Dekker: crumbly Eigenheimer potato from Vroomshoop

Who's behind it

Dekker farm is on the Twistveenweg in Vroomshoop, next to Westerhaar in the municipality of Twenterand. It's an arable farm that has been there since 1911. Since 1968 the family has sold directly to customers, starting with the early Parel potato. At the farm there's a shop where, on weekdays and Saturday mornings, they sell what's in the field: potatoes, vegetables and their own processed products. In 2007 they turned part of the old barn into a gallery. Eigenheimer is one of the varieties they keep growing, and it comes to us.

Most fields now grow newer potatoes that grow faster and store longer. Dekker grows Eigenheimer because buyers keep asking for it. That's how you get it fresh and loose.

Why this potato

Breeder Geert Veenhuizen created Eigenheimer in 1893, a cross of Blauwe Reuzen and Fransen. Around 1925, two thirds of Dutch potato growing was his work. Of those varieties, this one remained after the war. Eigenheimer is floury, cooking type C: light yellow flesh, the typical deep blue eyes in the skin, and a structure that breaks down when cooked. So use it for puree and mash.

It arrives unwashed, with the soil still on it; in the catalogue it's listed under dirty potatoes. That way it keeps longer, bruises less easily in the crate and stays free of wet spots from a wash line. You wash it when you need it. Sorting and washing is on your side, and sizes vary, as you'd expect from a field product.

In your kitchen

When you put puree or mash on the menu, you can say what you make it with: an Eigenheimer from a grower in Vroomshoop. A variety with a name and a place behind it.

Use it in dishes where the potato can break down: puree, mash, crushed baked potato, croquette filling.