1 Chinese Truffle Aka French Vitelotte Violet Potato Plant

French Gourmet Blue potato (aka Vitelotte) or Chinese Truffle is a gourmet French variety of blue-violet potato cultivated since the 1800’s.

Its dark blue, almost black, skin and dark violet-blue flesh have a characteristic nutty flavour and taste of chestnuts. The colour is retained in cooking, and is due to its high natural contents of rich anthocyanins. Anthocyanins is an anti-oxidant, beneficial to liver and pancreas and age-related insulin deficiency.

Grow the Vitelotte seedlings or tuber in well-tilled soil; space the tubers around 30 to 40 cm apart, and bury them at a depth of 10 to 15 cm. Water every evening in summer and mulch the base of the potato stems.

Harvesting black vitelotte at the end of summer, once the foliage turn completely yellow or has dried off. Once harvested, keep your Vitelottes in the dark in a cool, dry and ventilated place. Scour the plants from time to time and twist buds off.