Purple Potatoes: Description and Cooking Tips

There are a number of things that people have used in everyday life for many centuries, and during this time they have not changed at all. One could hardly expect something new, for example, from potatoes. However, today this root crop can surprise a lot, because a new variety has appeared - purple potatoes. This is not about potatoes with pale pink skin and white flesh, but about a vegetable that has a purple color both on the outside and inside, but in a section resembles beetroot more.

The first thing that comes to mind when seeing such a vegetable is a chemical laboratory and people in lab coats who diligently genetically modify ordinary potatoes, grafting beet genes to it (at best) or something more unconventional. In fact, purple potatoes - a product of ordinary breeding.

Today it is hard to say where this miracle came from on our shelves, but the most reliable option is this: most likely, purple potatoes were imported from South America. Residents of Peru and Bolivia have eaten it for a very long time. In addition, some scientists believe that purple potatoes are the ancestors of white potatoes. In ancient times, when the potato was still a wild plant, it was all purple, but in the process of cultivation and breeding, most of the varieties lost their color and became white, and some retained their former appearance.

The main characteristic that distinguishes varieties from each other is the shade of the pulp, it can be from pale pink to dark purple and even blue. There are also varieties with white peel, but colored pulp. It is more difficult to grow such vegetables than ordinary potatoes: their ripening period is much longer, and the yield is much lower, therefore such varieties are not in demand in industrial cultivation. Among small farmers and household farms, on the contrary, there are more and more fans of such a vegetable.

The purple potato tastes a bit sweeter and has a pleasant nutty flavor, but this does not spoil it at all and makes it more attractive for cooks and gourmets.

There is no such food, which would not bring at least some benefit to the human body, but sometimes it happens that the harm from a product is much greater than the benefit. Therefore, before using this new, exotic product, it is important to weigh the pros and cons.

The composition of the purple potato contains a large amount of antioxidants, which are necessary for improving immunity and help in the fight against colds and viral infections.

• This potato contains much less sugar and starch, so it is easier to digest, is a more dietary product than normal.
• With regular use of the antioxidant anthocyanin will help slow down skin aging and prolong youth.
• The high content of vitamin A has a beneficial effect on vision, reduces the risk of diseases of the vascular system and the development of cancer.
• Moderate starch content normalizes the digestive tract, protects against peptic ulcers and gastritis.
• It excretes toxins and heavy metals, which significantly improves blood flow.
• Normalizes metabolism, which can significantly ease the fate of people suffering from diarrhea, flatulence or constipation.
• It has anti-inflammatory effect.
• 100 grams of purple potatoes only 75 calories, so it can be considered a dietary product, calorie-like close to white fish or mussels.
• Prevents heart attacks, heart failure and atherosclerosis.
• Improves blood, saturating it with minerals.
• Blocks the development of diseases of the organs of vision, such as cataracts, glaucoma, myopia.Thiamine in large quantities in this potato slows down retinal aging and clouding of the lens of the eye.
• It contains many vitamins and trace elements: folic acid, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, thiamine, potassium, calcium, magnesium, fluorine, iodine, selenium, iron, and much more. Nutritionists recommend this product for use with weight loss, but they recommend that you always dilute it with other dietary vegetables in order to further increase the amount of vitamins.

The only, but very significant harm that can be obtained by eating purple potatoes, is lowering blood pressure.

However, this does not mean that healthy people can use it immensely. It is worth remembering that this is still an exotic product, since our gastrointestinal tract "met" only with a distant relative of this product - it may not immediately begin to release all the necessary enzymes. This will lead to heaviness in the stomach.

The choice of the best variety - this question most often worries gardeners who are eager to get a good harvest, the most useful and tasty in use and at the same time easy to grow. In order to understand which variety is best suited for home cultivation, it is worth exploring the description of several of the most popular varieties in our area.

The most common in Russia variety of purple potatoes. There is a legend that it was this potato variety that Alexander Dumas loved so much that he mentioned it in one of his books. This variety is imported from France. Potato tubers grow very large: from 500 grams or more, oval in shape, elongated. The flesh is bright purple, occasionally with small white dots. This variety is late ripening, it should be harvested almost in October, but it is most suitable for long-term storage.

This variety is bred by Russian scientists. It is resistant to the adverse climatic conditions of the North, can be grown in the Urals. Resistant to late blight, Black-knuckle, leaflet twisting, scab, and potato cancer. Amethyst is a mid-season high-yielding variety suitable for long-term storage. Harvest can be on the 65-80 day after germination. The color of the rind and tubers is dark purple, uniform, without inclusions. The weight of tubers can reach 400 grams.

Early high-yielding potato variety is quite popular among fans of "colored" potatoes. This is probably the only variety suitable for frying because it contains a large amount of starch, which prevents the product from soaking with oil. Despite the precocity, the tubers can reach 500 grams, the color of the peel is bright purple, the pulp is white-purple, marbled. The variety is resistant to late blight, scab and viral diseases.

