The first Cornish Early new potatoes have been dug to launch the 2005 new season and will be hitting the shops in the next few days.
Producers are already reporting high demand with orders flooding in.
The potato is the very first on UK shores to be harvested and is grown in the far South West Penwith district of Cornwall.
A new campaign has been launched in 2005 to explain why Cornish Early new potatoes are sold deliberately ‘dirty’ to maintain quality, taste and freshness and protect their delicate nature.
The potatoes will be identified by a logo which will be used at the point of sale in supermarkets, independent retailers, greengrocers, wholesalers, farm shops and even on menus.
Angie Coombs from Cornwall Taste of the West said: “The aim is to create an awareness of the difference between the very first new potatoes grown in the UK which have all the characteristics of new potatoes as people remember them and imports that have probably been in cold-storage and travelled thousands of miles.
“Increasingly consumers are becoming more conscious of seasonality and the benefits of eating truly fresh produce at its peak and in the correct season.
“We want people to ask for Cornish Earlies by name in the same way that they anticipate the arrival of the first English asparagus or strawberries.”
