We're falling out of love with the potato. Irish farmers are growing only half as many as they did 25 years ago, reflecting our taste for more convenient food, such as pasta and rice. Leslie Williams explains why it's time for the tuber to prosper again
No food has such a hold on the Irish imagination as the potato, and no other country has been so defined by its enthusiasm for a vegetable. For many of us a meal is still incomplete without a serving of spuds - which is why visitors to Ireland are often surprised to see us eating chips with our pub lasagnes. But something's up. Partly because our lives are busier, which has prompted us to turn towards more convenient starches, such as rice and pasta, and partly because of the Atkins and GI diets and other eating fads, we are slowly abandoning our national food.
Last year Ireland's farmers grew about 500,000 tonnes of them, on about 12,500 hectares of land. In 1980, by contrast, they grew almost a million tonnes, on more than 41,000 hectares. Accordingly, the number of growers has also been declining. Last year there were 732. But just four years earlier there were 956. That means a quarter of Irish growers have abandoned potatoes since 2000. The main reason is increased mechanisation; the top 200 growers farm nearly 80 per cent of the land we devote to potatoes.
To look on the bright side, they are still Ireland's most important horticultural crop in terms of area and value, and we eat nearly every potato we grow. (Only a small number of seed potatoes are exported.) And although we are buying ever more foreign washed baby potatoes, better production and storage methods have reduced our overall reliance on imports.
And we shouldn't forget, in health-conscious times, that potatoes are almost a complete food. Before the Famine, after all, the average Irishman ate five kilograms - an astonishing 11lbs - of potatoes a day, washed down with a pint of milk. This diet provided more than the daily requirements for energy, calcium, iron and vitamins D and C, as well as almost the requirement for protein. Most Irish people were labourers, and potatoes were one of the few foods that provided them with sufficient energy to do their work.
These days, we might be more interested to hear that boiled potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates and are a significant source of antioxidants, which can help prevent heart disease (as long as you don't deep-fry them or slather them in butter) and cancer. Boiling, steaming and baking are the keys to getting the most from potatoes. This is because the complex carbohydrates - or starches - they contain are packaged in cells, so they release their energy slowly. This is good for us, as it means we use the calories as they are released instead of storing them in our bodies. Served whole, boiled potatoes have a low calorie count, similar to those of apples and porridge. Mashing potatoes, or adding a fat such as butter, breaks down the starch cells, releasing their energy into our bloodstreams much more quickly.
Potatoes also contain a type of starch that our bodies do not absorb, making it act like fibre. This reduces the calorie content of potatoes even further - by as much as 10 per cent on the standard calorie rating. (The proportion of this starch goes up if you serve potatoes cold, such as in potato salad - although go easy on the mayonnaise.)
If you follow the glycaemic-index diet, which measures the release of sugars into the bloodstream, and was originally created for diabetics, you probably steer clear of potatoes, as they score highly. The solution is to eat them with protein and other vegetables, so that the meal as a whole scores more modestly.
And what about flavour? Commercially produced varieties can sacrifice taste for appearance. Potatoes grown organically, on the other hand, in naturally nutrient-rich soil, are full of flavour. The best I have tasted this year were biodynamic Orla grown in Slane, in Co Meath. Orla is a variety that was developed, like Rooster, at Teagasc's Oak Park research centre, in Co Carlow, which also looks at ways of reducing blight and the need for fungicides - a great help to organic growers, whose crops need far more care than commercially grown potatoes. Teagasc is currently testing Setanta, an almost disease- and blight-proof variety with the floury texture that so appeals to the Irish palate.
Given the drop in our appetite for potatoes, many growers would like more help. Bord Bia promotes potatoes from time to time, but its campaigns rarely seem sustained or focused. "Just not enough money is spent, and it is not only Bord Bia's fault but the fault of the entire industry," says Ciarán Leddy of the Irish Farmers' Association.
"They might spend €100,000 on a national campaign, but they need to spend a few hundred thousand every year. I would like to see €2 spent on promotion for every tonne of potatoes produced. Only then can we hope to stem the move away from our national food."
If the beef industry can recover from the bad publicity of mad-cow disease, it shouldn't be too difficult to boost potatoes' fortunes. Bord Bia could even promote pototoes' environmental benefit: as almost all the potatoes we eat are grown in Ireland, they have much shorter journeys to our tables than many other vegetables and, particularly, starches such as rice and pasta.
Some organic growers feel that the paucity of practical support is part of a wider lack of focus. "What are Teagasc doing organising farm walks when they could be promoting organic farming?" says John Healy of Absolutely Organic, who delivers boxes of organic fruit and vegetables to subscribers in the Dublin area. "I would be able to buy exclusively Irish if we only had enough farmers being encouraged into the industry."
Organic growers certainly deserve our support. By growing old and unusual varieties, they can provide the diversity that commercial farmers have abandoned.
It would be a calamity if we lost varieties such as Golden Wonder, which has already disappeared in some areas. Delicious varieties such as Duke of York, which my grandfather farmed, are now grown only by gardeners.
Although we should demand that our supermarkets stock more than the ubiquitous Rooster - the chains prefer to offer this and similarly smooth-skinned, blemish-free varieties - the rise of farmers' markets means there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to buy local potatoes all year round.
So support your local farmer: you may find that the potatoes actually taste better.
Where to go for the best potatoes
Farm shops and farmers' markets - see www.bordbia.ie for a full list - are generally the best places to buy potatoes. These are among the many that are worth trying (most sell other produce, too):
CO DUBLIN Denis Healy, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, 059-6473193 Healy grows most of his own potatoes, all of which are organic. Over the summer he was selling Queens, Nicola, Orla, Ratte, Red Burgundy and Salad Blues. Healy visits most markets in the Dublin and Wicklow area, including Leopardstown Racecourse (Friday mornings), Temple Bar (Saturdays), Malahide (Saturdays) and Dún Laoghaire People's Park (Sundays).
