For World Vegetarian Day, Conde Nast Traveler has compiled a selection of the five most expensive plant foods. The list includes potatoes, mushrooms, hop cones, wasabi root, and spinach.
True, we are not talking about potatoes in general, but about something very special. The most expensive potato in the world is called La Bonnotte. Its price reaches 500-600 euros per kilogram! The fact is that this variety is very rare. It is grown only in Noirmoutier, on a small French islet that is only 18 km long and 2 to 6 km wide. About 100 tons of valuable potatoes are harvested there annually.
Potatoes are cultivated by hand so as not to damage the delicate tubers. Potatoes are fertilized with seaweed. They give it a light salty taste.
Potatoes with a delicate texture are not the best option for commercial cultivation. Only thanks to the work of several French enthusiasts, La Bonnotte has not completely disappeared.
The "Potato King" is planted in February, and the harvest takes place in the first week of May. Without the slightest delay, the harvest is delivered to the most expensive restaurants. There it falls into the hands of skilled chefs and becomes part of exclusive dishes.
Recently, the legendary La Bonnotte has a competitor. The fact is that in the UK they began to sell this variety of potatoes at a ridiculous price - $ 2,65 per kilogram. Producers have found a place where they can grow it at a lower cost.
On the other side of the English Channel, on the island of Jersey, the climate turned out to be as close as possible to the conditions of Noirmoutier, even the composition of the soil here is almost identical, and seaweed on this island contains the same amount of salt. So we can say that a rare variety loses its exclusivity and enters the mass market at an affordable price.