Jersey Royal Spuds dont taste the same???

collectors

Is it me getting old & my taste buds are not working as well or are Jersey Royal spuds just not the same any more. There used to be nothing nicer than fresh spring crops on the plate with a big helping of JR spuds with a bid knob of salted butter.
But now, they don't taste much different to any other spud.
Any views? Or do you think the residents of Jersey are keeping them.

McKneff

Totally agree.
They were the only new potato i would eat, but just as bland as the rest now

[Deleted User]

yes I bought some of the on offer ones last week in Tescos at 49p and they didn't taste half as good as they used to

chesky

Maybe they wash all the goodness off now, as of course we mustn't have any earth clinging to them, must we?

alanq

Not a recent phenomenon. Threads expressing similar opinions from 2012.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3950911

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4036149

meer53

Reduced to 12p per pack in my Tesco today. Worth buying at that price !

TravellingAbuela

alanq wrote: »

Not a recent phenomenon. Threads expressing similar opinions from 2012.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3950911

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4036149

You beat me to it! I was going to say that this subject pops up every year! Not only don't they taste the same, they don't even look the same as they used to. What happened to the kidney shape they always used to have?

daveyjp

Local green grocer had some Majorcan new potatoes the other week, covered in Majorcan soil. Just as good as Jersey's used to taste.

The Jerseys were next to them and looked like they had been polished!

A._Badger

This, as has been said, has been going on for years. I can recall tackling an embarrassed (and evasive) Jersey representative at the RHS Chelsea show back in the 1980s.

The answer, almost certainly, is that Jersey Royals are grown with artificial fertilisers in place of the seaweed that was once used by the small growers, who have now been swallowed up into one large company.

The aim now is to get a large, early crop. The lack of flavour is, I'd suggest, a direct consequence.

Like daveyjp, I also bought some Majorcan new potatoes last week and just before that bought the first of this year's Kent crop and both were far superior. Even earlier, Egyptian new potatoes can be excellent, too.

Just to prove how sad I am, I have even tried growing 'Jersey Royals' using the International Kidney seed potato (which is the seed potato they use) and I failed to get that old 'buttery' flavour, too. But then, I didn't use seaweed, either.

Livelongandprosper

Years ago when I was a produce manager for a big 4 supermarket, we looked forward to the jersey royals coming in

They came packed in compost

The spuds used to have to be sifted in store, as an when we sold them. Any not sold that day had to be covered back in the compost then a black bag to keep the store lights off them over night

Six weeks of extra work, but worth it for the taste

Haven't had a decent JR for longer then I can remember. They have been messed about with so much they neither taste nor look as they used to

A._Badger

Livelongandprosper wrote: »

The spuds used to have to be sifted in store, as an when we sold them. Any not sold that day had to be covered back in the compost then a black bag to keep the store lights off them over night

This is a pet beef of mine. All potatoes, without exception, should never be left exposed to the light. That's what makes them go green and poisonous. I wish more shop managers were diligent about this.