Mmmmm Cyprus potatoes...

My local green grocer stocks them but not all year round. You can't usually get them in the big supermarkets (well I've not seen them anyway).

I don't know the season though maybe ask at a grocers and they will know.

That was what I was wondering , more or less...

Is it that they just aren't stocking them or is it because they are only shipped over on very few occasions...

So if your local is stocking them a lot more than others that would suggest it could be the same for others.. Thanks.

Maincrop Cyprus potatoes are only picked for 40-50 days a year as a rule and I think this may well dictate the short amount of time you can readily get them in the UK, Cypriot farmers have tried an alternative later crop hybrid potato but drought must be a major factor I should imagine.

Really ?.. but they must have them all year around one way or another in Cyprus..

Think it is just the maincrop AskCy....apparantly 90% of the maincrop is exported, mainly to other european countries with Holland, France and Britain being the main customers. There are earlier 'forced' crops and also later hybrids, I should imagine a lot of these are stored to extend the home market in Cyprus.

Incidentally this is quite interesting, most of the seed potatoes used on Cypriot commercial farms do in fact come over from Holland just before christmas, they are then planted mainly in January and the main harvest period is May and June....the majority of the potato crop is then exported to.....Holland!, talk about sending coals to newcastle.

Cyprus exports around $US 160million of Cyprus potatoes every summer.

Info is courtesy of brother in law who is a major Devon wholesaler

This year has not been good, a lack of rain has meant a huge loss in exported potatoes from Cyprus, mainly sold this year on the home market, you also may have noticed a lack of the best spuds in the world in your local UK supermarkets this season.
Desperately need rain here, another dry winter will be a disaster for farmers ..I would imagine, everywhere is dry and dusty, a good month of rain will help, but absolutely no sign of this at the moment.

Most of the spuds are grown on the east side where the copper rich red soil is... but I noticed as we travelled west that some of the chalky white soil was being overlayed with the red.. seems they must be trying to get more crops down .. ?

Soil is very red here Steve, but Pafos is really known for it's bananas and spuds, small bananas but very nice..EU won't have them, there loss.

I thought the West side of the Island was more chalky?.. once you go through that tunnel its all white (not Mr Barrymore)...

Yes we have chalky soil in the hills and down to the plains Steve, but on the plains area down to the coast the soil is as red as China!! spuds galore normally, but no so much this year.

don't know about your cups and saucers but our china is white... LOL (sorry couldn't resist)...

I cannot speak of where Cyprus exports its potatoes.

We used to import into UK lots of early potatoes from Cyprus.

We then used to import from Egypt.

What now appears to be happening is from Channel Islands pototoes which appear ealier and earlier at reasonable price.

It's called globalisation!

http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/

were trying to remember where weve seen cyprus spuds in england...think it was either m&s or asda...if you see any let us know where....lamb kleftico isnt the same without cyprus spuds..
sorry we didnt get to chat to you ask cy...we were at the mini-meet...

They normally are sold in most outlets, it is just a shortage this year and mostly (not all) they have been sold here on the island to locals, hopefully this winter will give some rain, we had a very dry winter this year, and I have been told this caused the lack of CY spuds for export.

We have cypriot potatoes for sale in our local Turkish shop, they seem to be very large though!

I've found "Cypus Potatoes" on sale in two local green grocers (one being a Turkish one) but neither of them had red/orange soil on, I'm wondering if they are actually grown in this country from Cyprus stock ???....

Kwik Save used to do Cyprus spuds but now ours have been taken over by Sommerfields and theres none in (unless thats just down to the shortage)

The waxiness of the Cyprus Potato which makes it unique is a result of the red soil and the intense heat, this makes the starch convert into a unique texture that has been impossible to replicate in other countries.
The Dutch have tried to do this for years, but to no avail.

Potatoes were the mainstay of European diet from 1500 following their introduction to Europe by the Spanish.

There is a wide variety of potatoes, unfortunately we do not see them on sale in the UK.

Go to a market in Latin America and you will see a huge variety of potatoes on sale. In Tenerife, they have a small, round, dark-wrinkled skin potato, probably more closely related to the first potatoes brought back by the Spanish than anything we see in England. In Slovenia they celebrate the potato with a huge potato fair.

http://www.heureka.clara.net/tenerife/eating-out-in-puerto.htm

The only way to get real choice in England is to go to an event like Seedy Sunday Brighton, an annual event held in Brighton, where you will find a big choice of seed potatoes and grow your own.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/02/304994.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/02/333573.html

The Food Programme, BBC Radio Four, broadcast Sunday 15 October 2006 (repeated Monday 16 October 2006) had a special feature on potatoes, though did not mention Cyprus potatoes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme.shtml

One place to sample Cyprus potatoes served as part of traditional Cypriot cuisine is to visit Nicolas Tavern in Protaras.

http://www.heureka.clara.net/cyprus/nicolas-tavern.htm