Description

The Fucino’s Plain is well-known for its potatoes. Among the many common varieties, we can also find the purple potato, famous for its unusual color and the many health benefits. These potatoes come originally from Peru and South America. They came to Europe along with all the other tubers, but never known the same success - mostly because of their yield. In the past few years, while more and more people started paying attention to their health and the food they consume, this variety of potato was rediscovered mostly thanks to the contribute of many famous chefs, that chose them especially for their particular color.

Today, in Europe, the purple potatoes are grown mostly in France and Italy. They can be easily recognized of course for their color, as well as for their elongated shape, the small dimension and their starchy texture.

In fact, there are several different varieties of purple-colored potatoes. Those grown in the Fucino area belong to the “vitelotte” variety.

Some nicknamed them “health-saving”. These tubers, like all the other products with a blueish/purple color (for example, blueberries) are packed with anthocyanin, an antioxidant substance that protect us from cancer, strokes, and heart failures. The purple potatoes contain a lot of this anthocyanin, as well as potassium, mineral salts, and vitamins (especially vitamin C). Regarding calories and macros, they are similar to all the other kinds of potatoes.

The purple potatoes, thanks to their sweeter flavor that resembles that of the chestnut, and with a smell similar to the smell of hazelnuts, can be cooked in many different ways. If you use these potatoes for your dishes, you will surely get an impressive chromatic effect: for example, you can use it to whip out a beautiful plate of purple mashed potatoes!