In the province of Sondrio, the presence of purple tubers (or blue, as it is commonly referred to), from which this landrace may have originated, dates back to the early nineteenth century. In fact, some sources state that in 1834 the botanist Giuseppo Comelli claimed that in the nearby province of Como, "a dark purple ground apple (…), which is tastier than the others" had been introduced "recently" and was still "rare".
Despite being cultivated in mountain areas, the Valtellina purple potato is quite sensitive to frost; however, it is resistant to drought instead. The potato is a late variety and has a very elongated, oblong shape, it has a small size and is all lumpy. The eyes (buds) are very deep while both the skin and the flesh are dark purple.
It is a potato that is distinguished by a fairly firm and floury flesh and is suitable for being eaten boiled in salads, baked and even fried. This potato "tickles" the throat slightly due to the high solanine content.
Once widespread also in the southern part of Switzerland and in Valchiavenna, cultivation of the purple potatoes was abandoned for several reasons including: the small size, their gnarled and irregular appearance, and the difficulty of cultivation.
They had almost completely disappeared, a few years ago the ProSpecieRara association rediscovered this species and started to cultivate it once again in the Canton of Grisons (in Mesocco). With the same intent, some Valtellina growers are engaging in the recovery of this cultivar by promoting this historical cultivar that is closely linked to Valtellina.
This potato variety has been the subject of research projects that have been completed by some professors and researchers from the University of Pavia, who have also collected a lot of information on a large number of local Lombard varieties in a publication ("Traditional Lombard agronomic varieties at risk of extinction or genetic erosion Vegetables and cereals: an overview ", G. Rossi, F. Guzzon, M. Canella, E. R. Tazzari, P. Cauzzi, S. Bodino, N. M.G. Ardenghi, Pavia University Press, 2019).
The research activities necessary for the reporting of this product in the Ark of Taste online catalogue were financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the General Directorate of the Tertiary Sector and Corporate Social Responsibility – notice n° 1/2018 “Slow Food in action: communities protagonists of change”, pursuant to Article 72 of the Tertiary Sector Code, referred to in Legislative Decree No. 117/2017.
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