Potato

For other uses, see Potato (disambiguation).

Potato
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Solanum
Species:	S. tuberosum
Binomial name
Solanum tuberosum L.

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family (also known as the nightshades). The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and maize.

Wild potato species occur from the United States to Uruguay and Peru. Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggest that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru, from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex. Although Peru is essentially the birthplace of the potato, today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile. Based on historical records, local agriculturalists, and DNA analyses, the most widely cultivated variety worldwide, Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum, is believed to be indigenous to the Chiloé Archipelago where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.

Introduced to Europe in 1536, the potato was subsequently conveyed by European mariners to territories and ports throughout the world. Thousands of varieties persist in the Andes, where over 100 cultivars might be found in a single valley, and a dozen or more might be maintained by a single agricultural household. Once established in Europe, the potato soon became an important food staple and field crop. But lack of genetic diversity, due to the fact that very few varieties were initially introduced, left the crop vulnerable to disease. In 1845, a plant disease known as late blight, caused by the fungus-like oomycete Phytophthora infestans, spread rapidly through the poorer communities of western Ireland, resulting in the crop failures that led to the Great Irish Famine. The potato was the first vegetable inherited by the early Australians, the Aborigines.

The annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the twenty-first century would include about 33 kg (or 73 lb) of potato. However, the local importance of potato is extremely variable and rapidly changing. It remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and central Europe), where per capita production is still the highest in the world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few decades has occurred in southern and eastern Asia. China is now the world's largest potato producing country, and nearly a third of the world's potatoes are harvested in China and India. More generally, the geographic shift of potato production has been away from wealthier countries toward lower-income areas of the world, although the degree of this trend is ambiguous.

Etymology

The English word potato comes from Spanish patata (the name used in Spain). The Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word is a compound of the Taino batata (sweet potato) and the Quechua papa (potato). The name potato originally referred to a type of sweet potato rather than the other way around, despite the fact that there is actually no close relationship between the two plants at all. The English confused the two plants one for the other. In many of the chronicles detailing agriculture and plants, no distinction is made between the two. The 16th century English herbalist John Gerard used the terms "Bastard potatoes" and "Virginia potatoes" for this species and referred to sweet potatoes as "common Potatoes". Potatoes are occasionally referred to as "Irish potatoes" or "White potatoes" in the United States, to distinguish them from sweet potatoes.

Description

Flowers of a potato plant

Flowers of a potato plant.

Potato plants are herbaceous perennials that grow about 60 cm (24 in) high, depending on variety, the culms dying back after flowering. They bear white, pink, red, blue or purple flowers with yellow stamens. The tubers of varieties with white flowers generally have white skins, while those of varieties with colored flowers tend to have pinkish skins. Potatoes are cross-pollinated mostly by insects, including bumblebees that carry pollen from other potato plants, but a substantial amount of self-fertilizing occurs as well. Tubers form in response to decreasing day length, although this tendency has been minimized in commercial varieties.

Potato plants

After potato plants flower, some varieties will produce small green fruits that resemble green cherry tomatoes, each containing up to 300 true seeds. Potato fruit contains large amounts of the toxic alkaloid solanine, and is therefore unsuitable for consumption. All new potato varieties are grown from seeds, also called "true seed" or "botanical seed" to distinguish it from seed tubers. By finely chopping the fruit and soaking it in water, the seeds will separate from the flesh by sinking to the bottom after about a day (the remnants of the fruit will float). Any potato variety can also be propagated vegetatively by planting tubers, pieces of tubers, cut to include at least one or two eyes, or also by cuttings, a practice used in greenhouses for the production of healthy seed tubers. Some commercial potato varieties do not produce seeds at all (they bear imperfect flowers) and are propagated only from tuber pieces. Confusingly, these tubers or tuber pieces are called "seed potatoes".

