When planting time, the choice can quickly become difficult!
Taste, type of flesh, growing period, resistance... So many parameters that must be tried to reconcile to ensure a good potato harvest.
How to choose the right potato varieties to grow?
Select your variety of potatoes according to their use in cooking
Potato varieties according to their skin
Growing a Variety of Potatoes for Flavor
Choosing your potatoes by considering the cultivation period
Prioritize yield with the right potato varieties
Choosing disease-resistant potato varieties
Our top 6 potato varieties all criteria combined
Select your variety of potatoes according to their use in cooking
Not all potatoes have the same culinary characteristics so choosing which variety of potato to use in a recipe will depend greatly on the result you are looking for in terms of texture.
Firm potatoes
Firm potato varieties
retain their shape and firmness when cooked
.
They are ideal for a range of dishes such as
salads, steaming or sautéing.
You could choose:
'Charlotte', 'Ratte', 'Chérie', 'Nicola', 'Agata', 'Annabelle', 'Charlotte', 'Chérie', 'Pompadour', 'Rosabelle', 'Samba'
…
Soft-fleshed potatoes
Soft-fleshed potatoes have a
creamier texture once cooked
and can be crushed with a flick of a fork.
They are suitable for gourmet dishes such as purees and soups and some also use them for fries.
For this use, consider:
'Amandine',
'Monalisa', 'Belle de Fontenay', 'Roseval', 'Amandine', 'Élodie', 'Marabel', …
Floury potatoes
Varieties with floury flesh are ideal for creating
creamy purees, for frying and even for certain pastries
.
This is particularly the case for
'Vitelotte',
'Désirée', 'Rouge de Flandres', 'Bleue d'Artois', 'Bintje', 'Vitelotte', 'Yukon Gold'
…
Potato varieties according to their skin
Even if you don't really realize it when you peel them, the
thickness
of the potato skin is an important criterion!
It influences disease resistance, storage and of course use in cooking.
We can thus classify the varieties into three groups:
The thickness of potato skin influences their disease resistance, storage and use in cooking.
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Thin-skinned potatoes
Thin-skinned varieties are often preferred for quick cooking and preparations where the skin can be eaten.
This allows you to preserve all the nutrients and saves a lot of time!
However, the thin skin makes these potatoes
less resistant to shock and less easy to store.
For example:
'Charlotte', 'Amandine', 'Ratte', 'Belle de Fontenay', 'Annabelle', 'Chérie', 'Rosabelle'
…
Medium-skinned potatoes
There are also varieties with medium thickness skins which offer a compromise between disease resistance and ease of preparation.
These potatoes are versatile and can be used in a multitude of recipes without requiring systematic peeling.
Notably:
'Yukon Gold', 'Kennebec', 'Red Pontiac', 'Agata', 'Elodie', 'Marabel', 'Monalisa', 'Nicola', 'Pompadour', 'Samba'
...
Thick-skinned potatoes
Potatoes with thick skins are much more resistant.
They are ideal for long-term storage as well as in preparations requiring long cooking.
This is the case for:
'Désirée', 'Vitelotte', 'Bintje', 'Roseval', 'Bleue d'Artois', 'Kennebec'
...
Growing a Variety of Potatoes for Flavor
Is taste, nothing but taste, a priority for you?
We have classified some common varieties of potatoes according to their taste interest:
'
Ratte
': Distinctive hazelnut flavor, popular for gourmet recipes.
'
Vitelotte
': Unique taste and vibrant color for visually appealing dishes.
'
Roseval
': Red skin and yellow flesh, soft and slightly sweet, perfect for cooking in the oven.
'
Désirée
': Pale yellow flesh, red skin, rich flavor that lends itself well to gratins and purees.
'
Charlotte
': Subtle taste, excellent in salad or porridge.
'
Bintje
': Versatile for fries, purees and even soups.
'
Yukon Gold
': Buttery yellow flesh, ideal for creamy mash or roast potatoes.
'
Nicola
': Mild taste, very popular in gourmet salads.
'
Agata
': Very versatile, suitable for many cooking methods.
'
Monalisa
': Good cooking resistance, slightly sweet flavor, very versatile.
'
Amandine
': Fine flesh, ideal for steaming or in salads.
'
Chérie
': Firm and tasty flesh, well suited to stir-fries and roasts.
