The true story of potatoes. Almost everything is in the head: how potatoes conquered Europe History of potatoes - video
History of potatoes
Potatoes originate from South America, where this plant can still be found in the wild. It was in South America that they began to grow potatoes as cultivated plant. The Indians ate it; in addition, potatoes were considered a living being, and the local population worshiped them. The spread of potatoes around the world began with the Spanish conquest of new territories. In their reports, the Spaniards described the local population, as well as the plants that were eaten. Among them was potato, which at that time had not yet received its usual name; then it was called truffle.
The historian Pedro Cieza de Leon made a significant contribution to the spread of potatoes throughout European countries. In 1551, he brought this vegetable to Spain, and in 1553 he wrote an essay in which he described the history of the discovery of potatoes, its taste and nutritional properties, the rules of preparation and storage.
From Spain, potatoes spread to Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain and other European countries. Potatoes began to be valued as ornamental plant, they practically did not eat it, considering it poisonous. Later, the nutritional and taste properties of potatoes were confirmed, and they became widely known as a food product.
❧ The most expensive potato in the world is the LaBonnotte variety, which is grown on the island of Noirmoutier. Its yield is only 100 tons per year. The tuber is extremely delicate, so it is harvested only by hand.
To Russia potatoes arrived thanks to Peter I. At the end of the 17th century. he sent a bag of potato tubers from Holland and ordered them to be distributed throughout the provinces so that it could be grown there. Potatoes became widespread only under Catherine II.
The peasants did not know how to properly grow and eat potatoes. Due to many poisonings, he was considered poisonous plant. As a result, peasants refused to plant this crop, and this became the cause of several “potato riots.” By royal decree in 1840-1842. Mass planting of potatoes was carried out throughout the country. Its cultivation was under strict control. As a result, to end of the 19th century V. Potato plantings began to occupy large areas. It was called “second bread” as it became one of the staple foods.
❧ There is a museum dedicated to potatoes in Belgium. There you can find many exhibits depicting this plant - these include postage stamps and paintings by famous artists, for example “The Potato Eaters” by Van Gogh.
Useful properties of potatoes
Potatoes contain a large amount of potassium, which helps eliminate salt and excess water. Due to this, potatoes are often used in dietary nutrition. But it is worth considering that potatoes contain a high amount of carbohydrates, so people who are prone to obesity should not get carried away with them. Potato - indispensable assistant in the fight against gastritis, peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, it has an alkalizing effect, which is undeniably important for people suffering increased acidity. In addition to starch, potatoes contain ascorbic acid, various vitamins and proteins.
Where did potatoes come to Europe and when? and got the best answer
Answer from Simply))[guru]
Potatoes are one of America's main gifts to the Old World during the Age of Discovery. As British historians describe, the ship with the first tubers, having completed the transatlantic journey, arrived on the shores of Great Britain on December 3, 1586. Potatoes were brought from what is now Columbia by Sir Thomas Harriet. After this, the already unknown vegetable began its journey across the continent and different parts Sveta. Over the past centuries it has gained such a strong position in kitchens different countries, which received the status of a “national” dish.
Some historians argue that potatoes could have appeared in Europe several years earlier. There is even a version that potatoes came to Europe thanks to the famous pirate Francis Drake, who brought them in 1580. However, there is no exact date other than December 3, 1586. Although another date is connected with the history of potatoes: in 1533, the Spaniard Chesa de Leon, who described the tubers in the book “Chronicles of Peru”.
Source: Internet
Reply from 2 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Where did potatoes come to Europe and when?
Reply from Baby[guru]
From America!
Reply from Sourire[guru]
The homeland of potatoes is South America. Potatoes were grown across a vast area of the central plateau in the Andes, from ancient city Cusco to Lake Titicaca. According to the American botanist D. Jugent, the indigenous people of Peru first began cultivating potatoes 12 thousand years ago. The scientist came to such conclusions based on studying the remains of potatoes discovered during excavations by archaeologists of ancient settlements of Peruvian Indians.
The Indians ate potatoes in the form of chunyo - a kind of “canned food”. Chuno was prepared this way: potato tubers were repeatedly frozen at night and dried in the sun during the day - dried tubers were obtained. The Chuno product could be stored for 3-4 years. In our country, food made from chuño would hardly have caused delight, but in the life of the Indians this product played a paramount role. It is not surprising that the Indians deified the potato, worshiped its spirits, organized magnificent celebrations in its honor, and made human sacrifices as gifts. Celebrating the harvest festival, the Indians of Ecuador sacrificed 100 children. When Europeans first attended this festival, the ritual of sacrifice was no longer so cruel and monstrous; Only a lamb was sacrificed and its blood was sprinkled on the potatoes, and children, smartly dressed for the occasion, only carried potato tubers in baskets.
The first Europeans to see potatoes were the sailors of H. Columbus. This is how Columbus’s first biographer wrote about potatoes: “Colon (i.e. Columbus) discovered one island Hispaniola (Haiti), whose inhabitants eat special root bread. On a small bush grow tubers the size of a pear or a small pumpkin; when they are ripe, they are dug out of the ground in the same way as we do with turnips or radishes, dried in the sun, chopped, ground into flour and baked from it into bread...”