Absolutely Organic, 01-4600467 Excellent box-delivery service, with Irish produce wherever possible.
Dublin Food Co-op, St Andrew's Centre, Pearse Street, www.dublinfoodcoop.com Excellent potatoes from Penny Lange and Christy Stapleton, every Saturday, 9.30am-3pm.
CO CORK The Garden, English Market, 021-4272368 Not a potato specialist but always has high-quality potatoes.
Willie Scannell, Midleton market Local Ballycotton potatoes, particularly Home Guard, Queens and Kerrs Pinks. Saturdays 9am-1pm. Martin Flynn, Bantry market Every Friday morning.
CO GALWAY Cait Curran, Saturday market, 091-844973.
CO LEITRIM The Organic Centre, Rossinver, 071-9854338.
CO LOUTH Forge Valley Farm Shop, Termonfeckin, 041-9883939. Locally grown Queens, Roosters and Kerrs Pinks. Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm, closed 1-2pm Monday-Wednesday
CO TIPPERARY Country Choice, Nenagh, 067-32596 Particularly good for local Golden Wonders. Open Monday-Saturday, 9am-6pm.
CO WEXFORD Farmer Direct, New Ross, 051-420816 Watch for Home Guard, Kerrs Pinks and Golden Wonders. Open Monday-Saturday, 9am-6pm.
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"No matter what dish I put on the menu, if it is served with potatoes it outsells everything else, and I need to make double the quantity," says Denis Cotter of the Cafe Paradiso vegetarian restaurant, in Cork. "I buy organic whenever possible, and as a general potato I use Roosters, especially in winter. Roosters don't have the richness that other varieties do, however, such as Colleen, Nicola and Orla. Nicola and other waxy varieties hold their shape better, which is useful for presentation purposes - always important in a restaurant context.
"Crushed potatoes is one of my favourite cooking methods; cooking potatoes this way gives you a finished texture that can look a mess in the pan but which can be coaxed into any shape you want on a plate. It is an excellent alternative to mash, soft and comforting but using only a little olive oil instead of the butter and milk. It is good made with any medium floury potatoes, such as Roosters or Colleens, and works fine with firm but not too waxy ones, like Nicola or Charlotte. In Paradiso right now we are using thin-skinned new season Colleens with the skins on. I think it's the best version yet, but then again I think that every few months."
DENIS COTTER'S CRUSHED POTATOES WITH OLIVES, GARLIC & MARJORAM
1kg cooked potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 spring onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves
2 tbsp chopped black olives
Chop the cooked potatoes coarsely with a knife. Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan and toss in the potatoes, spring onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, turning and chopping the potatoes with a metal slice or spoon, until the potatoes are browned and have the texture of coarse chunky mash. Stir in the olives and marjoram leaves, and season to taste.
Growing your own
Potatoes are among the easiest plants to grow, particularly in the Irish climate. You can even grow them in containers. For organic growing, or simply to reduce the need for spraying, choose blight-resistant varieties such as Orla or Setanta.
The gardening writer Joy Larkcom, who grows potatoes organically in her west Co Cork garden, has been having great success with a floury Hungarian variety called Sarpo Mira.
"Of the varieties I grew this year, my Charlotte, Nicola, Picasso and Roosters were all affected by blight, but my Sarpo Mira remains untouched," says the author of Grow Your Own Vegetables.
"Get your organic potatoes into the ground as early as you can and you will have best success with the blight-resistant varieties. I also recommend Golden Wonders, which are susceptible to blight but taste so good when they are young that it won't matter if you have to lift them early."
You can buy seed potatoes from most garden shops, although you may need to order obscurer varieties from a seed supplier such as Thompson & Morgan (www.thompson- morgan.com, catalogue from Mr Middleton Garden Shop, 01-8731118) or the Irish Seed Savers Association (www.irishseedsavers.ie)
Which potato?
IF YOU'RE . . . BOILING Queens, Home Guard, Record, Rooster, Kerrs Pink, Golden Wonder.
. . . BAKING Queens, Record, Kerrs Pink, Golden Wonder, Rooster, Orla.
. . . ROASTING Queens, Record, Rooster, Golden Wonder, Kerrs Pink.
. . . MASHING Kerrs Pink, Golden Wonder, Rooster, Orla.
. . . CHIPPING Maris Piper is the usual suggestion, but this is one area where Roosters really shine.
. . . MAKING A SALAD Waxy is best. Try Orla, Nicola, Cara, Charlotte or - the French chef's favourite - Ratte.
. . . EATING NEW POTATOES They're best simply boiled or steamed and lightly tossed with a knob of butter and some chopped mint.
We spend almost €150 million a year on potatoes, buying 180kg - or almost 400 pounds - per family. At 160g (5½ ounces) each a day, we eat more potatoes than most other nationalities.
Chip shops continue to import English Maris Piper, and the catering sector is turning to imported baby roasters, as they look good and are easy to prepare (it is certainly not for their flavour).
Potatoes are mainly grown on the east coast, in counties Louth, Meath, Dublin, Wexford and Cork. Co Donegal supplies most seed potatoes.
Rooster - an easy-to-grow variety, loved by supermarkets, which makes up 33 per cent of the crop - is the most heavily planted variety, followed by Kerrs Pink, Queens and Record. Organic producers use varieties such as Nicola, Orla and Setanta, which resist blight.