Potatoes

The potato and the potato famine have a very strong association with Ireland in the minds of most Americans. Potatoes are often thought to have originated in Ireland. The potato actually originated in northern Peru within 1,000 miles of where manioc and corn originated. Some scientists also suggest a contribution from Chilean potatoes. The four largest fresh crops in the world are rice (a grass that originated in the middle east), wheat, maize (corn) and potatoes.

French Fries (Chips)

In 1537, Castellanos, a Spanish Conquistador, was the first to mention potatoes in print. They were taken back to Europe by early sailors and planted as a novelty. Around 1600, they were introduced into Ireland where they thrived. Some feel the potatoes were introduced by Sir Francis Drake, but a positive connection has not been made.

In the 1740s, potatoes spread throughout Prussia and Germany when Frederick the Great and King William of germany recognized their food value for their armies. Potatoes also provided basic nutrition to the poor. Seed potatoes and instructions on growing them were given to the farmers in this area by their leaders.

The French did not adopt potatoes until the work of Parmetier, a French pharmacist who was imprisoned in Germany during the Seven Years War (1756-1763). He credits the potatoes with saving his life by providing food during his imprisonment. He worked hard to get the French to grow and eat potatoes. He would invite gentlemen of distinction, such as Benjamin Franklin, to dinner and serve potatoes. He is also credited with spreading the notion that it was an effective aphrodisiac, a secret discovered and guarded by the Spanish according to him. He even had his garden guarded during daylight hours only. Local farmers came and "stole" potatoes at night thinking that anything guarded must be valuable.

The Widow's Acre From a painting by G. H. Boughton

The potato is nutritious with 2 g of protein per 100 g of potato as well as 2.2 g of fiber, and high concentrations of potassium, iron, vitamin B6 and vitamin C along with its 15 g of starch. In Russia, potatoes are widely eaten and also form the feedstock for vodka. Interestingly, the potato is a relative of nightshade, and eating the sprouts can cause poisoning. Even the potatoes themselves contain small amounts of the toxin. Curiously, China is the world's largest potato producer with Russia a distant second.

Potato Blight

By the 1840s, much of Ireland was dependent on the potato for survival, especially among the poorer farmers. The arrival of the potato blight (a fungal growth, Phytophthera infestans, that destroys the plant) wiped out the Irish potato crops of 1845, 1846 and 1848. An estimated 1.5 million people died of starvation, and another two million immigrated to the United States or Canada. At that time, the population of Ireland was 8 million.

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Contents copyright 2006 by Dr. A. V. Persson and ParaComp, Inc. All rights reserved.

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