Genetics

Rotten potatoes

The major species grown worldwide is Solanum tuberosum (a tetraploid with 48 chromosomes), and modern varieties of this species are the most widely cultivated. There are also four diploid species (with 24 chromosomes): Solanum stenotomum, Solanum phureja, Solanum goniocalyx and Solanum ajanhuiri. There are two triploid species (with 36 chromosomes): Solanum chaucha and Solanum juzepczukii. There is one pentaploid cultivated species (with 60 chromosomes): Solanum curtilobum.

There are two major subspecies of Solanum tuberosum: andigena, or Andean; and tuberosum, or Chilean. The Andean potato is adapted to the short-day conditions prevalent in the mountainous equatorial and tropical regions where it originated. The Chilean potato is adapted to the long-day conditions prevalent in the higher latitude region of southern Chile, especially on Chiloé Archipelago where it is thought to have originated. Genetic testing done in 2005 shows that both species derive from a single origin in the area of southern Peru.

There are about five thousand potato varieties world wide. Three thousand of them are found in the Andes alone, mainly in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Colombia. They belong to eight or nine species, depending on the taxonomic school. Apart from the five thousand cultivated varieties, there are about 200 wild species and subspecies, many of which can be cross-bred with cultivated varieties, which has been done repeatedly to transfer resistances to certain pests and diseases from the gene pool of wild species to the gene pool of cultivated potato species. Genetically modified varieties have met public resistance in the United States and in the European Union.

Most modern potatoes grown in North America arrived through European settlement and not independently from the South American sources. However, at least one wild potato species, Solanum fendleri, is found as far north as Texas and used in breeding for resistance to a nematode species attacking cultivated potatoes. A secondary center of genetic variability of the potato is Mexico, where important wild species are found that have been used extensively in modern breeding, such as the hexaploid Solanum demissum, as a source of resistance to the devastating late blight disease. Another relative native to this region, Solanum bulbocastanum, has been used to genetically engineer the potato to resist potato blight.

The International Potato Center, based in Lima, Peru, holds an ISO-accredited collection of potato germplasm.

History

Based on historical records, local agriculturalists, and DNA analyses, the most widely cultivated variety worldwide, Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum, is believed to be indigenous to the Chiloé Archipelago where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.

The potato was introduced to Europe in 1536, and subsequently by European mariners to territories and ports throughout the world. Although it was initially feared to be poisonous, the potato became an important staple crop in northern Europe. Famines in the early 1770s contributed to its acceptance, as did government policies in several European countries and climate change during the Little Ice Age, when traditional crops in this region did not produce as reliably as before.

At times when and where most other crops would fail, potatoes could still typically be relied upon to contribute adequately to food supplies during the colder years. The yield of Calories per acre (about 9.2 million) is higher than that of maize (7.5 million), rice (7.4 million), wheat (3 million), or soybean (2.8 million). The potato was not popular in France during this time, and it is believed that some of France's infamous famines could have been lessened if French farmers had adopted it. Folklore holds that the potato was introduced to Russia by Peter the Great, although others hold it was Catherine the Great, and still others that it had already arrived via North America beforehand. In any case, it took time to be popularly adopted, but had widely replaced the turnip and rutabaga by the nineteenth century. Today, the potato forms an important part of the traditional cuisines of most of Europe. Belarus has the highest consumption of potato per capita, with each Belorussian consuming 338 kg in 2005.

The potato was introduced in the Philippines during the late 16th century, and to Java and China during the 17th century. It was well-established as a crop in India by the late 18th century and in Africa by the mid-20th century. However, a lack of genetic diversity from the low number of varieties were initially introduced left the crop vulnerable to disease. In 1845, a plant disease known as late blight, caused by the fungus-like oomycete Phytophthora infestans, spread rapidly through the poorer communities of western Ireland, resulting in the crop failures that led to the Great Irish Famine.

