Amber Potatoes
"Stone in the raw, supper in the flame." -Common Everwealthy saying.
Everwealth is a land where survival often favors the persistent over the privileged, and few things exemplify this reality more than the Amber Potato. Found throughout the kingdom in rocky fields and dry plateaus, this root crop is a culinary paradox, abundant, nourishing, and virtually inedible without intense preparation. Resembling a fist-sized rock with a mottled orange hue, the Amber Potato is so dense that it’s frequently used by the poor not only as food, but as a substitute for stones, be it for bludgeoning, sharpening into tools, or even ammunition. But when subjected to blistering heat, the kind found only in smelters or forge fires, it softens into a starchy staple as familiar to Everwealthy cuisine as bread or broth. Its taste is dry and savory, like a salted red potato with a stubborn chalky texture that demands cream, butter, or broth to reach culinary comfort. Though largely a food of necessity, it is cherished in its own rugged way, particularly during festivals, where blacksmiths sling baskets over their blazing furnaces, roasting the tubers and stuffing them with rare ingredients like cheese, tallow, or herbs. For the poor of Everwealth, the Amber Potato is not just a food, it’s a symbol of resilience, endurance, and warmth pulled from hardship.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Amber Potato grows underground like most tubers, appearing above ground as a wiry vine with small gray-green leaves and nondescript flowers. The tuber itself is oval and rugged, with a textured surface resembling sandstone and a subtle orange coloration that intensifies with age. Its density is extreme, it resists even pickaxe blows in its raw form, and shatters like brittle stone when struck at the wrong angle. Inside, the potato is a solid mass of root flesh, with no distinct layers or separation between skin and core. Despite its harsh texture, the potato is entirely edible once softened, maintaining its bright carrot-orange coloration even after intense cooking.
Genetics and Reproduction
The Amber Potato spreads via underground runners, producing new tubers at branching nodes. It requires dry, nutrient-poor soil and thrives in regions where other crops fail. Though commonly propagated through cuttings, its vines produce occasional seed pods, which burst upon drying and scatter tiny black seeds across nearby terrain. These seeds lie dormant for months, sometimes years, until rain softens the soil enough for them to germinate. This ensures the crop’s slow but steady expansion across harsh Everwealthy landscapes, particularly in the rocky borderlands and lowland plateaus.
Growth Rate & Stages
- Sprout Stage: Tiny vines emerge from soil, marked by curled leaves and needle-like roots. This stage lasts several weeks.
- Tuber Development: After two to three months, the root begins to swell and calcify, growing steadily heavier and more compact.
- Harvest Stage: By five to six months, the tuber has reached full mass and hardens into its final, stone-like state. Once this stage is reached, the plant dies back, leaving the root dormant underground.
Ecology and Habitats
The Amber Potato is found throughout Everwealth, favoring rocky terrain, gravelly hillsides, and poor farmland. It requires little water and flourishes in locations considered too harsh for traditional crops. Its presence is most common around trade roads, old battlefields, and smelter towns, regions where disturbed soil and human intervention accidentally encouraged its spread. While rarely consumed by wildlife due to its hardness, it occasionally serves as nesting material for certain birds and rodents, who dig them up not to eat but to hide valuables or line their dens. Insects and parasites avoid it altogether, as the raw tuber offers no sustenance.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Like all root vegetables, the Amber Potato relies on photosynthesis in its vines and water absorption through its extensive root system. It thrives in mineral-rich but nutrient-poor soil, absorbing trace metals from the earth that may contribute to its stone-like composition. Curiously, regions near forge slag dumps yield particularly dense and brightly colored specimens.
Biological Cycle
Unlike seasonal crops, Amber Potatoes are planted and harvested year-round depending on climate and region. Once matured, the tuber enters a kind of stasis underground and can remain edible for years if left untouched. This makes it a reliable famine crop, as entire caches can be unearthed in emergencies. The tuber must be cooked at extreme heat, typically upwards of 1,200°F (650°C), before becoming soft enough to eat. This unusual requirement has led to its close association with blacksmiths, who often dedicate part of their forges to roasting baskets of the tubers for extra income.
Behaviour
The Amber Potato does not exhibit behavior, but its cultural entrenchment has shaped behaviors in others. It is a cornerstone of cuisine among Everwealth's poorest citizens, eaten in stews, mashed with butter, or stuffed with herbs when available. Because of its heating requirements, entire communities often rely on the good favor of local blacksmiths, who prepare them en masse, especially during holidays. In festival times, smithies transform into bustling makeshift bakeries, distributing soft-roasted Amber Potatoes filled with soft cheeses, rare herbs, or salted meats to those who can afford a few extra coppers. In this way, the humble tuber becomes a symbol of community, generosity, and survival through shared hardship.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
The Amber Potato has no sensory properties of its own, but its culinary memory endures in Everwealthy culture. The raw tuber is scentless, flavorless, and practically useless. Once cooked, however, it releases a soft, nutty aroma and savory scent, similar to roasted root vegetables, mixed with a mineral tang from its heated core.
Scientific Name
Solanum ignivorax.
Origin/Ancestry
Believed to be an offshoot of pre-Schism agricultural rootstock that adapted to the increasingly harsh, stony terrain of post-collapse Everwealth. Some believe it was magically modified to endure long sieges and harsh weather, though no direct proof of en
Conservation Status
Common and not threatened. It grows almost everywhere food is hard to come by. Because of its difficulty in preparation, few outside Everwealth make use of it, and thus it remains a uniquely regional staple.
Geographic Distribution
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