I saw potatoes in Peru and the conquistador Francisco Pissaro and his thugs, but they were not at all interested in the inconspicuous plant, the Inca gold was on their minds. But it aroused the interest of a 13-year-old boy, Pedro Chiesa de Leon, who was in a detachment of conquistadors and did not care about gold: he was amazed by the life of the people of Peru. In 1553, Pedro Chiesa de Leon published the book “Chronicle of Peru” in Spain, where he introduced Europeans to the amazing country and its inhabitants. From the same book, Europeans learned about the existence of potatoes.
Potatoes became known in Europe around 1565, and it has not yet been established exactly who first introduced them. It is most likely that the Spanish conquistadors brought it to Europe: along with the looted wealth of the New World, they brought strange animals and plants. There is another version, based on documents: potatoes were first brought to Europe by Francis Drake, the notorious “Queen Elizabeth’s pirate.” Drake was not only an unsurpassed master of sea robbery, but also made important geographical discoveries and was fond of collecting the flora and fauna of America.
Like an overseas curiosity, potatoes were first planted in botanical gardens. Systematic botanists found themselves in a difficult position: how to classify a plant, what genus to classify it into. To begin with, the foreign plant was given the Indian name “papa” (that’s what the Peruvian Indians called potatoes). Then, due to its similarity to sweet potatoes in forming underground tubers, English botanists named it sweet potato (potato in English). Only in 1590, the Swiss botanist Bouchen, based on the structure of the flower and fruit, came to the conclusion that the overseas plant was closely related to plants of the nightshade genus, well known to botanists. Bowchen gave the name to a plant from America - Solyanum tuberosum esculentum, which means edible tuberous nightshade. Subsequently, this specific name for the plant was finally assigned to C. Linnaeus. The British still had the previous name for potatoes - potato, but they had to call the real sweet potato sweet potato.
Reply from Kostya Vlasov[guru]
Since time immemorial it has been an annual herbaceous plant from the nightshade family with white or purple flowers gained fame as the first vegetable among the peoples of different countries. Two thousand years ago, the Indians of Peru knew how to cook “chunio” from potatoes, for which the chopped tubers were left overnight under open air, crushed in the morning, then dried and obtained a kind of canned potato, suitable for long-term storage. Potatoes came to Europe many centuries later. It is believed that the famous pirate of the period of Great Geographical Discovery, Vice Admiral Francis Drake, took the mysterious tubers of this wonderful plant from South America, for which later grateful descendants erected a monument to him with the following inscription on the pedestal: “To Sir Francis Drake, who spread potatoes in Europe. 1580 Millions of farmers around the world bless his immortal memory. This is help to the poor, a precious gift from God, alleviating bitter need.”
However for a long time Europeans treated potatoes with great distrust and did not dare to eat them, but recognized them only as feed for pigs. The Parisian pharmacist Antoine Parmentier once treated the King of France to boiled potatoes, who liked this dish so much that he began to wear potato flowers on his dress coat, and the queen decorated her hair with them. But ordinary people“earth” or “devil” apples were still avoided. Then Parmentier attached signs in his garden next to the potato beds asking... do not come close to the plant. The forbidden fruit is always the sweetest, and within a few days all the neighbors of the cunning pharmacist began to plant potatoes in their gardens.
The potato culture did not immediately take root in Russia, since the clergy and Old Believers did their best to prevent the spread of the plant. And in the middle of the last century, a wave of “potato riots” swept through many Russian provinces, when peasants refused to plant “damn” apples, or “unclean fruits of the underworld.”
Now potatoes are valued not only as the first vegetable, from which chefs can prepare more than 300 dishes, but also as medicinal plant. White, red or purple potato tubers - real chemical laboratory. They contain up to twenty-five percent starch, which has long been used in medical practice as a gentle anti-inflammatory and enveloping agent for gastrointestinal disorders, as well as for the preparation of pharmaceutical tablets. Tubers are rich in fiber, pectin and other carbohydrates, as well as proteins, amino acids, vitamins B, C, PP, carotene, organic acids, especially citric and malic, mineral salts, lipids and other compounds. And the specific “potato” smell of the tubers is due to the presence of essential oil in them.
It's hard to find a person who doesn't like potatoes. Even those who don’t eat it to stay slim talk about it as a feat. It is not surprising that the vegetable itself was nicknamed “second bread”: it is equally appropriate for festive table, in the work canteen and on a long hiking trip. I can’t even believe that three hundred years ago most The population of Europe did not even know about the existence of potatoes. The history of the emergence of potatoes in Europe and Russia is worthy of an adventure novel.
In the 16th century, Spain conquered vast lands in South America. The conquistadors and the learned monks who came with them left most interesting information about the life and way of life of the indigenous people of Peru and New Granada, which included the territory of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
The basis of the diet of South American Indians was maize, beans and strange tubers called “papa”. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, the conqueror and first governor of New Granada, described the "papa" as a cross between truffles and turnips.
