Purple potato on the gravy train

Plant and Food Research, New Zealand’s sole potato breeder, has developed a new purple skinned potato as one of 16 new cultivars bred by the company. Purple Heart, as the potato is called, is smooth and large with a relatively high yield, which manager Ivan Lawrie believes will have strong appeal. “We think it will have a niche in the gourmet restaurant trade and among the health conscious.” The new potato has a distinctive speckled purple flesh inside, and Plant and Food Research is claiming that it may have added health benefits, including antioxidants like anthocyanin, typically found in blueberries, beetroot, red cabbage, and purple grapes and believed to have cancer fighting properties.