Mr Little's Yetholm Gypsy

You can see better images of this potato, Mr Little's Yetholm Gypsy on Rebsie's site which really shows off the blue/purple pigment to the skin along with the creamy white mottling. They have an appealing Russian doll look to them.

Alan Romans relates in The Potato Book that the Little family of Yetholm obtained tubers of this variety at the first Yetholm Fair (a gypsy fair) after WWII and kept the line going.

I was a little forward in harvesting them now - it's an early maincrop variety - which I'd expect to pull in August but some leaves in the potato patch were showing signs of blight.

Each seed tuber (this variety is generally only available as a microplant in the UK but Rebsie generously swapped a few of her saved tubers) yielded about a pound of potatoes - not huge by the standard my Charlottes have set but ample for two.(Before we were watching our intake this would have been a meagre serving size! Ah, those were the days).

If I'd left them in the ground longer and played a game of risk with blight I expect they would have bulked up a little more. And judging by the number of tiny tubers which were just beginning to form I probably would have got more potatoes as well.

A pretty potato, it retained much of its colour when roasted. But the chewy skin (nice and earthy) didn't crisp up and was too close to being a soggy chip for my liking.

For comparison I boiled up a few tubers to have as a warm potato salad. Served this way it shows itself off better. The purple colour is retained and there is a noticeable waxy texture when boiled so some 'bite' remains - as you slice through it's much like a knife cutting through a large butter patty. If you dress it with the merest hint of honey, vinegar, grain mustard and mint you get a nice balance of sweet and sour.

It's strongest suit is that it looks good on the table; if it stores well then it will make it into the 'probables' for next year.

Comments

[Adrian]

That's an interesting potato, the story too. There's plenty here to try, but expect them to be of uniform shape and size. You might want to chuck a http:// in front of Rebsie's link.

----Thanks for that Adrian

[kate]

I like the idea that these potatoes retain their colouring upon boiling. They are interesting looking to boot!

[Jane Perrone]

This post is handy as I was thinking about trying to get hold of some of these for next year ... definitely sounds worth trying!

Hi Jane, after a hectic few months work and house move I've only just got back to blogging! Try them - unfortunately i've eaten all mine otherwise I'd send some on! But you can get them through Chase Organic.