Pembrokeshire Early Potatoes awarded PGI status in 2013. Now you might think Potatoes are the same the world over but you’d be wrong. They’ve been growing Pembrokshire Early potatoes in the red sandstone soil since the mid 1700’s. The local farmers have the growing down to fine art but without the mild weather of the area they would just be called Pembrokeshire potatoes.
The fields are ploughed in February and left to weather which helps to break down the soil. Stones are deliberately left in the soil as they hold heat and help the soil to reach the 10 degrees needed for planting.
The growing process starts over the Autumn/Winter with the seed potato being boxed to produce shoots ready for spring planting once the frosts have ended. As the name suggests the first crop is harvested early, mid to late May if the condtions have been kind and can go on into July. They even grow them in glass houses which produces an even earlier crop.
The first batch are hand lifted as they’re too delicate to be harvested by machine. It’s back breaking work (I know because I worked on the Jersey harvest when I was 18) but worth it for that taste. The early potatoes are so fragile the soil is left on to protect them. The result is a small, very white potato with a very distinctive, nutty taste and smell.
Simply steam or boil, dob on a knob of butter maybe a sprinkling of parsley or mint and scoff, delicious. There are more recipes below.
You can find them here
You can stay here on the farm and have them fresh out of the ground, nothing better.
Lots of compliance info and technical stuff here.
more here and some recipes.