Cultivar · Potato cultivar
Désirée
Désirée is a red-skinned, yellow-fleshed Dutch maincrop potato, a widely grown, versatile all-rounder used for boiling, roasting, mashing, and chips.
Record
Cultivar / variety- Variety of
- Potato
- Botanical taxon
- Solanum tuberosum
- Type
- Cultivar
- Breeding method
- Cross-breeding
- Origin
- Netherlands, Netherlands
- Registry status
- Listed · European Union · as of 2026-07-12
- Registries
- EU Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species · European Union · Listed · as of 2026-07-12Admitted for marketing in the EU; listing is a marketing permission, not a recommendation, and is version/date-specific.
- Adaptation
- A temperate maincrop grown as a cool-season crop like potato generally; sensitive to frost and to heat during tuber bulking. Grown on the loose, well-drained soils preferred by potato generally; no unusual soil requirement is asserted here.
- Intended use
- Table (boiling, roasting, mashing), Chips / French fries
Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.
Désirée is a red-skinned potato bred in the Netherlands, distinguished by its smooth red skin and pale-yellow flesh. It became one of the most widely grown red-skinned varieties internationally and is treated as a versatile, all-purpose potato.
The flesh is firm and moderately floury, allowing the tubers to be used for boiling, roasting, mashing, and chips. Its combination of appearance, versatility, and wide adaptation contributed to its popularity across many growing regions.
Background and identity
Désirée is a Dutch-bred maincrop variety produced by cross-breeding. It is best recognised by its red skin and pale-yellow flesh, an uncommon and marketable combination that helped make it a widely grown red variety in many countries.
- Skin
- Smooth red
- Flesh colour
- Pale yellow
- Cooking character
- Firm and versatile; a moderately floury all-rounder
Registry status and cultivation
Désirée is admitted to the EU Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species, which permits its marketing within the European Union. Listing is a marketing permission rather than a recommendation and is version- and date-specific. As a maincrop it is grown as a cool-season crop like potato generally, and its cooking and agronomic behaviour vary with region, season, and storage.
Relationships
Evidence-backed connections in the knowledge graph.
Scope & limitations
Geographic scope: Bred in the Netherlands and grown widely internationally. Culinary and agronomic behaviour is region- and season-specific.
Climate context: Temperate cool-season maincrop.
- Cooking and agronomic behaviour is region- and season-specific and varies with storage.
- Registry/listing status is jurisdiction- and date-specific; confirm against the current EU Common Catalogue.
- The exact year of introduction is reported inconsistently in the literature and is therefore not stated.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- [1]EU Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
European Commission — Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
Cited for: EU Common Catalogue listing of the variety
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- European Union
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Solanum tuberosum classification and germplasm context
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- United States / Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [3]AHDB — Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (opens in a new tab)High
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
Cited for: Potato variety characteristics and background
- Type:
- Government agency
- Jurisdiction:
- United Kingdom
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12