Purple potato for mash introduced in UK by Bartlett and Sons

Albert Bartlett is a Scottish potato processor hoping to inject a bit of colour into meal times with the launch of a purple spud that is made for mashing and could boost health.

The naturally bred Purple Majesty, which will produce a beetroot-coloured mash, is being grown commercially for the first time on an undisclosed Black Isle farm.

Airdrie-based Albert Bartlett and Sons hopes to harvest 500 tonnes of the variety this autumn.

Gillian Kynoch, the company’s head of product development and innovation, said yesterday growers were excited about the potato:

“It's quite different.”

“I don't think we're going to sell an enormous amount of tonnes, but that will depend on whether people will want to eat purple mashed potatoes or not.”

Purple Majesty was first bred in Colorado in the United States.

Sales of it there are limited to specialist shops, mostly in California. Growing trials over the last two years have confirmed it as suitable for Scotland and there is now sufficient seed for the first commercial crop, which will be planted in the coming weeks.