Potatoes are a tuber known by everyone and very appreciated for their flavor. Usually we know the white or yellow potatoes of the inner pulp and with a brownish-gray skin. Instead there are many varieties of potatoes with different colors of both the pulp and the peel . Let's get to know the purple potatoes, blue potatoes and red potatoes.

The purple and blue potatoes

The dark-skinned and purple or blue-colored potatoes of the pulp are usually more floury than the classic yellow or white potatoes.

Let's get to know some varieties of purple and blue potatoes:

> Purple velvet Queen potatoes : This potato is a variety with blue flesh and purple skin. The shape of the tubers is the same as normal potatoes. The particularity is hidden as well as in the blue and violet color also in the flavor that recalls the hazelnut . The use is equivalent to the classic potatoes.

> "Blue star" potato : The flesh of this potato is really blue while its skin is gray. The Blue Star potato is a variety that has only recently been introduced and is very similar to the classic white and yellow pulp potatoes. The use is therefore identical for cooking preparations.

> The vitelotte potato: This potato comes from the lands of Peru and Chile and it is quite difficult to find it in Italy. It is currently cultivated also in France and is one of the oldest potatoes obtained by natural selection and not genetically modified. It is also known by the name of black potato or purple potato and differs quite from the classic potatoes.

The consistency of the pulp is firm, sticky and after cooking it is floury, while the taste is reminiscent of chestnut . The skin is thick, hard and its color is very dark between black and purple gray. The shape is elongated and wrinkled rather lumpy with smaller dimensions than the common potatoes. It is harvested in late summer.

The use in the kitchen remains that typical of potatoes so both for preparations in puree, boiled, fried, baked or as an ingredient for other traditional recipes such as gnocchi . A particularity of this vitelotte potato is that of changing the color of the pulp once it is cooked, in fact it becomes from violet to blue and its cooking water is instead green.

The properties of purple and blue potatoes

These potatoes have slightly different properties from the classic yellow or white pulp potatoes, of course, because the natural pigments that give them their color are also nutritional elements of high biological value .

In fact purple and blue potatoes are rich in anthocyanins, water-soluble substances that are part of the flavonoid family. Their main activity is to be strong antioxidants capable of fighting free radicals and helping to prevent cellular aging .

They are very effective anti-aging and protect the body even from many degenerative diseases thanks to their ability to reduce DNA damage.

In effect they are anti-cancer molecules that even help stimulate the production of cytokines necessary for a good activity of the immune system.

Red potatoes

Finally, there are red-skinned potatoes with usually yellow flesh . In general they have an excellent taste and some are very sweet, even suitable for the preparation of desserts such as pancakes . The consistency is slightly floury.

Originally the red-skinned potatoes are traditional from the Northern European lands where they are cooked while maintaining the peel. This is because on the skin there are numerous active ingredients and nutritional substances such as vitamins, mineral salts and natural pigments that are beneficial for the health of our body.

Furthermore, like all potatoes, they are rich in essential potassium for the regulation of pressure and of vitamin A and C as well as many antioxidant flavonoids. Finally, potatoes even regulate blood sugar levels, helping insulin balance.

Red Cetica

This potato is a variety grown in Tuscany in the Cetica area from which it obviously takes its name. Its flavor is slightly salty and is therefore much more flavorful than all the classic potatoes. This variety of local potato is recognized as a particularly fine potato and is also sought after by the most renowned chefs.