Innovative Couple Turn Ugly Potatoes Into Scotland’s First Potato Vodka

By Mandy Froelich / Truth Theory

Potatoes are the ultimate tuber. They can be julienned and turned into fries, baked and loaded with toppings, and added into decadent fall desserts. Potatoes can even be turned into vodka, as a couple in Scotland discovered.

Graeme Jarron and his wife Caroline grow thousands of potatoes every year on their farm in Scotland. Unfortunately, a huge amount of the misshapen spuds don’t make supermarket standard. As a result, they go to waste.

Believe it or not, the issue is prevalent worldwide. In the United States, for instance, approximately 40 percent of all food is thrown into landfills. For something as simple as a bruise, an apple or a potato may be rejected. This creates hardship for the farmer(s), as well as exacerbates the issues of food waste and world hunger.

“We grow potatoes for supermarkets, but you would be surprised at the high demand for evenly-shaped potatoes,” said 38-year-old Graeme. “Before they are sent away, we look at them and take out all the wonky ones. By that, I mean ones that are either too small or too big.”

“Also if they have a shading of green, supermarkets don’t want to touch them,” he continued. “Supermarkets want potatoes that are a nice medium size, so that’s why we thought we should use the wonky potatoes to make vodka and its worked out great.”

The Jarrons knew they couldn’t keep throwing away the valuable spuds. So, they developed a process to make vodka from the ugly potatoes. Now, the couple is celebrating the opening of Scotland’s first potato vodka distillery on their Ogilvy farm. “If we didn’t use them, they would have gone to waste,” Graeme said.

As GoodNewsNetwork reports, Ogilvy Vodka is preparing to open the doors to its new £150,000 ($191,000) visitor center near Forfar, Angus. The couple hopes the attraction becomes a must-see for spirits lovers.

The Jarron family has farmed the land at Hatton of Ogilvy farm since 1910. For the potato vodka endeavor, the family teamed up with the brewing and distilling laboratory at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in 2014. The tour of the distillery will begin on a vintage tractor and trailer. Visitors will ride along for a behind-the-scenes look at potato farming.

If you’d like to try Ogilvy Vodka, it is now being distributed to independent bottle shops, farm shops, and delis across the UK. Reportedly, one 700 milliliter bottle sells for £36.

What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!

IMAGES CREDIT: SWNS