Ayrshire Earlies: The Potato With a Legal Sell-By Date of 31 July

Ayrshire New Potatoes, sold as Ayrshire Earlies, are a protected name with something almost no other protected food has: a hard calendar deadline written into the specification. They cannot be sold to shoppers after the last day of July.

That single clause explains the whole product. This is not a variety or a brand — it is a window.

The specification, in its own words

Ayrshire New Potatoes / Ayrshire Earlies holds Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, registered with the EU on 10 July 2019 and carried into the UK scheme on 31 December 2020 — one of the most recent Scottish additions to the register. The register entry links to the full specification.

Four requirements do the work:

They must be immature. The specification defines them as "immature potatoes of the Solanum tuberosum species" — lifted young, before the skin has set.

They must be planted, grown and harvested inside Ayrshire. The area is drawn to the local-authority boundaries of North, East and South Ayrshire, running from Skelmorlie in the north to Ballantrae in the south and Glenbuck in the east — and it explicitly includes Arran and the Cumbraes.

They are harvested May to the end of July, before the maincrop is lifted.

And they cannot be sold after that. In the specification's own phrasing: "The latest date for sales of the PGI product to final consumers (shoppers and restaurant customers) is the last day of July."

So an Ayrshire Early in August is not a late one. It is not an Ayrshire Early at all.

What they actually are

The spec is unusually precise about the potato itself:

• 15–70mm across, small because they are young.
• Round or oval, soft skinned, with a "distinctive strong earthy nutty flavour and aroma".
• Low starch, 10–15%, and dry matter up to 20%.
• Flesh white to cream, consistent through the tuber.

That low starch is the cooking fact. It gives a creamy, firm texture that holds its shape, which the specification notes makes them "ideal for boiling and for use where shape retention is required (i.e. in salads)".

It also means they are the wrong potato for a floury job. Do not try to make tattie scones or a fluffy mash out of Ayrshire Earlies — that wants a floury maincrop, and these will go waxy and gluey.

The varieties, and the soil on the skin

The specification names the main varieties and their share at the time of registration: Casablanca (40%), Maris Peer (40%), Isle of Jura (12%) and Epicure (8%) — with the note that varieties may change, since what qualifies a variety is its ability to be ready between May and the end of July.

Epicure is the historic Ayrshire potato and now the smallest share of the crop, which is a quietly interesting thing to know when you see it named on a sack at a farm shop.

The other detail worth knowing is why the first of the crop looks dirty:

The first crop is harvested in May and is sold unwashed with the soil still on in order to protect the soft skin of the potatoes.

Soil content is capped at 1% by weight. As the season goes on the skin hardens enough to allow washing. So unwashed potatoes in May are the specification working, not a producer cutting corners — and if you are buying loose earlies in early summer, the soil is a freshness signal rather than a nuisance.

How to cook them

Barely.

Scrub — do not peel; the skin is the point and it is thin enough to eat. Boil in well-salted water until a knife goes in with slight resistance, drain, and dress while hot with butter and salt. Mint is traditional and optional; some people find it drowns the nutty flavour the specification makes such a point of.

Cold in a salad the next day is the other classic use, and the one the low starch is made for — they will not collapse into the dressing.

They do not need, and are actively harmed by, roasting, deep frying or mashing.

Buying them

Farm shops, farmers markets and greengrocers across the west of Scotland from May, and supermarkets nationally through the season. The name and the PGI mark are what to look for — "Scottish new potatoes" is a different and unprotected claim, exactly as "Scottish beef" is not Scotch Beef.

Buy little and often. A soft-skinned immature potato is not a keeper: a few days in paper in a cool dark place, not a fortnight in a bag.

And note the deadline. If the season has been poor and you see them in August, something has gone wrong with the label rather than the weather.

Frequently asked questions

What are Ayrshire Earlies?

Immature new potatoes planted, grown and harvested in Ayrshire, holding PGI protected status. They are small (15–70mm), soft-skinned, low in starch and harvested between May and the end of July.

Why can Ayrshire Earlies only be sold until 31 July?

Because the product specification says so: the latest date for sale to shoppers and restaurant customers is the last day of July. The protection covers a young, immature potato harvested before the maincrop, so a calendar limit is how the specification stops the name being applied to later, more mature crops.

What varieties are Ayrshire Earlies?

At registration the main varieties were Casablanca (40%), Maris Peer (40%), Isle of Jura (12%) and Epicure (8%). The specification allows varieties to change, provided they can be harvested between May and the end of July.

Why are Ayrshire Earlies sold with soil on them?

To protect the soft, unset skin of the first crop. The specification permits up to 1% soil by weight and notes that later in the season, once the skin has hardened, the potatoes can be washed.

What is the best way to cook Ayrshire Earlies?

Boiled, skin on, and dressed with butter — or cold in a salad. Their low starch content (10–15%) means they hold their shape, which the specification itself identifies as their defining culinary property. They are not suited to mashing or roasting.