King Edward is a

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

grown in the UK since 1902, making it one of the oldest cultivars still grown commercially.

Appearance

The King Edward potato is predominantly white-skinned with pink colouration. It is mostly oval in shape, with a floury texture and shallow eyes. The plant is upright and tall with numerous stems and small green leaves. Its flowers are purple with white-tipped petals.

History

In Redcliffe Salaman's book ''The History and Social Influence of the Potato'' first published in 1949, it was noted that parentage of King Edward was unknown. It was bred by a gardener in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

who called it 'Fellside Hero' and passed into the hands of a grower in Yorkshire and in turn a potato merchant in Manchester who having no use for it passed it onto John Butler of

Scotter __NOTOC__ Scotter is a large village and civil parish in West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England, situated between Scunthorpe and Gainsborough.OS Explorer Map 280: Isle of Axholme, Scunthorpe and Gainsborough: (1:25 000) : The population of ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. He in turn purchased all the seed stocks available and multiplied the variety on 50 acres of land before renaming the variety King Edward on the advice of a potato merchant. The Coronation of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

in 1902 coincided with the introduction of this cultivar of potato and its name is believed to originate as a 'commemoration' of this occasion. It is claimed that the grower wrote to

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

seeking permission to name his potato after the monarch and that a reply was received granting royal assent. It is one of the oldest surviving cultivars in Europe.

Cultivating

The King Edward potato is a main crop; in the UK it is traditionally planted in April for harvest in September. It is suitable to be grown both commercially and in

allotment Allotment may refer to: * Allotment (Dawes Act), an area of land held by the US Government for the benefit of an individual Native American, under the Dawes Act of 1887 * Allotment (finance), a method by which a company allocates over-subscribed ...

s. It is very resistant to

common scab Common scab is a plant disease of root and tuber crops caused by a small number of ''Streptomyces'' species, specifically '' S. scabies'', '' S. acidiscabies'', '' S. turgidiscabies'' and others. Common scab mainly affects potato ...

and offers some resistance to

potato blight ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called "po ...

but is susceptible to

potato cyst nematode Potato root nematodes or potato cyst nematodes (PCN) are 1-mm long roundworms belonging to the genus ''Globodera'', which comprises around 12 species. They live on the roots of plants of the family Solanaceae, such as potatoes and tomatoes. PCN c ...

Culinary

The King Edward has a variety of culinary uses and is renowned for its light fluffy texture; for this reason it is particularly suitable for

roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

mashed potato Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

, although it is also suitable for chipping,

sautéing Sautéing or sauteing (, ; in reference to tossing while cooking) is a method of cooking that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Various sauté methods exist. Description Ingredients for ...

and

steaming Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking ha ...

. It has been described by

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers t ...

as being the best potato with which to make

gnocchi Gnocchi ( , , ; singular ''gnocco'') are a varied family of dumpling in Italian cuisine. They are made of small lumps of dough most traditionally composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, egg, salt, and potato. Variations of the dish sup ...

Appearance

History

Cultivating

Culinary

References

Further reading