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The mountain potato
Historical Remarks
The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) comes from to the high Andean plateaus of South America: the centre of origin is located in the hollow of Lake Titicaca, between Bolivia and Perù (4,000 m a.s.l.). It was introduced to Europe on two occasions, the first in Spain around 1570 and the second in England around 1590. It reached Italy, in Genoa, from Spain in 1585 where it was brought by the Carmelitan Barefoot Monks. In about 1770 a campaign to favour the cultivation of this solanacea was begun, to ensure its acceptance by the population. The famines in the years of 1816 and 1817 favoured the culinary appraisal of the tubers, and the potato consequently spread, with cultivations in every region. The success and diffusion of the vegetable on the worldwide level is tied to its versatility, in terms of adaptability to various pedoclimatic conditions and its nutritional potential. In fact, it provides maximum amounts of dry matter, carbohydrates, high biological value protein, minerals and vitamin B and C, with less time for cultivation and land area covered than other food cultivations.
Mountain potatoes
In his “Historical Memories of the Seven Cities of Vicenza” (“Memorie Istoriche dei Sette Comuni Vicentini”), published in 1820, the friar Agostino Dal Pozzo of Rotzo suggested the potato be cultivated; he
stated “all species of grain harvested are not enough to maintain the population”. I shall not neglect therefore to suggest to my countrymen to introduce the plant known as the potato, which the French call the pomme de terre and the Germans call the herdaflel”. Chronicles of the late eighteenth century spoke of a plant with a violet or “black” skin, which enriched the poor tables of the Vicentine population. The cultivation of the potato in the Vicentine mountain area began precisely around this period, where it found an ideal habitat in the area of Rotzo, on the Asiago and 7 Commons Plateau of the Seven Cities, in nearby Posina sul Pasubio, the Astico Valley and the Agno Valley. The noteworthy production of potatoes in these areas is due to two centuries of cultivation and, above all, to the characteristics of the soil (loose and permeable) and climate (with fresh and dry summers) which favours
tuberisation and the accumulation of starch in the tubers, which confer the potatoes with their culinary characteristics and qualities.
Product Characteristics
The mountain potato is produced in the territory from the Asiago and 7 Commons Plateau (primarily in Rotzo), Laghi, Arsiero, Velo d’Astico, Tonezza and in other areas of the Posina valleys, Val d’Astico and the Agno Valley. The varieties cultivated include the Bintje and Desirèe, ideal for all uses and for “gnocchi”, Kennebek, for “gnocchi”and mashed potatoes, Spunta, Monalisa, Liseta and Alba, for salads and roasting and Agria for fried potatoes.
With respect to the varietal characteristics, these tubers are rounded-oval or
oval-oblong in shape, have a smooth skin, eyes on the surface, pulp ranging from white to light yellow in colour and have a delicate taste. They are fine grained and range from little to slightly floury in consistency and range from slightly humid to dry. The average weight of the tubers ranges from 35 to 200 grams and the dry content ranges between 19% and 24%.
Some mountain producers have obtained certification by the “Land of Palladio” Consortium in order to appraise the product and guarantee its origin.
Plains Potato or “of the red soil of Guà”
This variety of potato is cultivated in alluvial soil of medium consistency, with a good calcareous content, typical of the “red soil of Guà” in the plains between the provinces of Vicenza, Padua and Verona, which confer the tuber skins with a typical “golden yellow” colour and a particularly pleasant and exquisite taste. The varieties cultivated include the Primura, which is the most widespread, the Agata, Vivaldi, Cicero, Monalisa, Liseta and the Alba, which provide ideal tubers for use as sliced potatoes and for all other uses. The tubers of this cultivation have an oval or oval-oblong shape, a golden yellow skin colour and a light yellow pulp colour. The skin is rather thin and resistant to greening and mechanical manipulations. The cooked pulp has a delicate taste and a fine grain, which is not very floury and is slightly humid.
