Italy: The blue potato grows on the edge of the Piave river
Its beneficial properties and its nutritional virtues are exalted by the food tradition and are confirmed by modern scientific research. It is not easy to find the blue potato, a truly niche product, with little acreage, because it is not profitable. On the other hand it is a very strong plant that is resistant to diseases and drought, and therefore does not require much care. A supporter of this variety is Aurelio Codello, a grower in Moriago della Battaglia of Treviso, who discovered it in France and has pledged to plant it on land particularly suitable for potatoes.
On the same fields he grows cornette, another local variety, ever present in the local cuisine, which is close to the blue in shape: they are rather small and lumpy. "It's the passion that makes me plant," says Aurelio Codello, "because if you look at the economic result, you do not even take it into consideration." For some 'time the blue potato has been appreciated by the high cuisine, that often uses similar cultivars, such as French Vitelotte, grown in Picardy, or the blue of St. Gallo, in the Grisons canton in Switzerland, or the blue of Margone Vezzano, in the province of Trento.
It is called blue potato for the color and flesh of its skin, which is between the blue and purple. Its flavor is decisive, strong, original, and unmistakable. In the kitchen it suits savory dishes, unique and surprising; especially appreciated by those who love to discover new and different things.
The blue potato is marketed, in particular, by OPO Veneto, which considers it an interesting product, not so much for the numbers, which are minimal, but for its value as a biodiverse vegetable, as a sign of an horticulture that does not only focus mass or quantity, but also on quality, variety, environmental compatibility and sustainability.
Source: www.ortoveneto.it