Disappointed with Jersey Royal potatoes.

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Happens to me every spring, what am I doing wrong? Why do mine pretty much always end up bitter tasting? I even peeled the little buggers today. Boiled in salt water, was going to make a lovely french potato salad.
Bitter.
Chucked four little bags. After I peeled & boiled them. I'm normally a great decent potato cook dammit!

I got some smashers from lidl, so nice the next day I made a point of buying more.
You are peeling them with a blunt knife? I know it's the rule but you could have ended up using a peeler by accident

Sometimes they do taste bitter. Perhaps they are not as fresh as they could be. You're right though - it's very disappointing.

Could it be the bloody saucepan? It's aluminium. Only ever happens with Jersey Royals though

Used a peeler, why?! What have I missed?

I don't peel Jersey Royals. Just wash them clean, and boil.

My mum always said you should be able to run the skins off jersey royals. If you are using a peeler you must have nothing left? I just wash them & cook them as they are. Yummy.

I don't know the actual reason but you only use a blunt knife to scrape them so the underskin is left on.
Peeler takes off too much (or the sharp knife, we only ever had the one) and they go soggy.
Scrape the wee buggers next time, big knob of salted butter in the pan, spuds in and just cover with water. Add more butter if you like it, lid on and 10 mins bubbling to start.

Scrub them with a brush and steam them rather than boiling them. Helps to retain the flavour. Salt on only after they have cooked.
Tbh I don’t think they
are as good as they used to be, since they became popular IYSWIM

When I was six I used the sharp knife to speed it up and RUINED the potatoes so a hard lesson learned here

Boil them with a large sprig of fresh mint in the water OP

Have scraped in the past. Have simply washed in the past. Bitter pretty much as a rule.
That's why I peeled today (they were fairly big), thinking the skin was causing the bitterness.
Could be they are coming to the end of season?

Like a PP I don't think Jersey Royals are all that any more. They used to be special and the skin would rub off with your fingers.

Overwashed by the producer and too much plastic packaging is my guess.

I'm scandi and used to a different kind of new potato, like you say Jersey Royals used to be; they skin is like a fine film of soil really and just rubs off. Lovely they are!

at least you can buy them a lot cheaper than people who live in jersey can —not bitter at all—

Food of Gods. Never peeled just washed thoroughly. Boiled gently with fresh mint then drizzled with sea salted butter.

I never boil them. I roast them in the oven in some oil and salt and pepper. If I'm feeling fancy I'll chuck in some herbs. Delicious.

I hate them. They just taste earthy to me. Local new potatoes are far superior when they come in to season.

Our local greengrocer gets Cornish new potatoes, far superior flavour to Jersey Royals and no bitterness.

Apparently they don't taste the same as they used to because as they have become popular over the years, they don't grown them in seaweed anymore which is what gave them the flavour.

Whether that's true I have no idea but I have heard it more than once.

And yes @girlywhirly Cornish are really quite nice!

dont grow* them

Could be they are coming to the end of season?

On the contrary. It's very early for Jersey Royals. Or any new potatoes really. Best harvested from June or even July. Maybe they're the end of last year's which have been in storage?

The first ones I bought this season were absolutely delicious, and I could have eaten them by themselves. Bought them again and they were utterly bland. Never noticed them being bitter before, though.

Grow your own...nothing nicer...we’ll they will be in about a month.

They must be old. Need a lot more salt when you boil them too to take the bitter edge off.