A Shropshire farm has been showcasing its first crop of the newest potato to be grown in Britain for 400 years.

Named Mayan Gold, the crop has taken 15 years to develop after an ancient variety was brought back from Peru.

The Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) made the breakthrough using intensive breeding to trick the plant into forgetting its tropical roots.

Greenvale, based in Market Drayton, is producing the potatoes commercially for the first time.

'Appreciate the flavour'

Nigel Kerby, from the SCRI, said it was found to have a very full flavour and has ingredients linked to anti-oxidants and health attributes.

There is less yield per acre than with conventional potatoes but growers say they have more flavour than normal spuds which bulk up on water and they are quicker to cook.

Paul Coleman, from Greenvale said: "It just delivers so much more for the consumer.

"We hope that this will revolutionise millions of dinner plates and that they will just appreciate the flavour of potatoes much, much more than they do with current varieties."

They are now being packed up for delivery to supermarkets this weekend.

Source

Look mate, if i want 15 year old potatoes ill go to my local fucking chippy ok?

Bit of potato porn, thanks binary. (bottom mid to left)

That's all very well, but if your local supermarket only stocks Whites and King Edwards (and the occasional Maris Piper), as most supermarkets do, it's fairly academic isn't it ?

(I buy my veg from a grocer, but since they only sell local produce it's equally academic). Surely getting people to appreciate the fact, first of all, that there are such things as 'types' of potato (cos lets face it, for most folks the types of potato are baking, roasting, boiling and, if they're really renaissance types, new), and introducing them to the pre-existing ones is far more worthwhile than introducing yet another type.

will they still work the same in spud guns is what i want to know?