Role in world food supply

Top Potato producers
in 2006
Numbers in million tonnes
1. People's Republic of China	70 (22.22%)
2. Russia	39 (12.38%)
3. India	24 (7.62%)
4. United States	20 (6.35%)
5. Ukraine	19 (6.03%)
6. Germany	10 (3.17%)
7. Poland	9 (2.86%)
8. Belgium	8 (2.54%)
9. Netherlands	7 (2.22%)
10. France	6 (1.9%)
World total	315
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Potato output in 2005

The United Nations FAO reports that the world production of potatoes in 2006 was 315 million tonnes. The annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the twenty-first century would include about 33 kg (or 73 lb) of potato. However, the local importance of potato is extremely variable and rapidly changing. It remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and central Europe), where per capita production is still the highest in the world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few decades has occurred in southern and eastern Asia. China is now the world's largest potato producing country, and nearly a third of the world's potatoes are harvested in China and India. More generally, the geographic shift of potato production has been away from wealthier countries toward lower-income areas of the world, although the degree of this trend is ambiguous.

In 2008, several international organizations highlighted the potato's role in world food production, in the face of developing economic problems. They cited its potential derived from its status as a cheap and plentiful crop which can be raised in a wide variety of climates and locales. Due to perishability, only about 5% of the world's potato crop is traded internationally; its minimal presence in world financial markets contributed to its stable pricing during the 2007–2008 world food price crisis. Thus, the United Nations officially declared the year 2008 as the International Year of the Potato, to raise its profile in developing nations, calling the crop a "hidden treasure". This followed the International Rice Year in 2004.

Nutrition

Potato, raw, with peel

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	321 kJ (77 kcal)
Carbohydrates	19 g
Starch	15 g
Dietary fiber	2.2 g
Fat	0.1 g
Protein	2 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Thiamine (B1) 7% 0.08 mg Riboflavin (B2) 2% 0.03 mg Niacin (B3) 7% 1.1 mg Vitamin B6 15% 0.25 mg Vitamin C 22% 20 mg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 1% 12 mg Iron 10% 1.8 mg Magnesium 5% 23 mg Phosphorus 5% 57 mg Potassium 14% 421 mg Sodium 0% 6 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	75 g
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

The potato contains vitamins and minerals that have been identified as vital to human nutrition, as well as an assortment of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and polyphenols. A medium-sized 150 g (5.3 oz) potato with the skin provides 27 mg of vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. The fiber content of a potato with skin (2 g) is equivalent to that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals.

Nutritionally, the potato is best known for its carbohydrate content (approximately 26 grams in a medium potato). The predominant form of this carbohydrate is starch. A small but significant portion of this starch is resistant to digestion by enzymes in the stomach and small intestine, and so reaches the large intestine essentially intact. This resistant starch is considered to have similar physiological effects and health benefits as fiber: it provides bulk, offers protection against colon cancer, improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowers plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, increases satiety, and possibly even reduces fat storage. The amount of resistant starch in potatoes depends much on preparation methods. Cooking and then cooling potatoes significantly increased resistant starch. For example, cooked potato starch contains about 7% resistant starch, which increases to about 13% upon cooling.

The nutrients of the potato seem to be fairly evenly distributed between the flesh and the skin. For a medium potato, 156 g without the skin, nutritiondata.com gives the following: 33% of the RDA for vitamin C, 11% of the thiamin, 11% of the niacin, 23% of the vitamin B6, 4% of the folate, 9% of the pantothenic acid, 3% of the iron, 10% of the magnesium, 17% of the potassium, 17% of the copper. For a similarly sized potato, 173 g with the skin, the figures are, respectively, 28%, 7%, 12%, 27%, 12%, 10%, 12%, 26%, and 10%. Almost all the protein content of a potato is contained in a thin layer just under its skin.

The cooking method used can significantly impact the nutrient availability of the potato.

Potatoes are often broadly classified as high on the glycemic index (GI) and so are often excluded from the diets of individuals trying to follow a low GI diet. In fact, the GI of potatoes can vary considerably depending on type (such as red, russet, white, or Prince Edward), origin (where it was grown), preparation methods (i.e., cooking method, whether it is eaten hot or cold, whether it is mashed or cubed or consumed whole, etc), and with what it is consumed (i.e., the addition of various high fat or high protein toppings).

