Across the world there are about five-thousand native potato varieties but in Australia many consumers can't tell a kipfler from a Kind Edward. Limited availability of different varieties at supermarkets and a focus on appearance are part of the problem some pioneering spud farmers are aiming to shift.
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00:00Potatoes are big business in Australia, worth about $1.1 billion a year, but consumer choice
00:11is limited.
00:12At a supermarket they'll only be offered a washed potato or an unwashed potato or a red
00:17potato and a white potato and then quite often you'll see a lot of misinformation.
00:23The Spud sisters have been in business for 35 years.
00:26They say most consumers are missing out on the best.
00:29We will have from the waxiest potato to the starchiest potato.
00:33They've all got their own texture and once people buy the right potato for the dish that
00:39they're cooking, they've all got beautiful flavour, then it makes the dish sing.
00:44King Edward, Midnight Pearl and Fontaine, just some of the lesser known varieties.
00:49The kookier the potato the better for us, but we're all about championing what doesn't
00:56necessarily look nice, but tastes nice.
01:00Australians consume about 17 kilograms of potatoes per capita a year, but farmers say
01:05the high aesthetic standards demanded by supermarkets are a challenge.
01:10To achieve that amazing white or red, whichever they're doing, yeah, wastage is very high.
01:15It's costing consumers at the checkout and forcing farmers to dump edible produce.
01:20It can kind of double their shelf life if you haven't washed them and you keep them
01:24in the dark and you package them well.
01:26On this table are just 14 of the potato varieties grown in this country.
01:33They have a vast range in shape, size, taste and texture and that makes them very attractive
01:40for chefs.
01:41This chef found the best way to access his favourite varieties was to go directly to
01:46the farmer.
01:47Our main focus is the taste and the freshness of our ingredients, not how they look.
01:53A world of culinary joy on offer to everyone who can get their hands on these tasty spots.