In the 1950s and 60s potatoes were grown on nearly every Finnish farm to feed the family and extended family. However, in recent decades, modern potato production has become a more specialised business, with the heartland of potatoes existing along the west coast of Finland.
The main centre of production for Finnish potatoes is in Ostrabothnia, where the soil and climate favour cultivation of this culinary classic. There, potatoes can grown well into the autumn.
Antti Lavonen of the Finnish Potato Association, an organisation of farmers and traders seeking to promote the humble root vegetable, says the potato has good prospects.
Versatile veg
Finns use around 60kg of potatoes per person, per year. However, Lavonen notes that there is a trend towards replacing jacket potatoes with pre-prepared and processed potato-based products. Hobbies and other activities can eat into the time that parents have to prepare family meals and sometimes peeling and cooking the vegetable can be seen as too time consuming. On weekends or when there is more time families can still revert to the old fashioned option.
Either way, the potato remains a popular choice and a healthy staple.
In line with the old adage "cheap as chips", the success of the potato is also attributable to its affordability. Lavonen expects potato consumption to stay at current levels but despite this, the potato crop in Finland is decreasing.
The fact that potato products require more potatoes per kilogramme, means that the consumption of the potato as a raw material increases, explains Lavonen. It follows that the popularity of ready meals need not entail that this root vegetable have a wary eye to its future.
On the contrary, Lavonen claims, the potato has good prospects.
Coloured bags a useful guideline
Unlike in the stores of many other nations, Finland’s veneration for the potato has led to there being well over 60 varieties to choose from. Bags are colour coded to assist the shopper in knowing which is the right type for soup, mash, boiling or baking.
However, for those less accustomed to Finnish potato connoisseurship, the baffling array of bag colours and varieties might just be enough to leave them reaching for the ready meals.