Toxicity

Seed tuber with sprouts
Early Rose variety

Potatoes contain toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids, of which the most prevalent are solanine and chaconine. Solanine is also found in other plants in the family solanaceae, which includes such plants as the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) and tobacco (Nicotiana) as well as the potato, eggplant and tomato. This poison affects the nervous system causing weakness and confusion.

These compounds, which protect the plant from its predators, are generally concentrated in its leaves, stems, sprouts, and fruits. Exposure to light, physical damage, and age increase glycoalkaloid content within the tuber; the highest concentrations occur just underneath the skin. Cooking at high temperatures (over 170 °C or 340 °F) partly destroys these. The concentration of glycoalkaloid in wild potatoes suffices to produce toxic effects in humans. Glycoalkaloids may cause headaches, diarrhea, cramps and in severe cases coma and death; however, poisoning from potatoes occurs very rarely. Light exposure causes greening from chlorophyll synthesis, thus giving a visual clue as to areas of the tuber that may have become more toxic; however, this does not provide a definitive guide, as greening and glycoalkaloid accumulation can occur independently of each other. Some varieties of potato contain greater glycoalkaloid concentrations than others; breeders developing new varieties test for this, and sometimes have to discard an otherwise promising cultivar.

The toxic fruits produced by mature potato plants

Breeders try to keep solanine levels below 200 mg/kg (200 ppmw). However, when these commercial varieties turn green, even they can approach concentrations of solanine of 1000 mg/kg (1000 ppmw). In normal potatoes, analysis has shown solanine levels may be as little as 3.5% of the breeders' maximum, with 7–187 mg/kg being found.

The US National Toxicology Program suggests that the average American consumes at most 12.5 mg/day of solanine from potatoes (the toxic dose is actually several times this, depending on body weight). Dr. Douglas L. Holt, the State Extension Specialist for Food Safety at the University of Missouri, notes that no reported cases of potato-source solanine poisoning have occurred in the U.S. in the last 50 years and most cases involved eating green potatoes or drinking potato-leaf tea.

Cultivation

File:IMG 5619.JPG

Potato Planting
Washington

Potato field
Fort Fairfield, Maine

Potatoes grown in a tall bag are common in gardens as they increase potato yield and minimize the amount of digging required at harvest

Correct potato husbandry can be an arduous task in some circumstances. Good ground preparation, harrowing, plowing, and rolling are always needed, along with a little grace from the weather and a good source of water. Three successive plowings, with associated harrowing and rolling, are desirable before planting. Eliminating all root-weeds is desirable in potato cultivation. The potatoes themselves are generally grown from the eyes of another potato and not from seed. Home gardeners often plant a piece of potato with two or three eyes in a hill of mounded soil. Commercial growers plant potatoes as a row crop using seed tubers, young plants or microtubers and may mound the entire row. Seed potato crops are 'rogued' in some countries to eliminate diseased plants or those of a different variety from the seed crop.

Potatoes are sensitive to heavy frosts, which damage them in the ground. Even cold weather makes potatoes more susceptible to bruising and possibly later rotting which can quickly ruin a large stored crop.

At harvest time, gardeners usually dig up potatoes with a long-handled, three-prong "grape" (or graip), i.e. a spading fork, or a potato hook which is similar to the graip but its tines are at a 90 degree angle to the handle. In larger plots, the plow can serve as the fastest implement for unearthing potatoes. Commercial harvesting is typically done with large potato harvesters which scoop up the plant and the surrounding earth. This is transported up an apron chain consisting of steel links several feet wide, which separates some of the dirt. The chain deposits into an area where further separation occurs. Different designs use different systems at this point. The most complex designs use vine choppers and shakers, along with a blower system or "Flying Willard" to separate the potatoes from the plant. The result is then usually run past workers who continue to sort out plant material, stones, and rotten potatoes before the potatoes are continuously delivered to a wagon or truck. Further inspection and separation occurs when the potatoes are unloaded from the field vehicles and put into storage.

