varieties to suit every taste
Potatoes are a trusty staple and the ultimate comfort food; from buttery mash to fluffy jackets, crispy chips and delicious roasties.
What a lot of you don't know is the potato is in fact packed full of vital nutrients. Calories in potatoes are low, they're naturally fat-free, bursting with vitamins and minerals, contain absolutely no cholesterol and when served with their skins are a great source of fibre.
According to the Potato Council (a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board working on behalf of British potato growers and purchasers to promote potatoes) a jacket potato contains 25mg vitamin C, almost half the adult recommended daily amount!
For instant cheats, tips & recipes saving you time and money in the kitchen, become a fan of the Potato Girls on Twitter and Facebook or visit www.lovepotatoes.co.uk
The Co-operative Farms grow a variety of different potatoes for our Co-operative stores, including Charlotte, Estima, Maris Piper and King Edwards – all with their own taste and character.
We even have a new variety of potato grown exclusively by The Co-operative Farms. “Pioneer” potatoes, named after the Rochdale Pioneers who founded the Co-operative Movement in 1844, are cultivated by The Co-operative Farms at Coldham in Cambridgeshire. The new variety is ideal for boiling, sautéing or using in salads, and can be eaten hot or cold.
As well as carefully tending to the potatoes as they grow, we also store them and when they are needed they are washed and packed at our own Co-operative packhouses. We oversee the entire process so you can be sure you’re getting the pick of the crop.
planting
Preparations for planting the potato crop begin the previous year. Fields are chosen with deep, fertile soil. The land is ploughed in the autumn to allow time for the winter frosts to break the clods down.
We grow our potatoes in rotation and do not come back to the same field for at least 6 years. This avoids the build up of soil pests and therefore reduces our reliance on pesticides.
By the time April arrives the soil is usually warm enough to begin planting. The land is cultivated to produce a fine seedbed, allowing the roots to grow freely. Any stones are also separated to avoid misshaped potatoes.
The seed potatoes are planted into ridged rows to give the roots plenty of room to grow and help prevent the potatoes from being exposed to light.
tending
Once the crop emerges it is carefully monitored to ensure that enough nutrients are available and that pests and diseases do not harm the crop. If necessary, approved pesticides are used but non-chemical methods of control are used wherever possible.
Aphids can be controlled with the help of ladybirds and beetles that live in grassy strips planted around the edges of the fields. A computer model also monitors weather patterns to predict the risk of potato blight, avoiding the use of unnecessary fungicides.
Throughout the growing season the levels of water in the soil are constantly monitored with electronic sensors. If needs be the potatoes are irrigated to help maintain the yield and quality of the potatoes. We make every effort to ensure that the water is used as efficiently as possible.
harvesting
Over the summer the size and quality of the potatoes are regularly checked to make sure that they are harvested at just the right time. Usually by the end of August the skins will have formed and harvesting can begin.
The crop is harvested with a machine that lifts the potatoes out of the ground before separating them from the stalks and soil. The potatoes are then loaded onto trailers before being taken back to the farm for storage. We are very careful to avoid bruising the skins.
Before reaching the supermarket shelf the potatoes are taken to one of The Co-operative’s own pack houses where they are sorted and washed to remove any remaining soil. Once the teams at Carnoustie or Langley Brook have checked the quality, the potatoes are graded into sizes and bagged, ready for shipping to our stores.
eating
You can find different varieties of our potatoes in store all year, just look out for “Grown by us” and you will know they are potatoes grown on our own farms. They range from 750g packs to 5kg.
Try our fresh ready prepared mash, “The Co-operative Farms British Maris Piper mashed potato”, made using potatoes “Grown by us”, with a little milk, butter and seasoning
In Goole, East Yorkshire, Euan Fraser and his team grow Estima. This variety has a light, soft texture making them perfect for baking. We leave extra room for these to grow to the ideal size for baking.
Charlotte potatoes are grown by Russell Armstrong and his team at Coldham Estate in Cambridgeshire. Their firm texture and flaky yellow skin make them especially good in salads.
John Hartop and the team at Whitsome Hill in the Scottish Borders grows King Edwards. These are perfect for roasting thanks to their soft floury texture. However if you are more of a mash fan then you should try some of our red potatoes from one of our growing partners at Revesby.
Maris Piper is the ultimate all rounder, just as good baked or roasted, but they do make especially good chips and home cooked wedges. We grow them on each of our three farms, making sure they reach the stores in perfect condition.
Visit www.lovepotatoes.co.uk for tips on cooking the perfect potato.