Bintje is a middle-early ripening

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

variety bred in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

by the Frisian schoolmaster K.L. de Vries in 1904 from (Munstersen x Fransen) and marketed for the first time in 1910. The name of the potato, a diminutive of Benedict, was borrowed from one of his former students. Bintje plants are medium-sized and erect, with purplish stems, dark green leaves and white flowers. Bintje produces large oval-shaped tubers with pale yellow skin and yellow flesh. It has shallow eyes. The sprouts are purplish. This high-yielding variety is widely grown in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. It is used for boiling, baking, and for

fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. The ...

, mashed potato and

potato chips A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appe ...

. It is the most widely cultivated potato in France and Belgium. Bintje is immune to

Potato virus A Potato virus A (PVA) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Potyviridae''. See also * Viral diseases of potato Viral diseases of potato are a group of diseases caused by different types of viruses that affect potato crops worldwide and, ...

. It has moderate resistance to

Potato leafroll virus Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) is a member of the genus ''Polerovirus'' and family ''Solemoviridae''. The phloem limited positive sense RNA virus infects potatoes and other members of the family Solanaceae. PLRV was first described by Quanjer ''e ...

. It is susceptible to netted scab,

common scab Common scab is a plant disease of root and tuber crops caused by a small number of '' Streptomyces'' species, specifically '' S. scabies'', '' S. acidiscabies'', '' S. turgidiscabies'' and others. Common scab mainly affects potato ...

Fusarium dry rot ''Fusarium'' dry rot is one of the most common potato diseases. It is caused by fungi in the genus '' Fusarium''. This fungi causes a variety of colored rots in potatoes. This pathogen, while having both a sexual and asexual form, stays in an asexua ...

(''

Fusarium oxysporum ''Fusarium oxysporum'' (Schlecht as emended by Snyder and Hansen), an ascomycete fungus, comprises all the species, varieties and forms recognized by Wollenweber and Reinking within an infrageneric grouping called section Elegans. It is part of ...

''),

potato wart ''Synchytrium endobioticum'' is a chytrid fungus that causes the potato wart disease, or black scab. It also infects some other plants of the genus ''Solanum'', though potato is the only cultivated host. Systematics Traditionally, ''Synchytr ...

(''

Synchytrium endobioticum ''Synchytrium endobioticum'' is a chytrid fungus that causes the potato wart disease, or black scab. It also infects some other plants of the genus ''Solanum'', though potato is the only cultivated host. Systematics Traditionally, ''Synchytr ...

''),

Potato virus X Potato virus X (PVX) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Alphaflexiviridae'' and the order ''Tymovirales''. PVX is found mainly in potatoes and is only transmitted mechanically. There are no insect or fungal vectors for this virus. This v ...

Potato virus Y Potato virus Y (PVY) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Potyviridae'', and one of the most important plant viruses affecting potato production. PVY infection of potato plants results in a variety of symptoms depending on the viral stra ...

, and

late blight ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called "pot ...

(''

Phytophthora infestans ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called "pot ...

''). Bintje is sterile, which prevents improvements in disease resistance through breeding. A mechanism to overcome sterility has recently allowed for breeding-based genetic improvements in disease resistance and potato tuber coloration. It was voted "potato of the year 2012".

Lieuwes Kornelis de Vries

Lieuwes Kornelis de Vries was born on February 25, 1854, in

Hardegarijp Hurdegaryp ( nl, Hardegarijp) is a village in the northern part of the Netherlands, in the municipality of Tytsjerksteradiel. Its history dates back to at least the 13th century. It had a population of around 4,788 in January 2017. In Dutch the v ...

. In 1881 he married Grietje Hommes de Jong. From this marriage six children were born. After the death of his first wife (1895) he married Afke Glee in 1897. From this marriage two children were born. De Vries died on November 20, 1929. De Vries worked until he was 21 on the farm and then went to study for a teaching degree. In 1883 he became the head teacher at the primary school of Sumar. In 1894 he took the agricultural instrument test and in 1901 obtained a horticulture degree. Besides his work as a schoolmaster he gave agricultural winter courses. De Vries was a member of the Frisian Society of Agriculture. In 1898 the Society asked him to organize a testing ground for growing potatoes, which he managed for 25 years. He grew in twenty-five years about 150 varieties, of which only the Bintje was a success. The Bintje has been the most important potato on Dutch menus for a long time.

References

Potato cultivars {{potato-stub