Purple potatoes - what kind of fruit is it?

To purple varieties Potatoes include those that have an intense color not only of the peel, but also of the pulp. These varieties have a special taste with a hint of nut. Today, this type of potato is considered a delicacy.

Content:

• The healing properties of purple potatoes
• Caring for Purple Potatoes
• Principles for obtaining varieties by domestic breeders

Recently, breeders around the world have begun active research to create new dietary potato varieties. The action of new species should be aimed at improving human well-being and its beneficial effect on the body as a whole. A special feature of this type of potato is the color of the tubers, not only externally, but also internally: purple, blue, pink, red.

The healing properties of purple potatoes

The work of breeders in this industry is progressing successfully. According to them, colored or purple potatoes have a number of positive effects on the human body. For example, potatoes, cooked in any available way, significantly reduce blood pressure. In this aspect, scientists have put forward restrictions on the consumption of colored potatoes for people suffering from hypotension.

As a result of systematic experiments, many positive properties new potato varieties. The main ones are:

1. The presence of a large amount of antioxidants, which slows down the aging process;
2. The presence of a vitamin complex, the basis of which is vitamins C, E and a number of carotenoids;
3. The bright colors of the tuber pulp are not the result of genetic engineering, but have the natural color of the pigment obtained by crossing wild African and equatorial varieties.

The work of domestic researchers in this area over the past seven years has also yielded positive results. Clinical studies have shown that daily consumption of purple (as well as red, blue, orange or pink) potatoes leads to the following positive factors:

• Vision improves;
• The walls of blood vessels are strengthened;
• The risk of developing atherosclerosis is sharply reduced;
• Relative reduction in the level of development of certain types of cancer.

The work of breeders in this direction continues today. Unexpected conclusions were made in light of recent studies of hybrids of domestic and foreign varieties of purple and blue potatoes. It turned out that the hybrid tuber absorbs harmful nitrates and nitrites three times less, maintaining the level of starch index. And the vitamin C content in two tubers is equal to its content in one lemon.

Caring for Purple Potatoes

Some varieties of purple potatoes are already in circulation in the CIS. But these varieties are much more demanding and require more care than ordinary potato varieties.

Purple potatoes very susceptible to pathogenic effects scab and more often suffers from leaf blight. The Colorado potato beetle primarily eats purple potato plants, despite the high degree of pest control treatment.The most unpleasant fact remains that during “eye” propagation, the potato tuber stubbornly becomes smaller, turning into a wild form.

Principles for obtaining varieties by domestic breeders

In obtaining new domestic varieties interspecific hybrids were used for purple potatoes. The source material for them was the maternal forms of South American cultivated potato species and domestic selection varieties: Santarka, Exotic and Tiras. The classical method of sexual hybridization was applied, resulting in varieties with varying degrees of intensity of flesh color: from dark purple to pale pink. About 120 samples obtained are in selection work. This amount is very promising for obtaining fixed varieties with colored pulp.

Only 30% of all known potato species are involved in the selection process. This is a rich material, on the basis of which breeders are attempting to obtain varietal forms of potatoes that are resistant to pests and diseases, without the use of genetic engineering.

In conclusion, I would like to say that purple potatoes are quite unpretentious in preparation and are subjected to heat treatment along with traditional varieties. The color quality of purple potatoes is not lost if you cook them in salt water. For salads, potatoes are boiled in their skins. An original dish is pink or blue mashed potatoes, as well as various preparations of pancakes, French fries and chips. The taste qualities of regular potatoes and purple ones are slightly different; multi-colored potatoes have a nutty flavor.

We hope that soon colored potatoes will leave the “delicacy” category and become generally available to any category of consumer.