Potatoes are an everyday product on our table. Many gardeners have long learned how to effectively grow this crop and collect a good harvest. Some have tried many varieties and made their own choice – began to cultivate an unusual variety of potatoes with purple flesh.
So purple chips, lilac mashed potatoes, dark blue, almost black fried foods appeared on their tables. These dishes look interesting and extraordinary. How does such a potato differ from most other varieties and is it worth growing?
🥔 Potatoes purple: description
The tubers not only have a dark skin, the flesh is also painted in an unusual color. The shade ranges from dark pink to bluish and even deep purple. Breeders achieved this effect using the classical method – they crossed the usual potatoes with a wild specimen from South America. The purple color of the potato is due to the presence of a large amount of anthocyanins (plant glycosides). These substances are found in all dark blue fruits. For humans, they are useful because they help slow down the aging process, fight many diseases and prevent cancer.
Tubers have the following characteristics:
- elongated oval shape;
- small size;
- the shade of the pulp does not disappear during heat treatment;
- thick skin allows you to store vegetables for a long time;
- the pulp contains many useful trace elements.
Purple-fleshed potatoes have a non-trivial nutty flavor. This does not spoil the dish at all, but on the contrary gives it some piquancy. This feature is appreciated by gourmets and chefs.
🥔 Purple potatoes: varieties
Breeders were very keen on the process of breeding unusually bright tubers and bred several varieties that are popular among modern summer residents. Among themselves, the varieties differ in different intensity of color of the pulp, ripening periods and shelf life.
🌿 There are such modern varieties:
- Russian black.
- All blue.
- Black woman.
- Gourmet.
- Peruvian purple.
- Explosion.
- French purple truffle.
- The vortex.
- Chinese truffle.
- Northern lights
Seed purple potatoes are not yet massively grown, but for amateur garden plots, they can be easily purchased in online stores or specialized exhibitions.
🌿 What are the advantages of some of these varieties?
Vitelot is considered the most popular among gardeners. Its tubers are elongated, the skin is very dark, and the core is also of an intense shade. The mass of an average potato is 80-90 grams. Vitelot belongs to late varieties, fully ripens at about 110 days (depending on conditions). It has a rich nutty taste, it can be stored for a long time and is subjected to any heat treatment. Another name for Vitelot is purple sweet potato.
The All Blue variety is slightly different from the previous version. Its peel is dark, the color of the flesh is blue-violet, and between them there is a light ring. This purple potato received positive reviews immediately. Most often, summer residents praise him for his rather large tubers, reaching a weight of 200 grams. The variety belongs to the mid-season, its ripening period is 80 days. Thanks to its high antioxidant content, All Blue is considered a dietary potato.
Another purple potato title has Burst. This name was given to him for his early maturity. The tubers are ready for consumption as early as 65 days. The shape of the fruit is elongated, dark both inside and outside. The Vzryv variety has good indicators of disease resistance. Its only drawback is that the tubers are not stored for too long. The reason is the skin is too thin.
The Peruvian violet variety is a late variety, as its fruits are fully ripe only at 110 days. He does not have a very high yield, and the average mass of a potato barely reaches 80 grams. But he is loved for its excellent delicate taste. There is a hint of hazelnuts with walnuts in ready-made dishes, which allows you to feel the taste of a familiar dish in a new way.
🌿 Foreign varieties
🏷 Some American varieties are also very popular:
- All red
- Bresee
- Adirondack blue
- Red thumb
- Purple majesty
- Adirondack red
🏷 In addition, you can list the demanded European varieties:
- Blue Sweden
- Blue Salad Potato
- Highland Burgundy Red
- Hermann’s blue
- Shetland Black
🥔 Purple potatoes: beneficial properties
Unusual tubers have not only useful, but truly healing properties. There are several advantages of this vegetable. For example, such a potato lowers blood pressure, so lilac puree will be an excellent medicine for hypertensive patients. But for hypotensive patients it is better to give up the frequent use of such a delicacy.
The antioxidants present in this strain delay old age. They kind of freeze the aging process. Therefore, in elderly people, dark purple potatoes should be on the table as often as possible.
The tubers contain such important vitamins as C and E. Carotenoids are present that help to synthesize vitamin A. This contributes to maintaining optimal water balance and proper functioning of the endocrine system. This potato variety has been proven to be beneficial for diabetics. The violet blue hue contains a substance that protects against the onset of cataracts in diabetes. Plus, it helps control blood sugar levels.
Eating dishes from bright tubers improves vision, strengthens blood vessels, increases immunity, blood sugar decreases, and the risk of atherosclerosis and oncology decreases. And potatoes, purple on the inside, contain less starch than yellow and white. Therefore, it can be safely considered a dietary product that promotes weight loss. Girls who watch their figure need to pamper themselves with baked vegetables of a bright shade more often.
🥔 Planting purple potatoes
Growing such a variety is much more difficult than the usual tubers. Gardeners name several of its weaknesses, namely:
- it is more susceptible to phytophthora and has a weak resistance to scab;
- the Colorado potato beetle constantly strives to plant the larvae on the leaves of this potato;
- you can plant tubers only in soil that has warmed up to +5 degrees;
- when multiplying by “eyes”, the tubers become smaller and gradually reborn into an unattractive wild-growing form.
All other agronomic characteristics of purple-flowered potatoes are the same as white and yellow. It is necessary to apply fertilizers during planting directly into the hole, weed and huddle in a timely manner, monitor soil moisture throughout the growing season. An important step in growing is also the fight against diseases, pests and other similar problems.
The amount of the crop directly depends on the composition and structure of the soil, as well as on the timeliness of care. The most optimal soil is considered to have a light structure, fertile and loose, with a high degree of air permeability. Loam is completely unsuitable for this variety.
When buying planting material, you need to be as careful as possible, because some unscrupulous sellers can sell purple potatoes with white flesh. It is necessary to immediately demand from the distributors that they cut several tubers and thereby make it possible to verify the quality of the product. For a start, it is worth buying 20-30 copies of different varieties in order to understand which one gives a greater yield and is more pleasant in taste.
Potatoes are propagated by purple seeds and tubers. The second method does not require any special knowledge, it has been practiced since time immemorial, but growing by seeds has its own nuances. Seeds are sown in nutrient soil to obtain seedlings by the end of March. A month later, young plants dive into individual containers and grow. In the second half of May, weather conditions permitting, they can be planted in open ground. Such planting material gives early tying of tubers.
🥔 Purple potatoes: recipes
The cooking process for bright tubers is exactly the same as cooking regular potatoes. They can be boiled, stewed, baked, and even deep-fried. Lilac puree, lilac pancakes, dark chips look very nice. The purple potato skins are not removed as they contain many nutrients. It is better to bake and boil the tubers directly with the skin, washing it thoroughly before using.
The most delicious salad is considered to be made from this vegetable. You can add fresh radishes, tomatoes, peppers, asparagus and herbs to the boiled potato slices. To fill this abundance is preferable to olive oil, after which you can enjoy a dish with a pleasant nutty flavor.
✍ Conclusion
As you can see, the benefits of purple potatoes are high, and the contraindications are minimal. Therefore, it can be safely grown in summer cottages, cooked according to exquisite recipes and improve your health.
