The History of the Potato

Sham S. Misri

Potatoes are a popular food weather roasted, baked, mashed or fried. Many traditional dishes contain potatoes, for example: fish and chips, fried cabbage, onion and mash or a roast dinner.

Potatoes were first grown in Peru in South America around 5000 years ago. Historians think that these potatoes had purple skins and yellow flesh inside. Peru has a lot of mountains and it is too cold to grow corn and wheat there. Potatoes grow well in the cold, so they became a very important food for people in Peru.

Although potatoes were grown in South America for thousands of years, they were only brought to Europe about 500 years ago. In the 1400s and 1500s, the design of European ships and navigation equipment improved. Explorers could sail further and visit new countries. They brought potatoes back to Europe to show people at home.

The English sailor, Captain John Hawkins, is thought to have been the first person to bring a potato to England in 1563, However, some people think it may have been Sir Francis Drake, who was the first Englishman to sail around the world.

Another famous explorer Sir Walter Raleigh offered some potato plants to Queen Elizabeth I in 1586. At that time, nobody knew the best way to cook and eat potatoes.The royal cooks threw away the potato tubers(the part we eat) and served up the boiled leaves and stem instead. Potato leaves and stems are poisonous and the royal family became so ill from eating them that potatoes were banned from the royal palace. False rumors began that potatoes were evil and spread illnesses.

When potatoes were first brought to Britain, they were only grown by botanists who wanted to study them. However, once people had learnt how to cook them without poisoning themselves, potatoes quickly became popular!

Sailors liked potatoes because they could be store4d for a long period of time without rotting. They also helped to prevent sailors getting horrible disease called scurvy. Scurvy was caused by sailors not eating enough fruit and vegetables on long voyages.

Farmers liked potatoes because they were easy to grow and each plant produced mant potatoes. By the late 1700s potatoes had become the main food for many families as they were cheap and made filling meals. It is estimated that in Ireland at that time each person was eating 10 potatoes a day – they formed about 80% of their diet.

In 1840s there was a devastating potato famine in Ireland, caused by a fungal infection which killed potato plants. The effects of the famine were horrific. Over one million people died from starvation. Many more moved abroad to escape the famine. It was a terrible disaster. By the 1800s, potatoes were becoming popular in many countries. Crisps were invented as a snack in North America. There is a well known story about how crips were invented- which may or may not be true!

According to the story, in 1853, a man called Commander C.Vanderbilt ordered some fried potatoes. When his meal arrived he complained that the potatoes had been sliced too thickly and sent them back to the kitchen. The cook sliced the potatoes more thinly , but again the Commander complained  and sent them back. After this had happened once more, the cook was so angry that he sliced some potatoes very thinly, fried them and threw salt over the slices before serving them to the Commander. He loved them! Crisp became a popular snack. One UK crisp manufacturer makes 10 million packets of crisps a day.

Today, potatoes are one of the most popular food crops grown in the world. The future for potatoes looks good, with new varieties being created each year. The potato was the first food ever grown in orbit (as the Space Shuttle Columbia circled Earth in 1975). So if people ever begin to live in space, they can still eat a nice baked potato for tea!