Bred in 1962. Grown on 4 continents.
The world's most versatile potato.
Désirée is a 1962 Dutch maincrop variety — a cross of Urgenta and Depesche — that has quietly become one of the most grown red-skinned potatoes on Earth. Its red skin isn't cosmetic. It signals anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid: the antioxidant compounds missing from white and yellow varieties.
82kcal
per 100g cooked
429mg
potassium
19mg
vitamin C
21.5%
dry matter
Peer-reviewed research on phenolic compounds, resistant starch, and glycemic response — all pointing to the same conclusion.
Unpeeled potato samples show total phenolic content nearly double that of peeled samples.
Red and purple-skinned varieties like Désirée contain anthocyanins on top of chlorogenic acid (5-CQA), giving them strong antiradical activity validated across DPPH, ABTS, and ORAC assays. Chlorogenic acid alone contributes 28–45% of total antioxidant activity in red-skinned potatoes.
Key Data
345–2,852 mg/100g DM (unpeeled) vs 191–1,864 mg/100g (peeled)
Chilling cooked potatoes reduces glycemic index by 25–28%.
Raw potato starch is ~75% RS2 resistant starch. Cooking gelatinises most of it, but chilling converts a significant portion back into RS3, reducing insulin and GIP responses compared to freshly cooked. Cold Désirée potato salad is a materially better blood sugar option than hot mashed.
Key Data
21.5% dry matter · 15.6% starch content
Red potato peel extracts are being investigated as nutraceutical ingredients.
Chlorogenic acid in the skin is an active phenolic with documented anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive properties. The combination of anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid in Désirée's red skin provides a pharmacologically relevant concentration of bioactive compounds.
Key Data
Potato peel ORAC values exceed many fruits and nuts
Désirée delivers a micronutrient profile that most people don't associate with potatoes. The numbers below are for boiled, skin-on preparation — the method that preserves the most nutritional value.
Source: Specialty Produce →
Nutrient
Amount
Why It Matters
Calories
82 kcal
Lower than rice, pasta, or bread per gram
Vitamin C
~19 mg
38% RDA — immune function, collagen synthesis
Potassium
~429 mg
Blood pressure regulation, muscle function
Vitamin B6
Good source
Neurotransmitter production, brain health
Folate
Present
Cell repair, essential in pregnancy
Iron
Present
Oxygen transport in blood
Magnesium
Present
Involved in 300+ enzymatic reactions
Fiber (skin-on)
~2 g
Gut health, satiety, feeds beneficial bacteria
"Eat Désirée skin-on, boiled or baked, then cooled and reheated or served cold."
Source: PMC9368276 →
Boil or bake, skin‑on
Keep the red skin intact — it contains the anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid. Boiling preserves more water-soluble vitamins than frying. Baking works too.
Refrigerate overnight
Chilling converts gelatinised starch back into resistant starch (RS3). This single step reduces the glycemic index by 25–28% compared to eating freshly cooked.
Serve cold or gently reheat
Cold potato salad, reheated wedges, room-temperature sides. The resistant starch persists even after gentle reheating. Your gut bacteria ferment it into butyrate — fuel for your colon cells.
Anti-pattern
Deep-frying destroys skin phenolics and converts resistant starch to rapidly digestible glucose.
If you must fry, use the skin-on and keep the oil temperature moderate.
Désirée isn't niche. It fits into the eating patterns people actually follow.
Potatoes rank among the highest on the Satiety Index — significantly more filling per calorie than bread, rice, or pasta. Combined with Désirée's fiber content and resistant starch when chilled, it's a legitimate high-satiety, low-energy-density food.
Source: Healthline →Resistant starch acts as a prebiotic — fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which feeds colonocytes and reduces intestinal inflammation. Your microbiome treats cooled Désirée as fuel.
Source: PMC6267054 →GI varies wildly by preparation. Boiled Désirée (skin-on, cooled) has a meaningfully lower GI than baked or fried. Pairing with fat or protein — olive oil, cheese, eggs — further blunts the glycemic response.
Source: PMC9368276 →Naturally 100% gluten-free. A complete starch-based diet option for celiac or gluten-intolerant individuals. No processing required — just cook and eat.
Désirée was bred in the Netherlands in 1962 — a cross of Urgenta and Depesche. It sits in Cooking Type B: "slightly mealy" with 21.5% dry matter and 15.6% starch content. This is the key to its versatility: firm enough to hold shape when boiled, yet starchy enough to crisp beautifully when roasted or fried.
It has notably high drought resistance — producing uniform tubers even when soil moisture is uneven. Most commercial cultivars require tight irrigation management. Désirée built its global following precisely because it tolerates inconsistency.
Italian growers in Colfiorito discovered Désirée in the early 1970s and eventually gave it protected geographical status. They hold an annual red potato festival in its honour. A Dutch-bred variety achieving regional cultural canonisation within a decade of release speaks to how immediately it impressed growers in radically different climates.
Varietal Profile
Type B cook classification
Roast, mash, boil, fry — all work well
21.5% dry matter
Crispy exterior, not watery when cooked
High drought resistance
Reliable yield with minimal irrigation
Red skin antioxidants
Nutritional edge over white/yellow varieties
Strong disease resistance
Lower input costs for growers
Global adaptation
Grown on 4 continents with minimal modification
Disease Resistance
Drought: High
Potato Virus Y (PVY): Good
Blackleg: Extremely resistant
Growth cracks: Good resistance
One weakness: susceptible to potato cyst nematode — crop rotation matters.
Maincrop variety. Plant in April, harvest September. High drought tolerance means less fuss — perfect for allotments, raised beds, and low-irrigation farms. Resistant to blackleg, PVY, and growth cracks.
Anthocyanins. Chlorogenic acid. Resistant starch. The peer-reviewed research on red-skinned potato phenolics is deep and growing. Désirée's skin delivers antioxidant ORAC values that compete with berries.
Available at farmers markets, specialty produce stores, and seed potato suppliers across Europe, UK, and Australia. Look for the smooth red skin and golden flesh. HZPC and STET carry certified seed.