From left to right: Russet Burbank, Innovator, Santana, Fontane, Agria.

 Russet Burbank

The white fleshy-coloured Russet Burbank is highly suitable for processing, with a good colour when cooked and a good length for fries. Like the Innovator, the Russet Burbank is used for high-quality fries, in particular 7mm, or fast food, fries. The Russet Burbank is the most popular fast food variety in the world. Farm Frites processes this variety in Poland, Argentina and China.

The Russet Burbank variety requires a long growing season (140 days). It is also sensitive to stress, so it is important to irrigate the plant during the growing season. With a balanced irrigation and fertilisation programme, the Russet Burbank can produce a high, top quality yield.

Innovator 

The Innovator is a potato with a creamy fleshy colour that is extremely useful for processing. It has a good colour when cooked and produces good-sized fries. Innovator potatoes are used for high quality fries; in particular the 7mm, or fast food, fries. The Innovator is Farm Frites’ main fast food variety. The potatoes are big and long, ideal for producing large volumes of fries. The Innovator grows well in light clay soils; in a lighter sandy soil it requires irrigation. The Innovator is a mid-early variety; it requires just 110 days to grow and can therefore be harvested early.

Santana

The Santana potato is also highly suitable for processing, due to its colour when cooked and the length and structure of the fries. It is also excellent for producing high quality fries, and it is therefore no wonder that this variety is used to make 7mm, or fast food fries.

The Santana thrives in regions where it can be grown during the winter such as Egypt, which has the perfect climate and is therefore ideal for this variety. The Santana has a cream to pale yellow fleshy colour. It is a mid-to-late variety, requiring about 120 growing days before harvesting.

Fontane

The Fontane is a true all-rounder and is used in various products, from chilled fries to frozen products. The variety cooks well and can be used in many different products. The Fontane potato is oval-shaped with pale yellow flesh and is grown mainly in sandy soil, where it has a good yield.

Because it cooks so well and is easy to process, the Fontane is the most popular variety at Farm Frites. The Fontane is a medium-late variety and therefore requires less growing time (120 days). Fontane potatoes are therefore harvested earlier than the Agria.

Agria

The Agria is a long, attractive potato that cooks well and, most importantly, has a yellow flesh. This is a good combination, for which there is much demand in Western Europe in particular. The Agria potato guarantees attractive, tasty, golden fries and is  perfect for producing chilled fries.

Agria potatoes are mainly grown in clay in the south-west of the Netherlands, which means that they can be stored for a longer time. Although a small proportion is grown in sand, these cannot be stored as long and so are processed immediately in the factory. The Agria is a late variety, which means that it has a long growing season (140 days) and is harvested late.