Patatas de Prades PGI

Tasting notes

Firm texture, floury in the mouth, slight smell of chestnuts, sweet, persistent flavor.

Other notes

Very smooth, hard, firm, light yellow skin and whitish flesh. There should be neither green stains nor excessive deformations. This variety has a specially high starch content, double that of a normal potato. The size is from 40 to 80 mm but may reach as much as 100 mm.

Production / Processing method

The quality and flavor of these potatoes is much influenced by the traditional crop rotation method used, in which half the growing area is used for grassy crops. Plant density is approximately 0.50 m x 0.70 m, giving 5-10 tubers per plant, with an average of 28,000 plants per hectare (2.471 acres).

Cultivation begins with obtaining certified seeds of the low-yielding, but top-quality ‘Kennebec’ variety. Sowing takes place in the month of April in furrows, which are then covered with earth forming a ridge in which the plant develops.

Harvesting is done manually, in early September when the plant dies naturally. The tubers are carefully torn from the plant two weeks after the plant has died. This late harvest helps the skin to ripen, preserving the potato’s quality and increasing its resistance to damage during packing as well as its inherent capacity for natural preservation.

After harvesting, the potatoes undergo the following processes: external quality control and classification into even batches; packing in breathable paper bags holding two or five kilos and bearing the PGI logotype; storing in suitable premises under natural temperature and moisture conditions, and labeling.

Geography / Relief and climate

The privileged area of the Prades mountains, outstanding from a geographical point of view and reaching an altitude of 1,000 m, has very fertile, sandy, siliceous soils with slightly acid pH. There is little rainfall, the temperatures are fairly low and winds blowing in from the sea bring moisture.

Regulatory Council

Consejo Regulador de la IGPPatatas de Prades
Avda. Verge d'Abellera, 1
43364 Prades (Tarragona)
Tel:  (+34) 977 868 178
coopeprades@ono.com

Sources:

 
- Spanish Ministry of Agriculture