
About 50 guests sampled the spuds and for devotees of the tubers the results are interesting.
Sharpe's Express, an old favourite at the Limerick market some years ago with a very dry white floury flesh, was deemed the best by the tasters.
An old variety bred in 1900 by Charles Sharpe of Sleaford in England, in the 1940s it was a great favourite in the cottage gardens.
It scored 141 points as against Red Duke of York, with 118 in second place.
Ballydoon, (1931) and Frank says that it's great to have this variety back in cultivation again.
One of my own favourites the May Queen, was fourth with 100 points while another that used to be in popular demand up to about 30 years ago, the famous Land Leaguer, was surprisingly down in seventh place with just 86 points.
Others that featured on the tasters table were Epicure, Ulster Sceptre and Irish Peace.
Commenting on this year's crop, Frank said: "This season we had a dry spring followed by a wet summer.
This suited the potatoes nicely although we had some scab due to our well-draining soil. Most of the main crop succumbed to blight before we cut the haulms and harvested the spuds."
Still, he confides, that they got a good harvest of quality potatoes and they were holding well in store.
An interesting importee in the Capparoe gardens is the Tibet, a round tuber with a rough, crinkly pink skin.
The flesh is yellow, floury and of excellent flavour. This is a reasonable cropper if left in the ground until the frosts stop it.
It is a vigorous grower and needs plenty of space.
Frank, told me that it was brought home from Nepal, about 10 years ago by a traveller.
"We have plenty of Tibet, this year for all those who missed out last year due to insufficient stocks. Again it proved to be completely resistant to blight and is, he says, an all round good spud''.
The Lumper, famous for its failure during the famine years of the 1800s, is also on the Capparoe list.
A waxy type, it is described now as quite vigorous and produces a heavy crop of oval, knobbly white tubers with deep eyes.
The taste is not great but has improved somewhat from the famine years.
About the Author
http://www.limerick.com
