The potato is a double-edged sword: you rise with the potato, you fall with the potato

As an ingredient, the "potato" has always been one of the representatives of cheap and abundant food: mashed potatoes, French fries, beef stew with potatoes... all kinds of dishes made with potatoes are delicacies in the eyes of most people. But you may not expect thatThe potato has been widely cultivated worldwide, but only forthe last five hundred years's matter。

The mashed potatoes I absolutely love. Image: modernmagazin.com

The potato originated in South America, and is generally believed to come from the Andean mountain region of South America, from Peru to the extreme northwest of Bolivia.In the first half of the 16th century, in villages in the Andes, Spanish colonists saw potatoes grown by the villagers and, as was customary, brought them back to Europe.

Ireland: you rise with the potato, you fall with the potato

At the time, the potato, newly arrived in Europe, was not as universally loved as it is today. Its starch content was too high. As a result, most simple cooking methods could not improve its "plain starchy taste". People in high society had all kinds of food to choose from, and they could not bring themselves to love this bland imported food. But the potato was easy to grow, easy to fill you up, and rich in nutrients, making it an excellent food crop for the lower classes.

Sprouted potatoes have a high content of toxic alkaloids (mainly solanine) around the eyes and in the parts that turn green when exposed to light, and heating does not break them down, so eating such potatoes can easily cause poisoning. Image: Donna / wiki commons

In 1565, the potato reached Ireland. In Ireland, where war had severely damaged traditional crops, the new crop, the potato, buried deep underground, survived the flames of war, and afterward, in the form ofdisaster relief food, it appeared on the Irish dinner table and quickly became a crop loved by the Irish people.

Starting in the 17th century, the Irish ate almost nothing but potatoes as their staple food, and this easily obtained yet nutrient-rich food drove the rapid growth of Ireland's lower-class population until it doubled. But crisis lurked within.

The edible part of the potato grows underground. Image: IrieWrites / WordPress.com

The potato, which reproduces asexually through tubers, has extremely low genetic diversityand extremely low resistance to disease, which caused Ireland to experience several potato crop reductions in the 18th century, with several small-scale famines occurring intermittently. By 1846, a large-scalepotato late blightoutbreak occurred; the disease struck the potatoes, yet it was as if it struck the Irish people directly.The severe famine caused Ireland's population to plummet. Ireland, which had once had a population of 8 million before the disaster, was greatly weakened; although today Ireland's birth rate is the highest among all EU countries, its total population is only 4.77 million.

Europe: ever-changing ways of cooking potatoes

Today, the potato in Europe is long no longer the exclusive staple of the "lower classes". With vigorous promotion, the potato gained enough of a popular base,and cooking methods also began to diversify. Take French cuisine, for example: the potato's place in it can no longer be shaken, while Russians use potatoes invodkaproduction.

Gratin Dauphinois in French cuisine. Image: Albert Bartlett

The potato is a common main ingredient in vodka production. Image: 2beerguys.com

The German people have even more fancy ways of eating potatoes. A 2016 German dietary survey showed that potato dishes today rank second only to pasta in popularity in Germany, and are regarded as the favorite by 18% of Germans. No wonder European countries jokingly call Germany the "potato country".

A German potato-based one-pot stew (Eintopf). Image: Julia Hoersch / Essen & Trinken

A few days ago there was even a Weibo trending topic saying thatthe German national football team brought 300 kilograms of potatoesto Russia to participate in the World Cup; this is probably a joke. (Otherwise, could it be that the Germans were worried that Russia's potatoes would all be taken by the fighting nation to make vodka?)

Image: Sina Weibo

North America: fries and chips

Having covered Europe, let us now look at North America. The potato, native to South America, entered North America much later than one might imagine.

It is generally believed that the potato was only formally introduced to North America in the 17th century, and that large-scale cultivation in the United States was a trend set off by Franklin at the end of the 18th century.

Today's fast-food staple: French fries. Image: Petr Kratochvil

French friesbecame popular thanks to the act of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, serving French fries to guests at the White House in the 19th century (1802); afterward, this cooking method quickly became the mainstream way of preparing potatoes across the United States. As for today's equally common "potato chips", they are believed to have originated from an accidental surprise in 1853.

It is said that potato chips came from a chef's joke. Image: Glane23 / wiki commons

China: from the grand households to ordinary families

Today, the potatois likewise an important food crop in China, and is mainly eaten as a vegetable.

For example, the famous northeastern dish that brings together the big names of the nightshade family: Di San Xian. Image: avlxyz / flickr

It is generally believed that it was first introduced in the 16th century, and for a long time it was a "high-end ingredient" exclusively for high officials and nobles. It was not untilthe transition between the Ming and Qing dynastiesthat the cultivation methods of the potato spread among the common people, and together with improved planting techniques that multiplied yields,the potato finally entered ordinary households. Only when potato cultivation spread during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty did the potato truly take root in China after more than three hundred years of twists and turns.

In 2016 China's potato output exceeded one quarter of the world's output; the red line is world potato output, and the blue line is China's. Image: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The potato that conquered the world

The potato spread from South America to the whole world along the major shipping routes. Although it did not win the affection of people everywhere when it first arrived, its tubers grow silently buried underground, and in the end, because of being "easy to grow and nutritious", it gradually became the choice of the common people. This story has played out repeatedly all over the world.

In 1885 Vincent van Gogh created "The Potato Eaters". Image: public domain in the United States

Its flavor is so plain that it has almost no distinctive taste,is easy to season, and can be cooked in almost any way. These characteristics ultimately made the potatoan important component of the world's top liquors and cuisines。

What is your favorite way to eat potatoes? Image: Pixabay

The seemingly ordinary "potato", in just a few hundred years, thus emerged from underground,conquered the people of the world who had once disdained it, from the mouth, to the stomach, to the heart.

This article is the 172nd article of the 4th year of Species Calendar, from Species Calendar author @ArcherEmiya.