Patata di Verrayes della Valle d'Aosta

Potatoes belong to mountain farming although they have not been there long. They reached Europe from the Americas at the start of the 16th century and spread into the mountains slowly and with difficulty, for all their hardiness and food value. The Valle d'Aosta began growing them towards the end of the 18th century, probably through trade with Piedmont, but not at any scale until 1817, when a bad famine drove people to them. The fresh, free-draining, mineral-rich soil and the wide swing between day and night temperatures suit them exactly.