Potatoes have been around for thousands and thousands of years. At the same time it has only been a few hundred years that potatoes have been apart of our diets. The Incas began cultivating, worshiping and enjoying the benefits of the vegetable some 3,000-7,000 years ago in South America. Around the middle of the 1500’s the Spanish came to this part of the globe and discovered this exotic vegetable and brought it back to the royals of Spain.
Like so many other vegetable introduced to the European table, potatoes were also rejected by majority of the people. Many believed potatoes caused leprosy, syphilis, narcosis, scrofula, early death, sterility and rampant sexuality. In the US potatoes were thought of as food for animals, often grown next to the hog pens.
Needless to say it took a while for potatoes to catch on. A French scientist was able to convince his boss, King Louis XIV, to grow potatoes outside of Paris. The king then agreed and troops were ordered to surround the farmland. The locals were very curious to what the royals were growing and thought that anything this heavily guarded must be of value. One night, Parmentier gave the troops the night off. At nightfall, the locals raided the fields and soon began growing and eating potatoes just as Parmentier had hoped. Gradually potatoes became recognized as a nutritious food to fight hunger and feed the masses. Today potatoes are grown every from its origins in South America to space.
Potato Timeline
1536 Potato arrive in Europe
1609 European sailors take potatoes to China
1719 Potatoes arrive in the USA
1801 First French fries served in the U.S.
1845 Irish potato famine
1853 Potato crisp invented in New York
1952 ‘Mr. Potato head’ toy created
1995 The potato is grown in space
2008 United Nations International Year of the Potato
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