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WHAT ARE MULTI-COLORED POTATOES USEFUL - REVIEWS ABOUT VARIETIES

Potato varieties with purple and pink flesh are still considered exotic and rare in our gardens. We advise you to take a closer look at them, they are worth it! It is no coincidence that everything unusual eventually becomes in demand, and then familiar and necessary. Once upon a time, potatoes only had white flesh, and yellow-fleshed varieties initially aroused mistrust; they were considered fodder. Now they lead in plantings, and sometimes even displace the classics.

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COLOR POTATOES – SKIN AND PULP

Colored potatoes have brightly colored skin, and often flesh. Varieties with dark purple skin and are almost the same in cross section, but with different shades, sometimes even almost black. Unappetizing? Unusual? But the benefits of such tubers are enormous! Those with bright red or raspberry skin have pink flesh. The main advantage of such varieties is the high content of anthocyanin pigments, which slow down aging, strengthen the walls of blood vessels, and reduce the risks of developing sclerosis and cancer.

There are also more other important pigments, carotenoids, in colored potatoes - 500-800 mg/100 g, for comparison - in ordinary varieties there are from 50 mg to 200 mg per 100 g. There is less starch and sugars, but they benefit in the amount of protein and vitamin C, which makes them promising for dietary nutrition.

Russian breeders have produced sorghum and potato hybrids with almost black flesh that can be eaten raw - grated for salad, like carrots. And it's delicious.

TUBERS DARK OUTSIDE AND INSIDE

Today there are already several dozen varieties of potatoes with colored pulp; there is plenty to choose from. The most numerous group is purple with flesh of the same rich color. According to the results of variety testing over several years, the following turned out to be the best in terms of main indicators (yield, large tubers, bright color of the pulp).

All Blue – a mid-season variety that produces high yields of large tubers every year. They can be boiled, fried, stewed, baked - the purple color is retained and the taste is good.

Purple Majesty – a consistently productive variety over the years with large tubers and even, smooth skin. Good taste, high shelf life.

Bora Valley - a variety with beautiful large rounded tubers, similar to balls, 10-12 pcs. from the bush

Explosion (“explosion”) got its name for its early ripening, ripening 50-65 days after germination. The bushes are tall, densely leafy, the stems and leaves have a purple tint, and the flowers are white. The tubers are large, elongated, there are 7-12 of them on one bush, but the weight is decent. The thick skin is dark purple and may be slightly reticulate. The pulp is light purple; when cooked, the tubers lighten a little and soften moderately. The variety is immune to major diseases.

PURPLE POTATOES – VARIETIES

Basically, in all varieties with purple pulp, the color of the tuber skin is also dark. Harvesting them on black soil is difficult - the tubers merge with the soil, and a sharp eye is needed when digging. Apparently, this is why breeders strive to develop a variety with a lighter skin, but with dark flesh. These already exist.

Smile of the night a new mid-season and productive domestic variety with an unusual two-color skin color: blue-violet with large white spots around the eyes in the form of a wide smile. Large elegant elongated oval tubers are pleasant to collect, you forget about fatigue. The flesh is also not pure purple, but white with purple streaks. The variety does well in dry years. The taste is good, the pulp does not lose color after heat treatment.

Black Count - another new product. The peel is purple with large white spots, while the flesh is completely purple. The variety is late, productive - up to 50 tubers per bush, but ours are small and require more time for growth and development. We usually dig potatoes at the beginning of September, and at this time Graf has lush green tops with flowers, and of course, the tubers have not yet gained weight. They are small, firmly attached to the stems, and have to be torn off. With a longer season, the harvest could undoubtedly be higher and the potatoes larger.

Of the Russian varieties, one can also note Amethyst, Northern Lights, Lilac, Gourmet, Miami – productive, unpretentious. But the color of the pulp greatly depends on the growing conditions - soil, weather, agricultural technology. In the Northern Lights variety, on a longitudinal section of the tuber, white veins are visible, reminiscent of this natural phenomenon - hence the romantic name.

OPENLY BAD VARIETIES OF COLOR POTATOES

However, not all purple varieties performed well on my site; some had to be abandoned for a number of reasons.

Blue of Sweden. The tubers are small and few in number. The eyes are strongly depressed, making the potatoes difficult to peel. Affected by late blight.

Russian Blue. A very late variety, it doesn’t ripen here in Mordovia. Powerful green tops. The productivity of the bush is up to 50 tubers, but the size of a thimble.

Vitebtte, aka Negro, Chinese truffle, Blue French truffle potato. An ancient (1898) late variety, which also does not reveal its potential in our country.

PURPLE POTATOES, cultivation, yield

VARIETIES OF PINK-RED POTATOES - MY REVIEWS

Potato varieties with pink-red flesh are also amazing. Those who see them for the first time often ask if the tubers have been painted. In my experience, pink varieties are picky - they love fertile and loose soil, do not tolerate drought and heavy moisture, and grow better in years with favorable weather conditions.

Their list is not as extensive as purple ones; the main selection criterion is rich pink flesh. And this is rare! Here are my top three, which have proven themselves to be the best.

The Scarlet Flower. A consistently productive and, importantly, unpretentious mid-late domestic variety. The tubers are medium-sized, oval, 20-25 pcs per bush. Under favorable conditions it produces high yields.

All Red. Mid-season variety. The tubers are elongated-oval. The pulp retains its color when cooked. In the first years of cultivation, the variety did not stand out for its productivity, but in recent hot and dry seasons it pleased us with beautiful large tubers - 15-18 pieces. from the bush.

Zoe. A potato grower from Sweden sent me a sample called Zoe, and it stuck with him when they began to propagate it. In the first year it yielded a harvest of up to 30 tubers per plant. The tubers are oval, with elegant red skin. During cooking, the color of the crumbly, tender, tasty pulp is not lost. And this despite the low starch content.

After 3 years of studying on a site with heavy loamy soil, which red meat potatoes do not like, I abandoned 4 varieties - this Red Burgundy, Cranberry, Purple King and Lettuce.

All except Saladny are low-yielding, with a small number of small tubers. Variety Salad harvest. The tubers are large, beautiful, elongated oval, but the flesh is pale pink with darker veins and stripes - it looks unappetizing, and the taste is mediocre.

Boiled colored potatoes, seasoned with vegetable oil and sprinkled with herbs, are tasty and unusual. And multi-colored chips made from such potatoes delight children. So I advise you to purchase and plant.

Reference by topic: Colored potatoes - cultivation, healthy properties and varieties