Immature potatoes may be sold as "New Potatoes" and are particularly valued for taste. These are often harvested by the home gardener or farmer by "grabbling", i.e. pulling out the young tubers by hand while leaving the plant in place.

Potatoes are usually cured after harvest to improve skin-set. Skin-set is the process by which the skin of the potato becomes resistant to skinning damage. Potato tubers may be susceptible to skinning at harvest and suffer skinning damage during harvest and handling operations. Curing allows the skin to fully set and any wounds to heal. Wound-healing prevents infection and water-loss from the tubers during storage. Curing is normally done at relatively warm temperatures 50 °C (122 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) with high humidity and good gas-exchange if at all possible.

Storage facilities need to be carefully designed to keep the potatoes alive and slow the natural process of decomposition, which involves the breakdown of starch. It is crucial that the storage area is dark, well ventilated and for long-term storage maintained at temperatures near 4 °C (39 °F). For short-term storage before cooking, temperatures of about 7 °C (45 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F) are preferred. Temperatures below 4 °C (39 °F) convert potatoes' starch into sugar, which alters their taste and cooking qualities and leads to higher acrylamide levels in the cooked product, especially in deep-fried dishes.

Under optimum conditions possible in commercial warehouses, potatoes can be stored for up to six months, at homes usually only for several weeks. If potatoes develop green areas or start to sprout, these areas should be trimmed before using.

Varieties

Different types of potato

File:DSC01616.JPG

Organically grown Russet Burbanks

While there are close to 4000 different varieties of potato, it has been bred into many standard or well-known varieties, each of which has particular agricultural or culinary attributes. Varieties are generally categorized into a few main groups—such as russets, reds, whites, yellows (also called Yukons) and purples—based on common characteristics. Around 80 varieties are commercially available in the UK. For culinary purposes, varieties are often described in terms of their waxiness. Floury, or mealy (baking) potatoes have more starch (20-22%) than waxy (boiling) potatoes (16-18%). The distinction may also arises from variation in the comparative ratio of two potato starch compounds: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose, a long-chain molecule, diffuse out of the starch granule when cooked in water, and lends itself to dishes in which the potato is mashed; varieties containing a slightly higher amylopectin content, a highly branched molecule, help to retain the potato its shape during boiling.

The European Cultivated Potato Database (ECPD) is an online collaborative database of potato variety descriptions, updated and maintained by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency within the framework of the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) which is organised by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI).

Popular varieties (cultivars) include:

Anya Atlantic Belle de Fontenay BF-15 Bintje Cabritas Camota Chelina Chiloé Cielo Clavela Blanca Désirée

Fianna Fingerling Flava Golden Wonder Jersey Royal Kerr's Pink Kestrel King Edward Kipfler Maris Piper Nicola Pachacoña

Pink Eye Pink Fir Apple Red Norland Red Pontiac Rooster Russet Burbank Russet Norkotah Shepody Spunta Vivaldi Yukon Gold

Genetic research has produced several genetically modified varieties. New Leaf, owned by Monsanto Company, incorporated genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, which conferred resistance to the Colorado potato beetle; New Leaf Plus and New Leaf Y, approved by US regulatory agencies during the 1990s, also included resistance to viruses. McDonald's, Burger King, Frito-Lay, and Procter & Gamble announced that they would not use genetically modified potatoes, and Monsanto published its intent to discontinue the line in March 2001. The starch content of Amflora, waxy potato variety from the German chemical company BASF, has been modified to contain only amylopectin, making it inedible but more useful for industrial purposes; as of 2007, it was close to gaining acceptance in the European Union. On September 22, 2007, Benguet State University (BSU) announced that four potato varieties—Igorota, Solibao, Ganza and one not yet officially named—possess more than 18% dry matter content required by fast-food chains to make crispy and sturdy French fries. Since 2005 a natural 100% amylopectine waxy potato variety called ELIANE is being cultivated by the starch company AVEBE.

