La Ratte

La Ratte potato (also known as Ratte, La Reine Ratte du Touquet, or Asparges) is a small potato with a unique nutty flavor and smooth, buttery texture. It has an ovate shape, often with a slight curve and golden-speckled skin. The flesh is off-white to golden yellow, and the final appearance and nuttiness may depend upon the soil in which it is grown. The variety originated in Denmark or France in the late 19th century. It is used at Heritage Hill in GreenBay for a stand-in heirloom facsimile, closer than modern potatoes to what may have been grown already in the late 1700s by the French traders of the Northwest Territories of the fur trade. Between the arrival of the British and before any significant settlements, the only description we have is "a white potato" was grown in GreenBay "in large quantities". The tubers can vary from marble-sized up to 6", but typically top out at the size of a little rat, as the name suggests. Available and offered for seed potatoes from Nov through April. $15/lb. (or for larger quantities, reach out and email)