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| Source: www.burpee.com |
Bet you weren’t expecting this: the Adirondacks has a famous potato- and it’s blue. Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science has a potato breeding program headed by Robert Plaisted, Ken Paddock, and Walter De Jong, who created this blue variety of potato. While the potato was officially released in 2003, it was first grown experimentally in a large scale setting at Tucker Farms, Inc. in Gabriels, NY in 2002. At this time, the potato was simply known as S45-5, but Tom and Steve Tucker, who run the farm, suggested that the potato have a common name for marketing. Thus, the Adirondack Blue potato was born. The Adirondack Blue is a spreading plant and produces round or oval shaped tubers with a deep purple skin and flesh. It can easily withstand the harsh Adirondack climate, making it an ideal crop for the area, although it is still susceptible to most common potato diseases, including common scab, Golden nematode, and late blight.
The Adirondack Blue has been gaining popularity in speciality foods and farmer’s markets. It has a distinctive flavor sometimes described as ‘rich’ and ‘nutty’ and can be prepared like almost any other potato: baked, mashed, roasted, steamed, boiled, or even made into chips or fries. It holds its color extremely well during cooking, fading only when boiled to produce a different shade of blue. After cooking, the potato is firm but moist, holds its shape, and is less mealy that the All Blue variety. It is very high in antioxidants, especially in the skin, associated with reduced risk of heart disease and cancer.
Yet it’s the color that makes these potatoes a hit. Blue potatoes aren’t exactly new; the color is caused by high levels of anthocyanins, which also give pomegranates, blueberries, and purple cabbage their color. However, blue potatoes are not widely embraced and most of the public does not know they exist. People are simply dumbfounded by the vibrancy. Penn State alumni have started producing them as school spirit potato chips. Still, many restaurants prefer shipping in Russets or Yukon Gold potatoes across the country for cheap. Cornell, in partnership with many New York farmers are working to educate chefs and integrate the Adirondack Blue and other local varieties into the New York diet.
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Definitely want to try this potato! There's a lot of incentive for Hamilton to start serving this instead of normal potatoes, especially since we can buy this locally. The Adirondack Blue shows how modern technology can work to help local communities thrive and develop new economies like this one.
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! It's great to see that you expanded on something we came across during our research! This is a perfect example if someone is very negative about GMOs and their repercussions — even though many GMOs are bad in both their health detriments and managing companies. It'll be interesting to see how Adirondack farming continues to change due to GMOs in the future, and how they impact the global community as well!
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