Product Description
Potato growing in this area is considered quite advanced, due to the high levels of production of the tubers per hectare and the characteristics of quality, cleanliness and the culinary characteristics of the potatoes. Potato growers, in fact, use certified tuber seeds and techniques of cultivation that are regulated by specific integrated production regulations. All cultivation procedures from sewing to harvest are totally mechanised and the tubers are stored in refrigerated cells. The tubers, which have an average weight between 45 and 200 grams and a dry content ranging from 18% to 22%, are packaged according to criteria of calibre homogeneity (Ø 40-55 mm; Ø 55-70 mm) and are marketed in 1.5 to 5 kg sacks.
Area of Production
In Vicenza the plains potato is cultivated in the areas of the cities of Agugliaro, Alonte, Asigliano Veneto, Lonigo, Orgiano, Noventa Vicentina and Poiana Maggiore. The protection and value of this product is entrusted largely to the APPA, the Association of Potato Producers, whose operational home office is in Montagnana (Province of Padua), which unites cooperatives and individual farms and organises the production and harvest of about 600 thousand quintals of the product, also partially managing the marketing under the registered trademark of “Dorata”. The marketing of the potato is addressed to national markets, especially in the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and the central-north European countries such as Switzerland and Germany. Recognistion of the Protected Designation of Origin (P.D.O.) has been requested from the EU for the “Golden Potato from the Red Soil of Guà”
Some plains area producers have obtained certification from the “Land of Palladio” Consortium in order to benefit the product and guarantee its origin.
TECHNICAL CARD
- Botanical name: Solanum tuberosum sub. Tuberopsum.
- Family: Solanacee.
- Period of production: it is sewn in the plains at the end of February and the first two weeks of March. In
mountainous areas, it is sewn in the month of April. The harvest in the plains depend whether the cultivation is early or not, between the second decade of July and the first half of August. In
mountainous areas the harvest is moved up to the end of August for the precocious varieties and to the months of September and October for the late varieties.
- Nutritional properties: the potato is a tuber that has a content of calories ranging from 85 kilocalories for steam-cooked potatoes, to 148 kilocalories for roasted potatoes and 188 kilocalories for fried
potatoes. The fundamental
characteristic of the potato is its starch content, amounting to 16 grams per kilo, and the content in sugar reducers, which must not normally exceed 1%. The rich starch content makes the potato
extremely digestible and therefore
particularly indicated for the diet of sick and elderly persons.
TRADE FAIRS AND EVENTS
Rotzo
(first Sunday of September) - Festa della patata (The Potato Festival)
Ph. +39 0424 691079
Tonezza del Cimone
(end of September, first part of October)
Festa della patata Tonezzana e Alto Astico naturali
(The Tonezza and Upper Astico Natural Potato Festival)
Ph. +39 0445 749102
Recipes
Rice and potatoes
4 servings:
320 g. rice, 1 onion,
2 big potatoes,
1.5 l. broth (even made with bouillon cube).
40 g. butter, minced parsley,
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves, grana padano cheese,
salt, pepper
Mince onion and brown it in a pan with oil and butter. Add diced potatoes (peeled). Season with salt and pepper, add the cloves and add some water.
After about 15 minutes add rice and cook. Pour some broth every now and then. Blend
slightly to avoid sticking. When it’s ready add more butter, the grated grana padano and
sprinkle minced parsley.
Leek and potatoes soup with asparagus tops
4 servings:
3 potatoes, 1.5 kg leeks,
200 g. asparagus,
1 l. broth, salt.
Clean and slice leeks, keeping
little of the green part.
Shallow-fry in a pan with oil and butter, add peeled and diced
potatoes and finally, add the broth. Season with salt, cook for 40-50 minutes and then mix in the blender. In the meantime shallow-fry the asparagus tops in the remaining butter. Place the asparagus tops on the soup. Serve hot. Butter-fried bread can be added if desired.
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