Australian farmers breed purple potato with the ideal colour ánd taste

Foodies across Victoria (Australia) will be able to test their tastebuds on Victorian-grown purple potato crisps and spuds as early as next year.

Peter and Sandra Scott have been growing potatoes at their Colac farm for 30 years, but decided to take a chance on a new variety in 2004.

“The Department of Agriculture certified us with a ­licence to grow purple ­potatoes, and we haven’t looked back since,” Peter said.

The couple has been breeding and trialling various types of seeds such as ruby lou, purple conga, midnight pearl and crimson pearl, and believe they have created the ideal colour and taste.

“Originally we started with purple conga. The colour was great, but it wasn’t edible so we went back to the drawing board,” Peter said. “It’s taken a lot of time of cross-breeding, trial and error to create not just a potato rich in purple colour, but also a potato that tastes really good.”

The potato’s deep purple flesh means it’s possible to make purple mash, gnocchi and chips.

The Scotts have created purple potato crisps, which are low in salt and high in antioxidants, making them confident the variety will be popular. Peter makes them using the “kettle chip method” — dunking them into a fryer filled with sunflower oil.

The couple supply their purple potatoes to a fruit shop at Torquay and at some farmers’ markets and said the response from buyers had been positive.

“Purple potatoes appeal to everyone. Mothers buy them because kids love the colour and want to eat them, and health-conscious people enjoy them because of the nutritional benefits,” Peter said. “In order to release a new variety, and for people to buy it … it needs to be better than the original, and we’ve created a better, more nutritious and delicious product.”