The Jersey Royal is the marketing name of a type of potato grown in Jersey which has a Protected Designation of Origin. The potatoes are of the variety known as International Kidney and are typically grown as a new potato.[1]
| Potato 'Jersey Royals' | |
|---|---|
 'Jersey Royals', raw | |
| Genus | Solanum |
| Species | Solanum tuberosum |
| Variety | International Kidney |
| Cultivar | 'Jersey Royal' |
| Origin | Jersey |
History
In around 1878 a Jersey farmer, Hugh de la Haye, showed friends a large potato that he had bought. It had 15 'eyes': points from which new plants sprout. They cut this potato into pieces, which they planted in a côtil (a steeply sloping field) above the Bellozanne valley. One plant produced kidney-shaped potatoes, with a paper-thin skin, which they called the Jersey Royal Fluke. This was later shortened to 'Jersey Royal'.[2]
Present day
In modern times, the Jersey Royal is Jersey's biggest crop export, accounting for around 70% of agricultural turnover.[3] Ninety-nine percent of production is exported to the United Kingdom.
In 2012, 28,600 tonnes of the potato, worth £28.6m, were exported from the island. This figure was down from 30,890 tonnes in 2011.[4]
Under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union Jersey Royals are covered by a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).[5][6]