The Canarian potatoes seen by chef Erlantz Gorostiza, in ‘A landscape in the casserole’ by the Red Cross

The farmer Vicente Suárez is part of the local supplier network de Gorostiza, chef who manages Martín Berasategui’s MB, one of the two restaurants in the Canary Islands with two Michelin Stars. The Basque chef reveals in ‘Tuberculos’ the importance of the environment and having local products when cooking. For his part, the dietician reviews the nutritional contribution in carbohydrates that the tubers provide and talks about how to cook them so that they are healthier.

Valladares, in turn, focuses on how to promote the circular economy through the sustainable cultivation of potatoes, a crop that unfortunately is declining and disappearing as farmers age, given that the arable area in the Canary Islands is declining. Just in the face of this setback and the restriction on the import of potatoes and seeds from the United Kingdom –restriction already lifted-, recently the Minister of Agriculture of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Miguel Hidalgo, advocated for increase potato cultivation “because there are lands and resources”.

“Canarian potatoes are a great gastronomic treasure not only in the Canary Islands, but in Spain as a whole,” says Gorostiza. He emphasizes that “Canarian potatoes are unique.” He assumes that “there is no place in the world where such a unique product is grown” as potatoes from the Canary Islands, despite the fact that the potato, originally from South America, is grown all over the world.

Why is the Canarian potato unique?

Potatoes came to the Canary Islands from America, specifically from South America, and they even landed with their name in Quechua, without the evolution of potatoes that they take on the peninsula. The Canary Islands were the first point where potatoes arrived from their original region, between the south of Peru and the northwest of the Bolivian Altiplano. Those original Andean seeds have determined the variety of potatoes that exist in the Canary Archipelago, more than a hundred. This enormous variety is one of the singularities of the Canarian potato, but there is more.

In the Canary Islands, Potatoes are a dryland product, irrigated by the scarce rains that occur in the Archipelago and by the humidity of horizontal rain., the constant mist that the trade wind leaves in the midlands and peaks of the steepest islands. The subtropical climate of the Canary Islands, marked by its geographical location, its proximity to Africa and its volcanic origin, with altitudes such as Teidethe summit of Spain, give the Canarian potato special properties.

The Canarian potato, an excellent product

Gorostiza talks about the potato with fervor in the documentary. He begins by reviewing his Basque history and culture, which determines his dedication to gastronomy, something he identifies with happiness, given that “all celebrations in the Basque Country are around a table.” In this context, the chef considers that Tubers in the Canary Islands are one of the most important products we have in Spain and highlights the great peculiarity that the Canary Islands are the only place in Europe where many of the varieties of potatoes that exist in the world are grown.

Value the excellence of the Canarian potato and that To be able to cook, the first thing you need is to have “a good product”. For this reason, he is delighted to be able to work with “the entire network of small local suppliers” that he has located in Tenerife. This network provides you with premium quality local products that you would not otherwise have. “I would be unable to cook well if I didn’t have the best product”he confesses, while explaining the satisfaction of helping these farmers and their families earn a living.

Canary Islands, Eden for potato gastronomy

The agronomist Domingo Ríos delves into the fact that potatoes entered Europe from South America through the Canary Islands in the mid-16th century. He highlights that in the Canary Islands there is still much of the old potato cultivation culture, although we always end up consuming the same tubers for reasons of productivity. He points out that the Canary Islands are an Eden for potato gastronomy and emphasizes that Right now there are between 130 and 140 varieties of potatoes preserved in a germplasm bank, available for cultivation at any time.

Ríos adds that “potatoes are a very good food that, for centuries, have greatly eliminated hunger.” Indeed, the potato has had vital importance in the human diet. The ecologist of Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) Fernando Valladares reinforces this thesis, highlighting that The tubers, the starchy roots, are a valuable source of carbohydrates for our diet.

The nutritionist Luis J. Morán highlights that “in tubers we can find a large amount of starch that provides us with carbohydrates and that starch is transformed in our body into glucose.” This does not mean that it is bad, he points out, but that consumption must be adapted to the physical activity that is carried out, because “if we have low physical activity, glucose will end up being transformed into fat to be stored in our body and that can create a problem of excess weight.

An important part of the consumption of potatoes and their health benefits is in their preparation. Fried potatoes are not the same as wrinkled or cooked potatoes, but there is much more to the potato universe, as can be seen in the documentary. The cooking recipe book Red Cross Conscious Eating It allows you to expand those horizons even further and get out of the usual preparations.

‘Tubercle’ collects that Potatoes offer a very wide repertoire to cook them in many ways. There are countless recipes that we can make with potatoes using only different cooking techniques and, being original, according to Gorostiza, you can even use their skin. It’s no joke, the cook shows it.