Some horticulturists sell chimeras, made by grafting a tomato plant onto a potato plant, producing both edible tomatoes and potatoes. This practice is not very widespread.

Pests

A potato ruined by late blight

Main article: List of potato diseases

The historically significant Phytophthora infestans (late blight) remains an ongoing problem in Europe and the United States. Other potato diseases include Rhizoctonia, Sclerotinia, Black Leg, Powdery Mildew, Powdery Scab, Leafroll Virus, and Purple Top.

Insects that commonly transmit potato diseases or damage the plants include the Colorado potato beetle, the potato tuber moth, the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), the Potato Aphid, Beetleafhoppers, Thrips, and Mites. The potato root nematode is a microscopic worm that thrives on the roots, thus causing the potato plants to wilt. Since its eggs can survive in the soil for several years, crop rotation is recommended.

Organic potatoes

During the crop year 2008 many of the certified organic potatoes produced in the United Kingdom and certified by the Soil Association as organic were sprayed with a copper pesticide to control potato blight (Phytophthora infestans). According to the Soil Association, the total copper that can be applied to organic land is 6 kg/ha/year.

Culinary uses

Various potato dishes.

Potatoes are prepared in many ways: skin-on or peeled, whole or cut up, with seasonings or without. The only requirement involves cooking to break down the starch. Most potato dishes are served hot, but some are first cooked then served cold, notably potato salad and potato chips/crisps.

Common dishes are: mashed potatoes, which are first boiled (usually peeled), and then mashed with milk or yogurt and butter; whole baked potatoes; boiled or steamed potatoes; French-fried potatoes or chips; cut into cubes and roasted; scalloped, diced, or sliced and fried (home fries); grated into small thin strips and fried (hash browns); grated and formed into dumplings, Rösti or potato pancakes. Unlike many foods, potatoes can also be easily cooked in a microwave oven and still retain nearly all of their nutritional value, provided that they are covered in ventilated plastic wrap to prevent moisture from escaping—this method produces a meal very similar to a steamed potato while retaining the appearance of a conventionally baked potato. Potato chunks also commonly appear as a stew ingredient.

Potatoes are boiled between 10 and 25 minutes, depending on size and type, to become soft.

Regional dishes

Latin America

Papa rellena

Peruvian Cuisine naturally contains the potato as a primary ingredient in many dishes, as around 3,000 varieties of this tuber are grown there. Some of the more famous dishes include Papa a la huancaina, Papa rellena, Ocopa, Carapulcra, Causa and Cau Cau among many others. French-fried potatoes are a typical ingredient in Peruvian stir-fries, including the classic dish Lomo saltado.

Chuño is a freeze-dried potato product traditionally made by Quechua and Aymara communities of Peru and Bolivia , and is known in various countries of South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. In Chile's Chiloé archipelago, potatoes are the main ingredient of many dishes, including milcaos, chapaleles, curanto and chochoca. In Ecuador the potato, as well as being a staple with most dishes, is featured in the hearty Locro de Papas, a thick soup of potato, squash, and cheese.

Europe

Fish and chips

In the UK, potatoes form part of the traditional staple fish and chips. Roast potatoes are commonly served with a Sunday roast. Mashed potatoes also form a major component of several other traditional dishes such as shepherd's pie, bubble and squeak, champ, bangers and mash, and the mashed potatoes which accompany haggis. The Tattie scone is another popular Scottish dish containing potatoes. Potatoes are also often sautéed to accompany a meal. In the UK, new potatoes are typically cooked with mint and served with a little melted butter - Jersey Royal potatoes are the most prized new potatoes, and have their own Protected Designation of Origin.

In Ireland, Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish involving mashed potato combined with shredded cabbage and onion. Boxty pancakes are eaten all over Ireland, although associated especially with the north, and in Irish diaspora communities: they are traditionally made with grated potatoes, soaked to loosen the starch and mixed with flour, buttermilk and baking powder. A variant eaten and sold in Lancashire, especially Liverpool, is made with cooked and mashed potatoes.

