It’s those potatoes again…
That was last autumn, and this spring there were a few of those little potatoes remaining, and all with roots springing all over. So I gave them to Olga and told her I was curious whether they could be grown other places or whether they only taste right if grown in Colfiorito.
Today Olga came to my door with potatoes grown from those tiny red ones as well as control potatoes grown from their usual Kennebec seed potatoes.
Are you dying to know what the answer is? No? Well, gee, what kind of foodies are you? I was dying to know, so I washed and boiled some immediately. I put a little butter on, nothing else. And guess what?
The Colfiorito type taste good, like a freshly dug new potato should, but not like the ones grown in Colfiorito! They’re right. If you want this absolutely gourmet treasure, you must buy the real thing. Move it 60 kilometers north and it’s just another potato.
Terroir… :-)
Nothing specific to a region ever tastes quite the same when you take it away from there, I don’t think. It’s as much to do with an experience as with an actual taste, but it’s worth travelling for those special moments. Especially if you’re greedy, like me. ;)
The taste of a potatoe alters when it’s stored for some time. It looses all of the young potatoe’s acidity, it becomes milder and more aromatic.
My favorite potatoe “Aula” is a late variety. It’s harvested sometimes as late as December, but it is best in February.
Store some of your Colfioritos in a cool and dark place and then try them again after a month or even later.
Why not bring some dirt home next? Maybe the potatoes will like it better if they feel they’re in their own environment!
I ran into another one of these yesterday, about which I will write soon. It’s a pear that grows to a unique fruit unless grown in other places. It’s the product of a tiny mountain village which has nothing else to recommend it, and all the pear trees come from one tree. There are probably other places with the same combination of soil and altitude in the world, but how would you find them? Anyway, they are saving the species now.