05 December 2021, 09:49 AM
wtgThe ancient potato of the future
quote:
Solanum jamesii, aka the Four Corners potato, has sustained Indigenous people in the American Southwest for 11,000 years; USDA is now studying its 8-year shelf life, and its resistance to disease, heat, and drought. The future of this remarkable little potato remains unwritten.
https://thecounter.org/four-co...source=pocket-newtab05 December 2021, 10:18 AM
Steve MillerWho knew a common weed could so political?
05 December 2021, 10:49 AM
ShiroKuroquote:
8-year shelf life
05 December 2021, 12:47 PM
Piano*DadIn over thirty years of poking around the region I have never encountered this potato. I'm going to ask around at the good "farm to table" kind of restaurants in Santa Fe if they have ever tried using them. I'm also intrigued by the map, which shows them growing almost all over the high parts of the state, with the exception of Santa Fe county. Strange. That's where the original Anasazi people moved after the collapse of agriculture in the Chaco region. One wonders why they didn't take 'em with them.
05 December 2021, 07:22 PM
wtgMore for P*D. Hatch chiles.
https://thecounter.org/hatch-g...last-climate-crisis/ I want to visit the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University...
05 December 2021, 07:59 PM
Piano*DadYes, the "Hatch" chile is a lab creation. Each pueblo has its own chiles that the residents claim, naturally, is the best chile around!
I suspect that New Mexico State is busily working to create chile varieties that will tolerate slightly higher temperatures, and if water stays tight I would imagine the pecans and alfalfa will disappear, leaving more more water for chile!
I eat lots of chile whenever we're in NM ... breakfast (huevos motuleños, FTW!), lunch (green chile cheeseburger!), and dinner. Well, rarely all of them on the same day!
Some places serve margaritas that are infused with Hatch chiles! For instance ...
This place's Norteno margarita!
06 December 2021, 12:12 AM
jodiThought this person’s description of the potato and it non-usefulness as a foodstuff and potential toxicity problems was interesting.
https://www.cultivariable.com/...ato-solanum-jamesii/06 December 2021, 08:49 AM
wtgThat guy is a real potato geek; the whole site is a gold mine of information about unique veggies!
He also mentions the Potato Genebank, which it turns out is in Sturgeon Bay, WI. We used to drive by the facility on our way up to our house; I had no idea it's the center of the USDA Potato Universe.
https://doorcountypulse.com/do...tys-potato-genebank/06 December 2021, 08:53 AM
Piano*Dadquote:
That guy is a real potato geek;
Yep ...
06 December 2021, 11:39 AM
RealPlayerHistorically, most nightshades were considered at least potentially poisonous.
06 December 2021, 12:47 PM
pianojugglerFor centuries, people did not eat tomatoes. They knew the plant was poisonous, so they assumed the fruit was, too.
I learned this when I was cooking in the SCA. No tomatoes. They were not used in medieval food.
Jodi