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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Jersey Royal new potatoes

54 replies

Iamnotminterested · 02/07/2021 15:42

Is anyone else nostalgic for the taste of these from their youth?

If we had 'salad' it always came with a bowl of these lovelies, carefully prepped to just scrape away the loosest papery skin, boiled and smothered in butter 😍

I bought some earlier, the most expensive in the shop and I'm a bit sad at how meh they tasted - ok, but nothing like the ones I used to eat as a child.

Does anyone know where to buy good ones, or am I just reminiscing with rose-tinted glasses on?

OP posts:
Knittedfairies · 02/07/2021 15:45

I know just what you mean - my dad grew them on his allotment and we always had them within an hour of him digging them up.

Summersun2020 · 02/07/2021 15:54

I agree op! So so delicious..:they just don’t taste the same anymore.

BrownEyedGirl80 · 02/07/2021 15:59

The sainsburys ones in the dark blue/purple bag are delicious

TheQueef · 02/07/2021 16:04

YA Absolutely NBU
We lament the new tatties of yore, every single year since 2000 Grin
They don't taste of owt now.

longtompot · 02/07/2021 16:11

They seem to be much softer. I remember they were very firm potatoes. So delicious cooked in salted water with a sprig or two of fresh mint, and a good dollop of butter afterwards. Mmmmm!

3JsMa · 02/07/2021 16:14

YES!
Always reminds me of late spring .
My great grandma used to make them with melted butter and dill with a glass of kefir.Fried pieces of pork belly for more hungry types.Yummy on a hot days when you have no idea what you fancy for a dinner.
I agree they do not taste like they used to,they were more fluffy and buttery in taste.

ilovebagpuss · 02/07/2021 16:15

Absolutely not BU. My DF has grown some early crop new potatoes this year and they are delicious but even the Jersey Royal Co ones although ok don’t taste like I remember.
Apparently a lot of potatoes were kept in cold storage from last year I’ve had trouble finding any nice ones those last few months.

ScouseQueen · 02/07/2021 16:17

Oh I loved these with butter. Here for any recommendations.

Glitterblue · 02/07/2021 16:19

YANBU. My grandmother used to give us them with ham, bought from the butcher, so thickly sliced proper ham, not the thin, wet stuff you get in the supermarket, and peas from the garden. Lots of butter on the potatoes.

Classica · 02/07/2021 16:20

If you find baby new potatoes disappointing try turning them into Nigella's salt & vinegar potatoes. So bloody delicious.

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 02/07/2021 16:20

Yanbu. They used to be better. And you could only buy them for about one week in the year!

Samcro · 02/07/2021 16:22

so glad its not just me who is disappointed by the taste.
they used to have a lovely flavour. now just taste of ordinary spud.

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 02/07/2021 16:22

Definitely miss ham on the bone from my childhood. Butter was better too. Nothing really tastes of anything anymore

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 02/07/2021 16:25

We had some off our local market the other day that were lovely. But in general I don't think potatoes taste like they used to. Years ago DH and I visited a Croatian farm and they served us chicken and potatoes for lunch. Simple food, simply cooked - but omg, it was delicious, and yes, the potatoes tasted like the ones I remember from my childhood. I still dream about that meal sometimes...

BlueFishSwims · 02/07/2021 16:28

A couple of years ago a colleague of my DH who lives on Jersey gave us a small bag from his neighbours farm. Picked that morning. Those were delicious, sublime, everything I remembered, we had them just with salted butter. So maybe it’s a freshness thing.

So far this year the supermarket ones have been a bit watery, no real flavour.

Cakey46 · 02/07/2021 16:29

In the old days Jersey Royals came with mud on them imho that's why they don't taste as good as they used to, because they get washed to within an inch of their lives before they hit the supermarket or distribution network

pigsDOfly · 02/07/2021 16:34

It's not just potatoes that have changed.

Apples, strawberries, plums and cherries are all tasteless now compared to years ago - I'm in my early 70s so probably go back further than most on here.

And the price of cherries! During the season my DM used to buy them all the time and we weren't well off.

I don't even bother buying them now because, not only are they expensive, more often than not, they're tasteless and I end up not eating them.

ButForTheGrace · 02/07/2021 16:41

The only one that have come close are the ones from my greengrocers - he gets them in big paper sacks, still dirty. You can see from the dates on the sack that they are recently dug. The ones in the supermarket have been washed within an inch of their life and package in plastic (who knows when).

Jerseys are like fresh corn on the cob - need to get it on the plate as soon as possible.

If you want to grow them at home, the variety to look for is International Kidney

dottiedodah · 02/07/2021 16:48

PigsDofly I remember my Nan buying "Naps"neapolitan cherries I think . I am in my 50s .Remember they were expensive back then .Had a feeling they were English ,not sure .Do you remember them? Asked so many people and no one does!

Anon992 · 02/07/2021 16:52

Jersey royals used to be grown under a seaweed mulch that gave them lots of their distinctive flavour. Now, for economical reasons, most are grown with other fertilisers and under plastic covers instead. So, cheaper but less tasty Sad

happysunr1se · 02/07/2021 17:03

I've noticed the same about a lot fruit.
Apricots no longer have that distinctive floral flavour, nectarines/ peaches longer twist off from the stone. Most plums are bland or worse - wooly mouthfeel.

Could it be that the growers are picking varieties with good looks, high yields or better pest resistance, but with less flavour?

NursePye · 02/07/2021 17:04

DH and I went to Jersey about 20 years ago and treated ourselves to a v upmarket restaurant. We ordered Lobster and DH wanted chips with it (because he's classy like that Smile ). The waiter said it came with Jersey Royals and DH was disappointed ... until he ate them. OMG they were the food of the Gods - we actually said that we wished we hadn't ordered the lobster, but had just ordered bowls and bowls of the potatoes.

Never have we ever eaten a potato that came close to those ... Sigh.. even growing our own etc. Those glorious potatoes are one of most celebrated memories Grin ... We reminisce about them often ...

Wonder if we went back to Jersey we would find some just as nice?

pigsDOfly · 02/07/2021 17:07

dottiedodah Sorry, but it was so long ago I wouldn't have a clue what type the cherries were but they were definitely English cherries.

Can't imagine they were that expensive though as my DM wouldn't have bought them.

We only ate things in season no strawberries in winter, which I imagine meant shorter storage and therefore tastier produce.

I do remember my mother complaining about how much more expensive English tomatoes were compared to imported ones (can't remember were they came from) as she felt the imported ones didn't taste as good.

MrsFin · 02/07/2021 17:10

@ilovebagpuss

Absolutely not BU. My DF has grown some early crop new potatoes this year and they are delicious but even the Jersey Royal Co ones although ok don’t taste like I remember. Apparently a lot of potatoes were kept in cold storage from last year I’ve had trouble finding any nice ones those last few months.
Don't they have to be grown in Jersey though? I thought it was the particular soil there that gives them a distinctive taste
Halsall · 02/07/2021 17:12

@dottiedodah

PigsDofly I remember my Nan buying "Naps"neapolitan cherries I think . I am in my 50s .Remember they were expensive back then .Had a feeling they were English ,not sure .Do you remember them? Asked so many people and no one does!
I suspect 'Naps' would be Napoleon cherries. You can still buy the trees to grow and possibly find the fruit if you search in the shops, but they might be a bit elusive.
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