Spud-ucation zine · Issue #1Free · take one
Keep your purple purple
100%
purple
purple
By Tyler Jobe, Head of Spud-ucation · September 30, 2026
Every week at the market someone tells me the same sad story: they bought a bag of Russian Blues, took them home, boiled them, and ended up with greyish-lavender mush. Today, that ends. Class is in session.
The rules
- 1Skins on. The skin holds the colour in and keeps a lot of the nutrients from escaping. Scrub, don't peel.
- 2Steam, roast or microwave. The purple pigments (anthocyanins) dissolve in water, so a long boil leaches colour into the pot. If you do boil, start them whole in cold, salted water and stop the second a fork slides in.
- 3Don't overcook. Purple fades the longer it sits in the heat. Tender is the goal, not collapsed.
- 4Mash gently. A hand masher or ricer, never a blender. Overworked potatoes go gluey whatever colour they are.
The colour cheat sheet
Anthocyanins are a natural pH indicator, so what you cook them with changes the shade:
- A splash of acid (lemon juice, vinegar) pushes them brighter and pinker-purple.
- Anything alkaline (baking soda, very hard tap water) pulls them towards blue, and with enough of it, an odd teal-green. Still perfectly edible, just alarming.
- Plain milk and butter are close to neutral, so your mash stays classic purple.
+ lemon
as is
+ soda
Purple Reign Mash
Serves 4 as a side, or 2 as a main if it's been that kind of day.
You'll need:
Method:
- Cut the potatoes into even chunks and steam for 20 to 25 minutes, until a fork slides in easily.
- Meanwhile, warm the milk, butter and garlic in a small pot until the butter melts. Fish out the garlic.
- Mash the potatoes gently, then stir in the warm milk mixture a little at a time.
- Add the lemon juice and watch the purple get brighter. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pile into a bowl, top with chives and a cheeky knob of butter, and serve before anyone asks if it's dyed.
Printed at the stall · Port Perry, ON