Agria or Frieslander for chips?

Agria or Frieslander: it is a question we often hear from business owners who work with fresh chips. The short answer is that both are excellent chipping potatoes, but not at the same time of year. We grow both varieties ourselves on our farm in Zeewolde. From September to July we cut Agria chips. In August, the transition season, we cut Frieslander chips for a few weeks. Below we compare the two, show how they behave in the fryer and explain why the switch actually keeps the quality of your chips consistent.

1. Two varieties, one goal

A chipping potato has to perform the same all year round: plenty of dry matter, little sugar, a floury centre and a tuber large enough for long chips. No single variety is at its best for all twelve months. A potato is harvested, cures, is stored and slowly changes in composition during storage. If you want to supply good chips all year, you have to use the right variety at the right moment.

That is why we work with two varieties that complement each other. Agria carries most of the year. Frieslander bridges a few weeks in August, when last season's Agria has been in store for a long time and the new Agria is not quite ready for the fryer. By September the new Agria are often good enough for it. That way you get chips from us all year round, made from a potato that is at its best at that moment.

2. Agria: the chipping potato for most of the year

Agria is one of the best known chipping varieties in Europe. The tubers are large and elongated, the skin is yellow and the flesh a deep yellow. The variety is naturally high in dry matter and floury. As a result, Agria chips have a firm, crisp crust, a dry and fluffy centre and an attractive yellow colour, without anything being added.

A major advantage of Agria is that it stores well. We wash and grade our Agria carefully on the farm every week, so the potatoes stay in good condition for a long time. This allows us to cut chips from them from September right through to July. The large tubers have another advantage: they give long chips and few short pieces. You can read more about the variety itself on our page about Agria potatoes.

3. Frieslander: the early strength of the transition season

Frieslander is an early Dutch variety. Early means that the potato is fully grown and ripe sooner in the season than late varieties such as Agria. The tubers are oval and regular in shape, with a yellow skin and white-yellow flesh. Frieslander is floury as well and well suited to chips.

It is precisely this earliness that makes Frieslander so valuable in August. A ripe potato has built up its starch and broken down its sugars. An immature potato has not got that far yet and gives chips that stay limp and brown too quickly. By August, Frieslander is ready. It is a true transition potato: it fries crisp quickly and keeps well, which is exactly what is needed for the few weeks between the old and the new Agria. There is more about this variety on the page Frieslander potatoes.

4. Frying behaviour side by side

In the fryer the two are closer than many people think. Both varieties give a floury chip with a crisp outside. The differences are in the details. Agria chips are usually a deeper yellow and have a full, firm bite. Frieslander chips are slightly lighter in colour and feel a little fluffier. Many customers do not notice the difference; what they do notice is whether the chips are crisp and golden.

Very little changes in the frying method. You pre-fry both varieties at a low temperature, about 140 to 160°C, until the chips are cooked but have not yet taken on colour, and then finish them at about 175°C. At most, the difference is a small adjustment to the frying time. With the first bags after a switch, it is wise to fry a test portion and fine-tune the time to your own fryer. How to find the right setting is explained in the right temperature for pre-frying.

5. Why we switch in August and September

At the end of the storage season, in summer, last year's Agria has already spent many months in store. A potato is still alive in storage: it breathes, loses moisture and eventually wants to sprout. In August we therefore switch to Frieslander, which then comes fresh and ripe from the field.

We only use Frieslander for a few weeks. A freshly lifted potato is usually not at its best for chips straight away: the skin has to set, small injuries have to heal and the composition has to settle. By September the new Agria are often far enough along to deliver the consistent chips you rely on. Then we switch back to Agria, right through to July. You can read exactly how the potato year unfolds under the potato season, and what good storage involves under storing potatoes.

6. What the switch means for your kitchen

For you as a business owner, the most important thing is that the quality stays the same. Because we only use our own potatoes, we decide ourselves when a batch is ready for the cutting machine. As a result there is hardly any difference in the chips we deliver throughout the year. No batch from an unknown grower slips in between.

If you do notice something in the fryer after a switch, please get in touch. We are happy to help with frying times, temperature and the frying fat that suits your kitchen. If you would like to see the varieties in a broader context first, read the general explanation in which potato for chips.

Would you like fresh Agria or Frieslander chips for your chip shop, snack bar or food truck, or would you rather have the whole potatoes to cut yourself? Call or message Thijs on +31 6 23972300. If you have questions about growing or the varieties, Joost will be glad to help on +31 6 23055742. You are also welcome to visit the farm in Zeewolde.

Frequently asked questions