Also read Planting potatoes: how to proceed?
Choosing your potatoes by considering the cultivation period
The duration of potato cultivation is an essential aspect to consider when planning the vegetable garden, predicting the harvest, consumption and conservation.
Indeed, not all varieties of potatoes stay underground for this long.
Early, semi-early or late potatoes: find out about the growing time of different potato varieties.
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Early potato varieties
They have a cultivation period of between 70 and 90 days after planting.
They are ideal for obtaining new potatoes at the start of the season and renewing the vegetable garden afterwards.
We find
'Belle de Fontenay', 'Sirtema', 'Chérie', 'Annabelle', 'Ratte', 'Ostara', 'Swift'
…
Semi-early varieties
They are harvested between 90 and 110 days.
This is the case of
'Charlotte', 'Chérie', 'Pompadour', 'Amandine', 'Charlotte', 'Nicola', 'Roseval', 'Monalisa'
...
Late potatoes
They require a longer cultivation period, generally
between 120 and 150 days
.
They are perfect for long-lasting storage.
We can include
'Bintje', 'Désirée', 'Vitelotte', 'Bleue d'Auvergne', 'Corne de Gatte', 'Rouge des Flandres', 'Agata', 'Yukon Gold'
…
Prioritize yield with the right potato varieties
When growing potatoes, some gardeners will be concerned about
maximize their harvest and
preserve potatoes while others will rather look for specific characteristics.
The varieties do not all offer the same yield, so it is an essential element of choice!
Potato varieties with
good yields:
'Adriana', 'Bintje', 'Blanche', 'Bleu d'Artois', 'Charlotte', 'Désirée', 'Élodie', 'Mona Lisa', 'Nicola', 'Roseval', 'Agata', 'Rouge des Flandres', 'Yokon Gold'
... ;
Medium yielding
potato varieties :
'Amandine', 'Apollo', 'Bernadette', 'Chérie', 'Juliette', 'Pompadour', 'Annabelle'...
;
Low-yielding
potato varieties
are
:
'Belle de Fontenay', 'Galante', 'Corne de gatte', 'Vitelotte', 'Ratte', 'Bleu d'Auvergne',
etc.
Choosing disease-resistant potato varieties
If you don't want to spend your time
fight against diseases in the vegetable garden and in particular the terrible mildew, we suggest that you pay attention to the varieties you plant.
The most disease resistant
varieties
are:
'Agata', 'Charlotte', 'Belle de Fontenay', 'Victoria', 'Sarpo Mira', 'Charlotte', 'Désirée, 'Chérie, 'Monalisa' and 'Annabelle'
.
On the other hand, although they are interesting in terms of taste, these varieties of potatoes
turn out to be more fragile:
'Bintje', 'Ratte', 'Amandine', 'Nicola', 'Vitelotte', 'Roseval', ' Maris Piper', 'Pompadour'
.
For greater simplicity, opt for disease-resistant potato varieties.
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Our top 6 potato varieties all criteria combined
Considering all the criteria we have just listed, we have tried to extract
the best potato varieties
for a gardener looking for a balance between culinary characteristics and ease of cultivation.
'Charlotte'
, the winner: this firm-fleshed variety is very appreciated for its taste and its versatility in cooking.
The Charlotte potato has a thin skin, good disease resistance and an intermediate cultivation time for good yield and excellent conservation.
'Désirée':
with its red skin and yellow flesh, it offers good resistance to scab and viruses.
This variety is appreciated for its taste and texture allowing a wide range of uses.
It also has a good yield and keeps well.
'Agata':
versatile variety with good cooking performance and a mild taste. It matures early and has good resistance to disease.
It is a good choice for those looking for fast and reliable performance.
'
Belle de Fontenay':
it is a traditional French variety with firm flesh, known for its delicate taste.
It has good disease resistance, early cultivation life and good storage.
'Sarpo Mira'
: although less known in France, this variety is exceptional in terms of resistance to downy mildew.
It offers excellent yield and good preservation, although its taste is less fine than other varieties.
'Ratte':
the ratte potato is a traditional variety which enjoys an excellent taste reputation.
It is relatively disease resistant and stores well, but it does not produce as high a yield as other varieties.
It is ideal for the gardener who favors quality and taste over quantity.