• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Mad about Macarons
  • Recipes
  • French Food Guides
    • All Guides
    • Market Guide (fruit & veg)
    • Best Paris Tea Rooms
    • Food Travel From Paris
    • Paris Pâtisseries & More
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • French Food Guides
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home • Blog Posts • French Food Guides • Market Produce • Vegetables

    Potatoes (Pommes de Terre)

    Published: Sep 9, 2021 · Modified: Apr 19, 2023 by Jill Colonna

    What kind of potatoes are best for cooking in France, a familiar French expression using potato, what's the healthiest potato, and all about them in cooking.

    French Charlotte potatoes

    Potato Season

    For new potatoes (pomme de terre primeur/nouvelle): Spring; Summer (May-August);
    Generally for all other potatoes, available all year round.

    Random French Potato Facts

    • Originated in America but came to France in 1785, thanks to Antoine Parmentier who introduced them to King Louis XVI at Versailles. He has them planted in 1786 first in les Sablons (Neuilly) then in Grenelle, the current Champ de Mars at the Eiffel Tower;
    • Hachis Parmentier is the name given to the French classic equivalent of cottage pie;
    • According to the French Ministry of Agriculture, France is the 3rd biggest producer of potatoes in Europe and 10th biggest in the world;
    • Which is correct? Potatos or potatoes? It's Potatoes.
    • Potatoes are always cooked. Most of France's crops are transformed into potato chips (UK: crisps), frites (French fries, UK: chips), dried purée flakes, and potato starch for thickening soups, sauces & patisserie. It's even in these Scottish macaroon bar snowballs!;
    • Most popular varieties in France are: la Charlotte, Ratte, l'Amandine, Belle de Fontenay, Monalisa, Roseval, Annabelle, Franceline and Vitelotte (purple);
    • For top quality potatoes, look for the Label Rouge, certifying good quality: you'll find them with Pompadour, Belle de Fontenay, Manon, Merville (Bintje);
    • Are potatoes gluten free? Yes. Just be careful how you cook them. If you add wheat grains in their preparation, this will change them but potatoes cooked in their natural state without any wheat or grains will keep them gluten-free;
    • What is the healthiest potato? New potatoes (pomme de terre primeur) from the Île de Noirmoutier are reputed for their sweetness and contain double amounts of Vitamin C as regular potatoes.
      About 25 producers from the 'island' harvest potatoes from mid-April after only 90 days following plantation (compared to 120 for other varieties) and sold within 72 hours.
    • What is bad for potatoes? Storage! Store potatoes in a cool, dry and dark place, never in the fridge. According to a BBC report, avoid storing near onions or in metal containers, as this will discolour them, turning them green.

    Fun French Expression Using Potatoes

    "J'ai une de ces patates" or "j'ai la patate"
    is a familiar expression meaning I'm full of energy, full of beans (literally translated, I've one of these potatoes or I've a potato).

    What French Potatoes are Best for Cooking?

    Best Potatoes for stews and gratins?

    • Firm potatoes such as Charlotte (THE multi-purpose potato), Ratte, l'Amandine, Belle de Fontenay, Monalisa, Roseval (red potatoes), Annabelle, Franceline are all good for gratins, stews (daubes, ragoûts) and also in salads.
      The equivalent all-rounder potato like Charlotte is Yellow or Yukon Gold;

    Best for soups, purées, French fries/frites, baked potatoes and patties?

    • Floury, high starch potatoes such as the popular French Bintje - produced in the north of France since 1935 is the most floury potato and ideal for purées, blending in soups, and in patties such as these fishcakes;
    • Other floury potatoes: Manon, l'Artemis, Marabel in France - otherwise Russet, Desiree, King Edward, Maris Piper, Estima.

    How Best to Cook New Potatoes

    • New Potatoes (pommes de terre primeur), such as those from l'Île de Ré and Noirmoutier, are best cooked as soon as possible after buying them - cleaned, with their thin skins left on;
    • Depending on their size, cook for about 20 minutes in just a little water with the lid on and, as soon as cooked through, toss in a large knob of butter, salt, pepper and fresh parsley.

    More Blog Posts

    • Jill Colonna and Carol Gillott, home chef and artist both in Paris
      Sweet Paris Paintings on the Map
    • cafe with red tables and chairs outside with view on eiffel tower
      Best Bakeries Rue Saint-Dominique (Near the Eiffel Tower)
    • chocolate chicks in a Paris window
      French Easter Chocolate in Paris (Traditional Shapes Explained)
    • 4 tarts in a pastry box
      Pâtisseries for Diabetics in Paris
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email
    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill

    Primary Sidebar

    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl
    BIENVENUE!

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill
    cherry clafoutis baked in dish topped with toasted almonds on rustic wooden table

    SEASONAL

    Summer Recipes

    It’s already summer in Jill’s French kitchen – get her collection of free recipes to celebrate sunny France and the season's pickings.

    Summer recipes

    Popular French Dishes

    • glass dish of chocolate mousse with cherries
      Dark Chocolate Mousse (Mousse au Chocolat)
      Cook Time30 Minutes
    • asparagus spears like sun rays on a tart
      Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart
      Cook Time40 Minutes
    • tray holding slices of toasted French toast or Pain Perdu in a boulangerie in France in front of baguettes
      Best French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu)
      Cook Time20 Minutes
    • slices of toasted bread with cheese, nuts, lettuce and bacon
      Warm Goat Cheese Salad (salade de chèvre chaud)
      Cook Time35 Minutes
    bowl of dark cherries with peonies and a chocolate macaron

    SPOTLIGHT

    Cherries

    It's cherry season in France and we're going mad about everything cherries at the market! Get the lowdown on this popular fruit with our favourite cherry recipes, all with reduced sugar.

    Cherry Recipes

    Recent recipes

    • layers of lasagna with cheese, spinach, tomato and mint
      Corsican Cheese Lasagna (Cannelloni au Brocciu)
    • ice cream scoop of pink sorbet in a tub
      Rhubarb Sorbet (Sorbet à la rhubarbe)
    • rhubarb cake with almonds
      Rhubarb Cake (Gâteau à la rhubarbe)
    • 3 bowls of pea soup with fresh peas and pods
      French Pea Soup (Potage Saint-Germain)
    pink cover of patisserie recipe book Teatime in Paris by Jill Colonna

    EASY FRENCH PASTRY RECIPES

    Teatime in Paris

    Easy French pastry recipes including macarons. Each step-by-step recipe also visits many famous Parisian bakeries highlighting their specialities.
    A must for all budding bakers and Paris-loving Francophiles.

    Get the book
    pink macaron cookie with ruffled feet

    LOCAL GUIDES

    Best Macarons in Paris

    Want to taste the best Parisian macarons but going mad which ones to choose?
    As a local for 30 years with 2 macaron recipe books, I’ve tasted a LOT to help you out!

    Top 20 Macarons
    blue recipe book cover for Mad About Macarons

    BESTSELLER

    Mad About Macarons

    Scared to make the first move to make macarons? Jill shares all the tips and step-by-step instructions in her bestselling recipe book.
    It has inspired many now-professional macaron bakers since 2010!

    Get the book
    Paris map Mad About Macarons

    BIENVENUE

    Newsletter From Paris

    Stay connected with the free monthly newsletter from France.
    With seasonal recipes, tips and more spilling the tea from Paris.

    Sign Me Up

    Footer

    Jill Colonna logo Mad About Macarons
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Twitter
    • Recipes
    • About
    • French Food Guides
    • FAQ
    Contact
    Newsletter

    Copyright © 2010-2023 Jill Colonna

    Terms and privacy