You say po-tay-to and I say po-tah-to" as the old song says. The more important thing is which potato do you mean. Worldwide there are about 5,000 potato varieties and about 1,000 types of potatoes. Genetic testing shows that the origin of the potato is in southern Peru and northeastern Bolivia and that early man began to cultivate them as long as 10,000 years ago. Simple to prepare and containing many nutrients, they have become integral members of the world's food supply.
For many years in the U.S. we had two types of potatoes. Red or waxy potatoes were usually round and known as new potatoes. Russet or Burbank potatoes were oval with a floury inside and are a regular fixture on any plate of steak served.
However, in the U.K., there are more than 80 varieties of potato, most known by their names; such as Jersey Royals, Caras, King Edwards, Maris Pipers, Charlottes, Lady Christl, Dunbar Rover, Mr. Little's Yetholm Gypsy, White Rose.
In the last decade the U.S. has begun to have more variety. Fingerling potatoes were the first to arrive in supermarkets. These potatoes were not the usual oval or round shape, but were smaller and shaped a bit like a man's thumb. We now have Yukon Golds, which have a yellowish shade in their external skin and have a pale yellow flesh. These days potatoes come in a variety of colors: red, orange, purple, blue, yellow, white and multi-colored. Each potato has its distinct taste.
Few vegetables have been as interesting in history and in their effect on world development, as the potato. For a quick around the world trip on the potato:
• First verified record of the potato was in central Peru about 2500 BC. From their beginning in South America the potato fueled the Inca Empire, who introduced it to the Spanish.
• The Spanish returning to Spain from South America brought the potato with them for their food on the trip back to Europe about the mid 16th century.
• It is believed that fishermen from the Basque area of Spain took the potato to Ireland where they stopped to dry their catch of cod.
• History is uncertain if Sir Walter Raleigh's entourage or that of Sir Francis Drake (first to circumnavigate the globe) introduced the potato to England.
• By the early 1770s the potato was widespread across all of Europe. During the Little Ice Age (between the 14th and 19th centuries), the potato flourished when other crops failed.
• By the 19th century, the potato was widely accepted as an excellent food source because it had a low rate of spoilage, it had bulk to fill hungry stomachs and was incredibly inexpensive to raise. By the mid 19th century, one writer estimated that potatoes alone made up more that 10 percent of the calories consumed in Europe.
• The potato continued its spread around the globe to Asia, Africa and North America in much the same way as its journey from South America to Europe. Interestingly, colonists in Londonderry, N.H., referred to the imported crop as “Irish Potatoes,” a term which is still used today to indicate a brown, floury variety. The potatoes found a perfect home in Idaho and the American Northeast and Canada.
• Ironically, the same rapid spread of potato reverted to a rapid demise of the tuber. The availability of a crop that was easy to grow and fed people well and cheaply generated a shift in population across Europe. Feeding potatoes to the soldiers fueled wars. However, something as simple as a lack of genetic diversity left the crop in Europe susceptible to a blight which spread almost as fast as the potato had, particularly in Ireland where poverty was so high and the potato became the primary source of food, The Great Potato Famine of 1845 to 1849 caused more than a million deaths in Ireland alone and sent more than half of Ireland's population to emigrate around the globe.
It is amazing that one vegetable caused such a widespread distribution of people all over the globe. The history of the United States would be far different without the huge migration of Irish in the 19th century. I am really sorry that I did not have this knowledge of how the humble potato changed the world when I was taking World History in high school. I can just imagine a term paper on this subject would have brought me a certain A+.
Of the tens of thousands of recipes for the potato, my favorite still remains the most simple. The only problem is this recipe requires acquisition of very small potatoes freshly dug from the earth - something not usually available in a market. You need to know a farmer. Take the shooter marble-sized potatoes; gently rinse them in water, just to remove the dirt, don't scrub them. In a saucepan place the potatoes in enough water to cover them. Put in a generous amount of sea salt.
Let the potatoes cook until they are barely done: The tip of a knife should pierce one easily. Pour the potatoes into a colander, drain and cover with a clean kitchen towel for about 10 minutes to let them rest and drain. Put the potatoes into a serving bowl; pour melted unsalted butter over them - no margarine here! Grind a bit of pepper over them. Then, sit and slowly relish one of nature's treasures - a perfect potato.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
