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Galatina new potato

PDO · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Puglia

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked:

In brief

History and origin

The Galatina new potato is a relatively young crop in the Salento: it arrived after the Second World War. The name of Galatina, the inland town in the province of Lecce, identifies the place to which the product's reputation and qualities are traditionally tied; only later did cultivation spread to nearby municipalities, as far as the Ionian coast.

The potato owes its success to its earliness: the sandy red soils of the lower Salento warm up quickly, and the tubers are ready from the very beginning of spring. For this reason much of the crop has gone abroad: over 80% of exports go to the German market, where Galatina new potatoes sell mainly between April and June.

The name is now a Protected Designation of Origin of the European Union, entered in the eAmbrosia register.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Patata Novella di Galatina DOP · eAmbrosia — Patata novella di Galatina (PDO-IT-1148)

Area and method of production

The production area covers nineteen municipalities in the province of Lecce: Acquarica del Capo, Alliste, Casarano, Castrignano del Capo, Galatina, Galatone, Gallipoli, Matino, Melissano, Morciano di Leuca, Nardò, Parabita, Patù, Presicce, Racale, Salve, Sannicola, Taviano and Ugento. There is a single variety, Sieglinde.

The specification requires a two-year rotation, with no other nightshade crops for two years. The soil is worked deeply in August and September; planting runs from 20 November to the end of February, using certified seed tubers, whole or cut. Lifting starts in the first ten days of March and ends on 30 June, with tools that do not touch the tubers directly, so as not to spoil their appearance.

After harvest the tubers are not washed and may not be stored for more than thirty days: the new potato is sold fresh, with the soil of its fields.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Patata Novella di Galatina DOP

How to recognise it

The Galatina new potato is elongated or oval and medium-sized. The skin is even, so thin that it flakes easily but free of cracks, an intense, bright yellow. Often, though, it looks rust- or chocolate-coloured: this is the red soil it grows in, rich in iron and phosphorus, clinging to the skin. The flesh is firm and yellowish.

The sandy soils, rich in organic matter, put no obstacle in the tuber's way, so it grows freely and reaches a good size; the result is a low starch and dry-matter content, distinctive traits of the designation.

It is sold only whole, unsprouted and regular in shape, in two size grades: 28 to 40 millimetres and 32 to 65 millimetres.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Patata Novella di Galatina DOP

In the kitchen

In the kitchen the Galatina new potato is versatile. Sliced, it enriches salads; as a side dish it is served boiled, fried or roasted.

In the Salento it goes into a typical traditional dish: pasta with potatoes and mussels, where the potato gives body to the sauce and pairs with the flavour of the sea.

It keeps best in a cool, dry place away from light; being a new potato, sold within thirty days of harvest, it is meant to be eaten fresh, in the season that runs from March to early summer.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Patata Novella di Galatina DOP

Where to taste it

The Galatina new potato is found in the red-earth countryside of the lower Salento, from inland Galatina and Galatone to the Ionian coast at Gallipoli, Nardò, Ugento and Salve, down to Castrignano del Capo and Patù, towards Santa Maria di Leuca.

The right time is spring: from early March to the end of June the fields are being harvested and the new potato is in season. Visitors to Gallipoli or the Ionian coast can look for it in seasonal dishes, starting with pasta with potatoes and mussels.

The same red soil that colours the skin is the landscape of these towns: a good reason to explore the hinterland between swims.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Patata Novella di Galatina DOP

Protection

When

Where

Puglia