The potato represents Irelands ‘Feel Good Food’ and remains deeply engrained in the Irish psyche, both within Ireland and amongst the Irish diaspora abroad. If a single crop has influenced a nation more in any country throughout the world, it would be hard to find. Irish people are emotionally attached to their potatoes, and are reputed worldwide to ‘know their spuds’. But do they really ?
The potato represents Irelands ‘Feel Good Food’ and remains deeply engrained in the Irish psyche, both within Ireland and amongst the Irish diaspora abroad. If a single crop has influenced a nation more in any country throughout the world, it would be hard to find. Irish people are emotionally attached to their potatoes, and are reputed worldwide to ‘know their spuds’. But do they really ?
Well, now they have no excuse not to, with the launch of a new consumer website called ‘Potato.ie’ by the Irish Potato Federation in association with Bord Bia. Both organisations are deeply committed to increasing Irish consumer awareness and knowledge of the benefits of potato consumption.
Potato.ie primarily seeks to impress upon people the important role potatoes play in the health and nutrition of the Irish Nation, as its favourite source of energy. Liam Glennon President of the Irish Potato Federation stated that “Fresh potatoes are a great natural food product that can provide people, and particularly kids, with the energy and sustenance they need to get them through highly active daily schedules and lifestyles. Potatoes can provide most of the energy, dietary fibre, potassium and Vitamin C, which the body needs for demanding activities such as sports. Furthermore, they contain virtually no fat, and significantly less fat than either pasta or rice”.
As well as nutritional information, Bord Bia have provided a great number of easy-to-prepare convenient recipes, suitable for every occasion and lifestyle. Lorcan Bourke from Bord Bia stated that “reaction from the public at Bloom has been very positive and many people want to be more adventurous in their use of potatoes and the website allows for this. Also the simplicity of the name of the website appeals to all”.
There to help launch Potato.ie was food writer and celebrity TV home cook Donal Skehan, who was of the opinion that; “Potato.ie will be to help consumers fill gaps in their knowledge around potato consumption, in areas such as variety suitability, choices in store and tips on how to cook them when they get home”
Potato.ie seeks to become the ‘one-stop-shop’ website to provide Irish consumers with all aspects of information on potatoes.
OTHER INDUSTRY INFORMATION
Each year in Ireland household spend on potatoes amounts to c.€150m making potatoes by far the most important vegetable sold in retailers – this figure excludes sales made out-of-home through the catering industry, and is testimony that they are a key staple food source of the population [Source: Kantar Worldpanel]
Bord Bia seek to communicate four key messages about potatoes to the public in their fresh produce promotional campaigns (e.g. Best In Season ; www.bestinseason.ie)
- ‘Potatoes are Tasty’ and they should choose potato varieties in season, to really enjoy the finest eating experience.
- ‘Potatoes are Healthy’ – containing virtually no fat and providing a natural source of energy, Vitamin C, potassium and dietary fibre.
- ‘Potatoes are Convenient’ – quick convenient recipes for preparing potatoes are readily available and people should find and use them
- ‘Potatoes are Value for Money’[64% and 75% cheaper on a gramme for gramme basis than pasta and rice respectively – Source: Kantar Worldpanel]
PRODUCTION
Irelands total production area for potatoes in 2010 was over 11,200 hectares.
Rooster and Kerrs Pink account for 57% of the area grown, while other maincrop varieties account as follows; Golden Wonder (6%), Record (7%) and Cultra (2%). The second early variety Queen is the most popular early potato and accounts for 11% of the total production area. The first early varieties of Home Guard and Premier only account for 1% each.
Counties, Meath, Dublin, Louth, Donegal and Cork are the largest potato growing counties while counties of secondary importance include Carlow, Kilkenny, Offaly and Kildare. Early production is focused on Wexford, Cork, Dublin and Louth.
OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE POTATO.IE WEBSITE
Other features of Potato.ie include ‘recipe of the month’, cooking demonstration videos, ‘send in your favourite potato recipes’, competitions, potato education, ‘fun stuff for kids’ and a directory of the members of the Irish Potato Federation. The website also provides useful facts and figures on the contribution of the industry to the Irish economy.
