What do you get when you mix a starchy vegetable and a cartoon fish? The “ultimate roasting spud”, of course.
It may sound like the start of a bad joke, but demand for the hybrid Nemo variety of potato has seen a boost in the amount being planted.
Distinctive for its appearance – reddish-pink skin with yellow patches – the potato was named after the clownfish in Disney Pixar’s Finding Nemo.
But the vegetable has also been praised for cutting cooking times by 25%, which means saving energy in the home without sacrificing on taste, according to Tesco.
The supermarket chain has said the potato proved so popular when they went on sale during a limited trial in stores, that potato supplier Branston has planted enough of the variety to last seven months.
“The Nemo is now well on its way to becoming a modern British classic potato and is already being talked about by those who have tried it as the ultimate roasting spud,” potato buyer for Tesco, Lucy Moss, said.
“The potato is considered a game-changer not only because it can slash cooking time compared with the average roasting spud, but also because of its wonderful creamy taste, rich fluffy texture, crisp outer skin and distinct golden colour.”
Branston said it has plans to further increase availability of Nemo over the next few years, with the hopes it could join the King Edward and Maris Piper as the go-to spuds for roasting.
Mark Willcox, director of agronomy at the supplier, said: “Establishing a new potato takes many years as we need to understand how and where it grows best while testing it in the market.”
He said Nemo potatoes also benefit the environment as they require small amounts of fertiliser, have strong disease resistance and use water efficiently.
“Many of the Nemo fields have benefited local biodiversity through the planting of flower-rich grass field margins,” he said.
Nemo is a phureja hybrid variety. It combines the fast-growing nature of original Peruvian potatoes with the hardiness of modern European varieties from the Solanum tuberosum Solanaceae family.