Brexit Could Change the Taste of Irish Chips
Potatoes are a staple food for the Irish, but many of their spuds come from Britain — and that supply chain is about to be cut by Brexit. The Irish Department of Agriculture warns that all British potatoes, including seed plants, will be banned from import once the transition arrangements end on January 1.
Even in the event of a trade deal, the department has told growers, processors and distributors that the flow of British potatoes to Ireland will stop January 1 and not be restored for months, because Britain’s application to export potatoes “must go through the EU law-making process.”
Fast food chains are scrambling to find alternative sources for the 80,000 tons of British-made chips normally consumed in Ireland annually. Only about 10,000 tons of chip-grade potatoes are grown within Ireland.
“We’re looking to get as much homegrown stuff as we can but that might not be ready in time. We might have to go with smaller portions,” said Derek Duggan, manager of one of Ireland’s biggest and oldest fish-and-chip chains, Leo Burdocks, founded in 1913, as quoted by RTE.ie.
Most Irish-grown potato varieties are good for baking and mashing, but are too high in sugar content to deep-fry well. Such chips can turn out as stiff as cardboard because they don’t absorb oil effectively. High sugar content also can mean the chips turn dark in hue, not the desired golden brown. Duggan said Irish-supplied potatoes used to make chips would taste differently and “won’t be as crisp, sadly. We might have to alter the salt and vinegar and what we do with the sauces.”
Potato producers along England’s east coast grow chip-friendly varieties such as Maris Piper, but Ireland’s own potato crop is heavily dependent on imported seed potatoes from Britain. Scotland supplies around three-fifths of Irish needs.
Thomas McKeown, chairman of the Irish Farmers Association’s Potato Committee, which represents 600 commercial farms, said Brexit might force Ireland to start producing more of its own spuds again.
“People are amazed when they hear we import so many potatoes from abroad,” McKeown said. “Farmers are very good at doom and gloom, but there are opportunities here. It might help restart the seed industry here and make the public more aware of where their seeds and potatoes come from.”
