Campania · Campania

Patata ricciona o riccia di Napoli

Cream-fleshed, old, difficult, stubbornly local.

Geo AHistory BRitual AMethod B

What it is

A late-maturing Campanian potato with rounded light-beige tuber, cream flesh and many eyes, historically widespread but now declining.

Origin place card

The source places it across the region, especially Acerrano-Nolano, Nocerino-Sarnese, Aversano, Piana del Sele, Monti Lattari and internal areas.

Verified history

The official page says it was very widespread in the past and is now in decline because of its many eyes. Treat this as source-supported tradition/history from Regione Campania — Patata ricciona o riccia di Napoli; the current evidence does not independently establish a founder, precise origin date, first attestation, or archival origin beyond that source framing.

Local hypothesis

This is a page about commercial inconvenience: a potato loses ground because the body people once accepted becomes a defect.

Local legend / oral tradition

No legend documented.

Ingredients

Si tratta di una patata molto diffusa in passato, oggi in declino per la presenza di numerosi "occhi".

Method

Plant not very early, around late February/early March, using whole seed tubers spaced at least 25 cm on simple rows around 75 cm apart. Source-supported detail: Descrizione delle metodiche di lavorazione, condizionamento, stagionatura L'epoca di impianto non è molto precoce (fine febbraio-inizi di marzo), l' investimento non è superiore a 5-5,5 tuberi/m2 (ottenuto disponendo tuberi-seme interi distanziati di almeno 25 cm su file semplici a 75

Ritual / calendar

ultimo aggiornamento 29 agosto 2019

Why travel for it

A declining old potato page: once widespread across Campania, now pushed aside because its many eyes make it commercially awkward.

Recreate-it pathway

Recover household uses before writing a recipe; source gives cultivation, not cooking.

Editorial warning

The source is concise and technical; this page is a recovery seed, not a finished feature.

Fieldwork questions

Where is it still planted? Why did households value it despite the many eyes? Which dishes suited its cream flesh?

Photo brief

Old tubers with many eyes, Campanian field, side-by-side with modern smooth varieties.