Bryndzové halušky is the Slovakian national dish, made of a batter of flour and finely grated potatoes that is boiled to form dumplings. These are then mixed with regionally varying ingredients.

In Northern and Eastern Europe, especially in Scandinavian countries, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, newly harvested, early ripening varieties are considered a special delicacy. Boiled whole and served with dill, these "new potatoes" are traditionally consumed together with Baltic herring. Puddings made from grated potatoes (kugel, kugelis, and potato babka) are popular items of Ashkenazi, Lithuanian, and Belarussian cuisine.

A baked potato served with butter

In Western Europe, especially in Belgium, sliced potatoes are fried to create frieten, the original French fried potatoes. Stamppot, a traditional Dutch meal, is based on mashed potatoes mixed with vegetables.

In France, the most famous potato dish is the Hachis Parmentier, named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist, nutritionist, and agronomist who, in the late 18th century, was instrumental in the acceptance of the potato as an edible crop in the country. The Pâté aux pommes de terre is a regional potato dish from the central Allier and Limousin regions.

In the north of Italy, particularly in the Friuli region of the northeast, potatoes serve to make a type of pasta called gnocchi. Similarly, cooked and mashed potatoes or potato flour can be used in the knödel or dumpling eaten with or added to meat dishes all over central and Eastern Europe, but especially in Bavaria and Luxembourg. Potatoes form one of the main ingredients in many soups such as the vichyssoise and Albanian potato and cabbage soup. In western Norway, komle is popular.

A traditional Canary Islands dish is Canarian wrinkly potatoes or Papas arrugadas. Tortilla de patatas (potato omelete) and Patatas bravas (a dish of fried potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce) are near-universal constituent of Spanish tapas.

North America

French fries served with a hamburger

Poutine: Fried potatoes, cheese curds, and gravy

In the United States, potatoes have become one of the most widely consumed crops and thus have a variety of preparation methods and condiments. French fries and often hash browns are commonly found in typical American fast-food burger joints and cafeterias. One popular favorite involves a baked potato with cheddar cheese (or sour cream and chives) on top, and in New England "smashed potatoes" (a chunkier variation on mashed potatoes, retaining the peel) have great popularity. Potato flakes are popular as an instant variety of mashed potatoes, which reconstitute into mashed potatoes by adding water, with butter or oil and salt to taste. A regional dish of Central New York, salt potatoes are bite-sized new potatoes boiled in water saturated with salt then served with melted butter. At more formal dinners, a common practice includes taking small red potatoes, slicing them, and roasting them in an iron skillet. Among American Jews, the practice of eating latkes (fried potato pancakes) is common during the festival of Hanukkah.

A traditional Acadian dish from New Brunswick is known as poutine râpée. The Acadian poutine is a ball of grated and mashed potato, salted, sometimes filled with pork in the center, and boiled. The result is a moist ball about the size of a baseball. It is commonly eaten with salt and pepper or brown sugar. It is believed to have originated from the German Klöße, prepared by early German settlers who lived among the Acadians.

Poutine, by contrast, is a hearty serving of french fries, fresh cheese curds and hot gravy. Tracing its origins to Quebec in the 1950s, it has become a widespread and popular dish throughout Canada.

South Asia

The potato has not replaced rice as the staple in eastern Asia, and is not a feature of the cuisines of China or Japan. However, it is occasionally seen in Korean and Thai cuisines.

In India the most popular dish of potato is Aloo Ki Zabzi & samosa which is most favorite snacks among Indians.samosa is spicy smashed potato and other vegetables (little amount) stuffed in conical dough and fried in oil. Also potato is important ingredient in chaat items. Also other favorite dish is Dum Alu(or Alu Dum) which is a North Indian spicy curry of boiled potato.Alu Paratha, a north indian stuffed chapati is another dish. A dish called Masala Dosa from South India is very famous all over India. It is a thin pancake of rice and pulse paste rolled over spicy smashed potato and eaten with sambhar and chutney.Other favorite dishes are Alu Tikki, pakoda items etc.

