Potato

One of the world's most widely produced food crops, the potato is a dietary staple with a long history of human cultivation. Potatoes are the starchy tubers of the Solanum tuberosum plant, a perennial nightshade belonging to the Solanaceae family. This makes potatoes the botanical relatives of chili peppers, eggplants, petunias, and tomatoes.

According to the International Potato Center, a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), there are more than four thousand known potato varieties. In the United States, more than six hundred potato varieties are available for commercial sale. These varieties are often informally classified in seven major groups: blue (or purple), fingerling, petite, red, russet, white, and yellow. In addition to variations in appearance and texture, each of these groups displays slightly different cooking characteristics, making some varieties better suited to certain dishes than others.

Potatoes are considered the world's fourth most important food crop, trailing only wheat, corn (maize), and rice in global production. In 2014, the world's top five potato-producing countries were China, Russia, India, the United States, and Ukraine.

Brief History

The potato is native to the Andes Mountains in South America, where it is believed the crop was first domesticated by farmers living in present-day Bolivia and Peru. Some of the oldest archeological evidence yet discovered indicates that potatoes were being actively cultivated in the region in 3400 BCE. Other sources state that the potato first entered the human diet as early as thirteen thousand years ago. There is also a great deal of dispute among experts with regard to the wild predecessors of the domesticated potato, with one or more of twenty different Solanum brevicaule species being considered as possible ancestors.

The potato's spread across the globe began around 1570, when Spanish colonists in South America brought potatoes with them on return voyages to Europe. Sailors making the demanding transatlantic voyage valued the potato for the protection it provided against scurvy, a disease brought on by a lack of dietary vitamin C. After its arrival in Europe, the potato was farmed on a small scale, with the resulting foodstuffs mostly being used as animal feed. Potato farming spread from Spain into Italy, then made its way north. By the turn of the seventeenth century, potatoes were being grown throughout western and central Europe, although they were initially met with a combination of distaste and superstition-fueled suspicion by much of the population. It was not until the latter part of the eighteenth century, after a succession of revolutionary wars led to widespread food shortages, that the potato made its mainstream entry to the European diet.

In the American colonies, permanent potato patches were established during the early eighteenth century. The oldest historical records that refer to potato cultivation in China date to about the same time. British colonists introduced potato crops to India, and the food was common enough by the latter half of the eighteenth century that numerous potato varieties grown in India had been given local names.

Potatoes soon came to be associated with higher birth rates and lower mortality rates in regions where they were widely consumed, leading to an eventual reversal of the initial distaste with which they were met. By the nineteenth century, they occupied an integral place in the European diet as a highly nutritious low-cost food. Their importance as a vital foodstuff was demonstrated during the tragic Irish potato famine of the 1840s and early 1850s, in which a widespread blight ravaged potato crops, leading to an estimated one million deaths.

Overview

Potatoes are considered easy to cultivate and yield a large quantity of edible food relative to the amount of water they require. As summer crops, they are best suited to cooler climates. Potatoes are also grown as winter crops in regions that tend to experience long, hot summers. Optimal growing conditions feature daytime high temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 27 degrees Celsius), with overnight lows in the range of 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (12 to 18 degrees Celsius). Potatoes are heat sensitive and will be adversely affected by prolonged exposure to hotter temperatures, but they display better resilience to cooler conditions and can survive a light frost.

Potato crops require soils on the acidic side of neutral, with ideal pH balances ranging from 5.8 to 6.5. Soils should also be deep and loosely packed with efficient drainage characteristics. Potatoes are typically planted in rows between drainage trenches and thrive when moisture is kept at consistent, moderate levels. The edible tubers can usually be harvested about two to three weeks after blooming.

Potatoes continue to hold a prominent place in cuisines around the globe and are one of the world's most important staple foods. They are highly versatile and adaptable, and can be boiled, baked, fried, roasted, or steamed. Potatoes are often consumed on their own, usually as a side dish seasoned with salt, butter, or other condiments. Alternately, they can be used as an ingredient in stews and savory pies, and in soups. Almost 60 percent of the potatoes produced in the United States are processed into products such as dehydrated instant mashed potatoes, frozen French fries, and potato chips. They can also be used to make potato flour, and as animal feed or a base ingredient in the production of alcoholic beverages such as schnapps and vodka.

The differing textures, flavors, and starch contents of the major potato varieties make some potatoes better suited for certain purposes than others. For example, russet potatoes take on a light and fluffy texture when cooked, making them ideal for mashed potatoes. Alternately, the firmer texture of fingerling potatoes suits them well for roasting or boiling.

Potatoes are a starchy, robust source of calories. While they have attracted some negative attention from nutritionists in recent years for their high carbohydrate content, potatoes are one of the most nutritionally complete widely consumed foods. With the exception of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D, potatoes provide high levels of all essential vitamins and nutrients, which is one of the major reasons they have historically played such a major role in the common diet.

Specific health benefits of potatoes include relief from hypertension and possible protection from heart disease, kidney stones, and certain forms of cancer. Their high vitamin B and carbohydrate content support optimal brain function, and they also contain many minerals and nutrients that benefit the skin. Potatoes can also help reduce inflammation and are easily digestible, making them an excellent dietary option for people with medical conditions affecting the digestive tract.

Bibliography

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