What Are Purple Potatoes? It's Benefits and Side Effects

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Purple potatoes are vibrant, versatile, and nutritious, making them a must-have for any seasoned spud-lover. Although potatoes have a reputation for causing weight gain, studies show that the type of potato you choose and how the potato is prepared could make a difference.

Instead of loading up on the French fries, potato chips, or processed potato-based products, start stocking up on purple potatoes, which can help dial up the health benefits of your daily diet. So do purple potatoes grow naturally? Are purple potatoes have extra nutritious than white, and what variety of recipes can you use to provide this colorful veggie a try?

What Are Purple Potatoes?

Purple potatoes are a kind of root vegetable that relates to the Solanaceae, or nightshade vegetables, family. They are intimately linked to other nightshades, including eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers. The purple or blue-violet potato also fits into what has been called Vitelotte, although it is not certainly violet in color.

The past of the purple potato travels back to what’s recognized as the purple Peruvian, which is a heritage fingerling potato. This kind of potato may have been remarked as early as 1817, recorded as available at the store of Les Halles. The purple potato appears with specific names, such as purple majesty, purple Viking, and purple Peruvian, and is normally available each year long.

These golf ball-sized potatoes are particularly famous in South America, arising in Peru and Bolivia, and they can arrive at a slightly larger size if entitled to attain full maturity. They have an eccentric, earthy taste and are excelling as a side dish to complement almost any main course.

While all potatoes, including purple sweet potatoes, blue potatoes, white potatoes, and yellow potatoes, are high in carbohydrates, they also contain fiber and an array of important vitamins and minerals. In fact, take one look at the purple potatoes nutrition profile and it’s easy to see why they’re so great for improving your health.

A half-cup or around 75 grams of diced, fresh purple potatoes carries the following nutrients:

52.5 calories
12 grams carbohydrates
1.4 grams of protein
0.1-grams fat
1.3 grams of fiber
6.5 milligrams vitamin C (11 percent DV)
341 milligrams potassium (10 percent DV)
0.1 milligrams vitamin B6 (6 percent DV)
45.7 milligrams phosphorus (5 percent DV)
0.1 milligrams copper (5 percent DV)
0.1-milligram manganese (5 percent DV)
0.1-milligram thiamine (4 percent DV)
0.9-milligram niacin (4 percent DV)
16.5 milligrams magnesium (4 percent DV)

Health Benefits

Healthy Alternative to Food Coloring: Potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables are used for coloring foods and often grown specifically for the natural colors industry. This is great news, especially since they’re completely natural compared to the numerous chemical food dyes on the market that have been linked to several adverse effects on health.
Help Lower and Regulate Blood Pressure: Short research conferred by the American Chemical Society discovered that eating purple potatoes lowers blood pressure. This could be because they contain a high concentration of a phytochemical called chlorogenic acid, which has been linked to lower blood pressure in some studies.
May Prevent Blood Clots may: Blood clots, also known as thrombosis, are a leading cause of death throughout the world. Fortunately, they can be prevented, possibly by adding a little purple potato into your diet.

Recipes

Purple potatoes are a versatile and delicious ingredient that makes an excellent addition to any meal. Besides planting purple potatoes at home, there are various options of where to purchase purple potatoes, from local farm stands to health food stores and some supermarkets.

Even though they have a rich, vibrant violet color, their flavor is more subtle than some other potato varieties. Because of this, unlike the sweet potato that’s delicious all by itself, the purple potato is usually prepared by adding seasonings.

There are plenty of options for how to cook purple potatoes, and these tasty tubers work well as a substitute for regular potatoes in nearly any dish. Thanks to their mild taste, they can be boiled, mashed, roasted, or baked and seasoned with your choice of herbs and spices.

Keep in mind that boiling or baking is the best method versus deep frying, which kills many useful nutrients. Use a little coconut or olive oil with some salt and pepper for a delightful addition to any meal. Here are a few tasty purple potatoes recipes that you can try out to get started:

Roasted Purple Potatoes with Dijon, Lemon, and Thyme Dressing
Garlic Purple Mashed Potatoes
Oven-Roasted Purple Potato Fries

Risks and Side Effects

For most people, purple potatoes can be a delicious addition to the diet. However, they are relatively high in carbohydrates and calories, which can be an important consideration for certain groups.

Although the purple potatoes glycaemic ratio is fewer than normal potatoes, eating large amounts can still affect blood sugar levels. Therefore, if you have diabetes, you should keep consumption in moderation to help promote blood sugar control.

Purple potatoes on a keto diet or other low-carb diets should also be limited. For best results, keep portion sizes small and pairs with a variety of other non-starchy vegetables as part of a healthy diet.

FAQs

Do purple potatoes taste different?

Yes, there are potatoes that are purple-both on the inside and on the outside. While all are purple in color, do not be misled, however. They do not flavors like eggplant, purple grapes, or any different purple-tinged fruit or veg. They just feel like normal potatoes.

Are purple potatoes healthier than white?

Like different colored fruits and vegetables, purple potatoes’ light color is a revealing sign that they are great in antioxidants. In fact, they have 2 to 3 times more antioxidant activity compare to white or yellow potatoes.

Can diabetics eat purple potatoes?

Purple sweet potatoes own fewer GL than orange sweet potatoes. In addition to nutrients, purple sweet potatoes also carry anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a polyphenolic mixture that researchers designate may reverse or prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes risk by growing insulin resistance.

Conclusion

Purple potatoes are a colorful and healthy form of the potato family. You can make them likewise to how you would make white or yellow flesh potatoes, but if you interchange them in, you will enjoy quite a few health benefits. Related to normal potatoes, they have a fewer glycaemic index and may be more suitable for your blood sugar. Numerous of their health advantages, including those related to blood pressure and cancer shield, stem from their content of anthocyanin – important antioxidants that are abundant in these multi-colored potatoes.

What Are Purple Potatoes? It’s Benefits and Side Effects