Vada pav is a popular vegetarian fast food dish in Mumbai and other regions in the Maharashtra in India.

Other uses

Potatoes are also used to brew alcoholic beverages such as vodka, and potcheen. As well as food for domestic animals; potato starch is used in the food industry as for example thickener and binder of soups and sauces, in the textile industry, as adhesive, and for the manufacturing of papers and boards. Maine companies are exploring the possibilities of using waste potatoes to obtain polylactic acid for use in plastic products; other research projects seek ways to use the starch as a base for biodegradable packaging.

In art

Potato ceramic from the Moche culture. Larco Museum Collection

The potato has been an essential crop in the Andes since the pre-Columbian Era. The Moche culture from Northern Peru made ceramics from earth, water, and fire. This pottery was a sacred substance, formed in significant shapes and used to represent important themes. Potatoes are represented anthropomorphically as well as naturally.

During the late 19th century, numerous images of potato harvesting appeared in European art, including the works of Willem Witsen and Anton Mauve. Van Gogh's 1885 painting "The Potato Eaters" portrays a family eating potatoes.

Invented in 1949 and marketed and sold commercially by Hasbro in 1952, Mr. Potato Head is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of attachable plastic parts such as ears and eyes to make a face. It was the first toy ever advertised on television.

There is an Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, Idaho.

See also

• New World Crops
• Potatoe, archaic spelling

References

• Larry Zuckerman (1999). Potato, The: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World. Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 0-86547-578-4.
• Lang, James (2001). Notes of a Potato Watcher, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
• Salaman, Redcliffe N. (1989). The History and Social Influence of the Potato, Cambridge University Press (originally published in 1949; reprinted 1985 with new introduction and corrections by J.G. Hawkes).
• Hawkes, J.G. (1990). The Potato: Evolution, Biodiversity & Genetic Resources, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
• Stevenson, W.R., Loria, R., Franc, G.D., and Weingartner, D.P. (2001) Compendium of Potato Diseases, 2nd ed, Amer. Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN.

Further reading

• "'Humble' Potato Emerging as World's Next Food Source". column. Asahi Shimbun. 2008-05-11. p. 20. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help); |first= missing |last= (help); Check |first= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Spooner, David (2005). "A single domestication for potato based on multilocus amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102 (41): 14694–14699. doi:10.1073/pnas.0507400102. PMID 16203994. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• The World Potato Atlas at http://research.cip.cgiar.org/confluence/display/wpa/, released by the International Potato Center in 2006 and regularly updated. Includes current chapters of 15 countries:
  • South America: (English and Spanish): Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
  • Africa: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya
  • Eurasia: Armenia, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan
  • 38 others as brief "archive" chapters
  • Further information links at http://research.cip.cgiar.org/confluence/display/wpa/Potato+Info+Links.
• World Geography of the Potato at http://www.lanra.uga.edu/potato/, released in 1993.
• Reference for potato history: The Vegetable Ingredients Cookbook by Christine Ingram, Lorenz Books, 1996 ISBN 1-85967-264-7
• The History and Social Influence of the Potato by Redcliffe N. Salaman ISBN 0-521-31623-5
• Hamilton, Andy & Dave, (2004), Potatoes - Solanum tuberosums retrieved on 4 May 2005
• Gauldie, Enid (1981). The Scottish Miller 1700 - 1900. Pub. John Donald. ISBN 0-85976-067-7.

External links

• GLKS Potato Database
• Centro Internacional de la Papa - CIP (International Potato Center)
• World Potato Congress
• British Potato Council
• Online Potato Pedigree Database for cultivated varieties
• Potato Information & Exchange
• GMO Safety: Genetic engineering on potatoes Biological safety research on gm-potatoes
• International Year of the Potato 2008
• Solanum tuberosum (potato, papas): life cycle, tuber anatomy at GeoChemBio
• Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium
• Potato storage and value Preservation - CrossTree techno-visors.