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Mr Little's Yetholm Gypsy
This is a general purpose early maincrop which was probably bred in the Border village of Yetholm about 100 years ago. (Amazing historic place with long association with Romany people). It was kept going by the Little
family for at least 60 years. Brothers Matthew and William were kind
enough to give me one of the last tiny tubers and I had no difficulty persuading the good
folks who look after the National Collection in Edinburgh to clean it of
virus and place it safely in collection for posterity. It is the
only known variety to show three colours in the skin. The skin is double
- the outer part is a beautiful shade of blue which gives way sometimes
to show the white and carmine red underneath. The flesh is cream
coloured, both the flavour and texture are very good and roasting
quality is exceptional. Recent DNA profiling shows it is very closely
related to King Edward - which was supposed to have been bred in
Northumberland literally a few yards from Yetholm. Interesting! It certainly has all the eating qualities of King Edward along with unique colouration.
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