Hi fartalot
I thought the same as you over the past couple of years until last weekend. Bought lovely extra small baby jersey royals from M&S and they were how I remembered them. Delicious.
They seem to come in much bigger than years ago and that appears to affect the flavour. As cruella has said, the smaller ones have still got that classic flavour, but you have to search for them Perhaps M&S have cornered the market!
I tried some organic ones last week and they definitely di not have the flavour and the skins were quite tough too.
Not only do they not taste the same, they don't even look the same - and haven't done for quite some time.
They used to be that unique kidney shape with paper thin skins that scraped off so easily, but now most are quite large and round - most un Jerseyish.
The taste is absent because the growers stopped using seaweed as a natural fertilizer - and went for the intense farming instead, so we lost the lovely creamy taste.
We had some today from and they were quite nice but the flavour is not the same as it used to be .I had to lard a load of butter on them !!
I still reckon that you can't beat the first English earlies..locally grown round here in sunny Norfolk ..Did have some nice new Cornish spuds the other day though ..they had a lovely flavour .
I think they lost their flavour when they became Jersey Royals instead of Jersey Flukes as they used to be when I was a lad. They are farmed too intensively now and cashing in on the name.
Lincolns have taken their place in my book now. (and in my pan)