The earliest of all popular varieties of purple potatoes. It got its name for fast and productive fruiting. Despite the small weight of tubers, which rarely exceeds 150 grams, this variety has a high yield. From one bush can collect up to 3-4 kilograms of potatoes. The color of the tubers is blue-violet. Full ripening occurs already on day 65 after germination.

This variety is different from other unusual bright blue color. Tubers of this variety grow relatively small, an average of about 200 grams. The color of the peel is dark blue, the pulp shimmers from blue to bright blue. The variety "All Blue" is ready for harvesting at 70-80 days after germination, it is considered medium late.The fruits are fairly well kept in the cellar.

By the name of this variety, it is logical to assume that the color of its pulp is red, but this is not quite so. The flesh of this root is rather pink, sometimes it may be coral-colored, and the skin is light purple. It is also a mid-late variety, it is most adapted for cultivation in central Russia, it is resistant to aphids and fungal diseases, and is not afraid of droughts and floods. Its fruits are round, reaching a weight of 150-200 grams.

Today, purple potatoes are still considered a delicacy and are not available to everyone. Therefore, there are well-founded doubts about its preparation. In the world of high culinary this vegetable, on the contrary, has been found for a long time and does not surprise anyone. Many eminent chefs have been using it for cooking their masterpieces for a long time and are happy to share the experience of cooking this wonderful root crop.

Well-known teleculinist Ector Jimenez Bravo recommends baking purple potatoes. To do this, select small tubers, wash them thoroughly, make punctures with a fork in several places, rub the potatoes with olive oil and lay them on a baking sheet. Bake it should be in a preheated 200 degree oven from 40 minutes to 1 hour. Ready potatoes need to be cut into halves and choose from the middle of the pulp in such a way as to make the boat. Selected pulp need to grind into mashed potatoes, add chopped cheese, ham and greens, mix everything. The resulting mass is put in prepared boats, put on top of a small piece of butter and bake for another 10 minutes.

The most famous modern chef Gordon Ramsay advises to use purple potatoes for salads. To do this, boil the potatoes in their uniforms. In order for the color of the product to remain unchanged during the cooking process, it should be boiled only in salted water and not more than 20 minutes. It is possible to combine such potatoes with cheese, fish, meat, sausages, smoked meats, legumes complement it remarkably.

Jamie Oliver recommends using filet potatoes for cold snacks. Such a dish, in addition to potatoes, may include boiled chickpeas and twill beans, cherry tomatoes, herbs, garlic.

Great look will be mashed potatoes, pancakes, vegetable pancakes. This wonderful vegetable can decorate any soup. But the most effective will look chips from purple potatoes. Cooking such chips should be "dry" way. The simplest of these is microwave cooking. Potatoes should be thoroughly washed, dried and cut into very thin circles. The resulting blanks again dry or blot with paper towels, lay one layer on a wooden microwave tray and bake for 3 minutes at a power of 600 watts.

You should not fry such potatoes, as well as make french fries or chips in oil. In the process of frying, it absorbs a large amount of oil, acquires an unpleasant texture and taste of the "stale" dish. Reviews of fried purple potatoes are quite negative.

You can grow such potatoes yourself in your garden, but this process will be more laborious than in the case of ordinary potatoes. Complicating the process of growing such factors: purple potatoes are more susceptible to diseases of garden crops, such as late blight, scab or fungal diseases. The Colorado potato beetle attacks the green of this plant is much larger and more active than usual.

The distance between the holes is also worth doing at least 50 centimeters in all directions. During the growing season, purple potatoes grow into unusually tall bushes, the trunks of which are rather thick and coarse.The first leaves on the trunks may have a grayish color or a purple hue, but in the future they will become as green as that of ordinary potatoes. The greens of this root crop are widely spread to the sides, which may harm the neighboring crops.

By planting, you can proceed simultaneously with the planting of ordinary potatoes, and cleaning is better to postpone until mid-September. Tubers of purple potatoes can grow up to 1 kilogram, and from one bush you can collect up to 15 such tubers. They are not recommended for replanting. Experienced gardeners have come to the conclusion that the harvest from last year’s tubers will be noticeably smaller. For planting next year, it is better to purchase seeds in specialized stores. A large number of domestic scientists and breeders are working on solving this problem, and it is likely that it will be solved soon.

Purple potatoes can not tolerate drought and excessive moisture. Excess moisture invariably leads to the development of fungal diseases. Abundant watering is required only in the first days after germination and several times during flowering, while the rest of the time, irrigation is sufficiently light no more than three times a week. In addition, it is very important to organize the access of air to the surface roots of the plant; for this, the ground under the bushes must be loosened at least once a week.

To learn how to make unusual purple potato gnocchi, see the video below.