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Jersey Royal potatoes, lightly boiled, paper-thin skins on, then sautéd in butter. |
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Jersey Royals for sale at the roadside
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Farmer Didier holding the first Jersey Royal potatoes in his hands |
I was invited to find out about the champagne of the potato world, Jersey royals, grown by around 20 farmers on Jersey nowadays, down from several hundred farmers a few years ago.
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Cabbage loaves, a traditional Jersey bread, baked with a cabbage leaf on top and underneath to prevent burning. |
The farmer worries constantly about the weather. Didier even gets up in the night, if there is a chill, to wrap his Jersey Royals in fleece. Christina, despite receiving a tractor for her 25th wedding anniversary as a present, often feels neglected in the marital bed. She didn't want to marry a farmer, but having met Didier on a night out, it was clear he was the one. But her children, she hopes, will do a better paid job, in the 'professions', with shorter hours. Out of the 98,000 population, only half of that is Jersey born and bred. The younger Jersey 'beans' prefer to go to university in the UK, study law and finance amongst other subjects, only returning in their 30s when they decide to have families and settle down. Farming work is done by immigrants. In Jersey they control immigration by granting 'qualifications' giving the right to buy or rent housing, after a certain period of living there. (Hence the nickname 'qualies' for those who possess qualifications to buy a house on the island).
Jersey Royals, in ideal conditions, start at the end of March and last till the end of June. We are now moving from the indoor season to the short outdoor season. It's an important crop for Jersey: fifty percent of Jersey's export market is comprised of the royals. They command a premium price, but the UK is pretty much the only market, although the French market is being worked upon. (I remarked that the skins might be a stumbling block to gaining popularity in France; I once cooked new potatoes, leaving on the skins, for Parisian friends who were horrified by this practice).
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Simply cooked à la vapeur, skins removed this time. |
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I love the retro seaside colours on these Jersey cream fudge boxes. |
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The Jersey pottery makes bowls adorned with their famous spuds. |
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Jersey uses the British pound, and still has pound notes. You can see the French influence in the words 'Une livre' (a pound), however. |
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En route to the Jersey Royal cotils, we saw a dolmen where some shrines had been placed. Jersey has a strong Pagan influence. |
I will be doing a supper club on the 12th of May in which I'll cook Jersey Royals and explore other delicacies of this island; the seafood, the dairy, the black butter with notes of liquorice and apple and other goodies. Book here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/157480
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Clean beaches, white sand. |
Great place (I've been there for holidays); great spuds!
ReplyDeleteWith som any of the Jersay potatoes grown in sites open to the sea spray, perhaps they come up "Ready Salted"? :)
I live and work with Royals and cant wait until we get some. Often cook too many and fry up the remainder the next day!
ReplyDeleteLove the post - I'm a food blogger originally from Jersey. Cabbage loaf doorstop sandwiches are AMAZING - the loaves are baked in traditional brick wood-fired ovens and the cabbage leaves seal in the steam to make a really chewy crust and fairly dense crumb. YUM. (And they don't taste of cabbage at all, I promise).
ReplyDeleteI posted recently about Jersey Black Butter, another local delicacy that tastes far better than it sounds!
http://wp.me/p1vuQA-fJ
Can't make it to your supperclub unfortunately which is a bummer - would have loved to come along!
Such beautiful pictures. I did a story on Jersey Royals a few years ago and couldn't believe how steep those hills are!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful pictures. I did a story on Jersey Royals a few years ago and couldn't believe how steep those hills were.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments everyone.
ReplyDeleteKate: like the sound of cabbage loaf doorstop sandwiches! I may have a go at making my own cabbage loaves for the meal.
Thanks Katy....incredibly steep, like farming on a cliff face!
Wow, fantastic post! The jersey would be my choice during my visit, seems to be best seafood place, I wonder how a variety of food is cooked here by potatoes, my friends have gone many time, this time I am thinking to make a quick trip over there, may be soon, do u have any suggestion for best jersey restaurants.
ReplyDeleteHey! wonderful pictures and amazing Jersey Royal potatoes, i'm a big foodie and I would just love to taste those cabbage loaves. They surely sound delicious....Definitely going to try them this time I visit Jersey.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed your visit to the Grand Jersey and to see Richie, he's still going strong in Tassili, my favourite restaurant! Such a great post highlighting the great produce available on our lovely little island x
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