Wild potatoes grew throughout almost all of Peru and New Granada. But its tubers were too small and tasted bitter. More than a thousand years before the arrival of the conquistadors, the Incas learned to cultivate this crop and developed several varieties. The Indians valued potatoes so much that they even worshiped them as a deity. And the unit of time was the interval required to cook potatoes (about one hour).
The Peruvian Indians worshiped potatoes; they measured time by how long it took to cook. Potatoes were eaten boiled “in their uniforms.” In the Andean foothills the climate is harsher than on the coast. Due to frequent frosts, storing “papa” (potatoes) was difficult. Therefore, the Indians learned to prepare “chuño” – dried potatoes – for future use. For this purpose, the tubers were specially frozen to remove the bitterness from them. After thawing, the “papa” was trampled underfoot to separate the pulp from the skin. The peeled tubers were either immediately dried in the sun or first soaked in running water and then laid out to dry.
Chunyo could be stored for several years and was convenient to take with you on a long journey. This advantage was appreciated by the Spaniards, who set off from the territory of New Granada in search of the legendary Eldorado. Cheap, filling and well-preserved, chuño was the staple food of slaves in the Peruvian silver mines.
In South American countries, many dishes are still prepared based on chuño: from main dishes to desserts.
Adventures of Potatoes in Europe
Already in the first half of the 16th century, along with gold and silver from overseas colonies, potato tubers came to Spain. Here they were called the same as in their homeland: “dad”.
The Spaniards appreciated not only the taste, but also the beauty of the overseas guest, and therefore potatoes often grew in flower beds, where they pleased the eye with their flowers. Doctors widely used its diuretic and wound-healing properties. In addition, it turned out to be a very effective cure for scurvy, which in those days was a real scourge of sailors. There is even a known case when Emperor Charles V presented potatoes as a gift to the ill Pope.
At first, the Spaniards fell in love with potatoes for their beautiful flowering, but they liked the taste later Potatoes became very popular in Flanders, which was then a colony of Spain. At the end of the 16th century, the cook of the Bishop of Liege included several recipes for its preparation in his culinary treatise.
Italy and Switzerland also quickly appreciated the benefits of potatoes. By the way, we owe this name to the Italians: they called the truffle-like root vegetable “tartuffoli”.
But further across Europe, potatoes spread literally by fire and sword. In the German principalities, peasants did not trust the authorities and refused to plant a new vegetable. The trouble is that potato berries are poisonous, and at first people who did not know that the root vegetable should be eaten were simply poisoned.
The “popularizer” of potatoes, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, got down to business. In 1651, the king issued a decree according to which those who refused to plant potatoes had to have their noses and ears cut off. Since the august botanist’s words never diverged from deeds, already in the second half of the 17th century, significant areas in Prussia were planted with potatoes.
Gallant France
In France, it has long been believed that root vegetables were the food of the lower classes. The nobility gave preference green vegetables. Potatoes were not grown in this country until the second half of the 18th century: the peasants did not want any innovations, and the gentlemen were not interested in the overseas root crop.
The history of potatoes in France is associated with the name of the pharmacist Antoine-Auguste Parmentier. It rarely happens that one person combines selfless love for people, a sharp mind, remarkable practical intelligence and an adventurous streak.
Parmentier began his career as a military doctor. During Seven Years' War he was captured by the Germans, where he tried potatoes. Being an educated man, Monsieur Parmentier immediately realized that potatoes could save peasants from hunger, which was inevitable in the event of a wheat crop failure. All that remained was to convince those whom the master was going to save of this.
Parmentier began to solve the problem step by step. Since the pharmacist had access to the palace, he persuaded King Louis XVI to go to the ball by pinning a bouquet of potato flowers to his ceremonial uniform. Queen Marie Antoinette, who was a trendsetter, wove the same flowers into her hairstyle.
Less than a year had passed before every self-respecting noble family acquired its own potato bed, where the queen’s favorite flowers grew. But a flowerbed is not a garden bed. In order to transplant potatoes into French beds, Parmentier used even more original technique. He hosted a dinner to which he invited the most famous scientists of his time (many of them considered potatoes, at least, inedible).
The royal pharmacist treated his guests to a wonderful lunch, and then announced that the dishes were prepared from that same dubious root vegetable.
But you can’t invite all French peasants to dinner. In 1787, Parmentier asked the king for a plot of arable land in the vicinity of Paris and a company of soldiers to guard the potato plantings. At the same time, the master announced that anyone who steals a valuable plant will face execution.
All day long the soldiers guarded the potato field, and at night they went to the barracks. Need I say that all the potatoes were dug up and stolen in the shortest possible time?
Parmentier went down in history as the author of a book about the benefits of potatoes. In France, two monuments were erected to Master Parmentier: in Montdidier (in the scientist’s homeland) and near Paris, on the site of the first potato field. On the pedestal of the monument in Montdidier is carved: “To the Benefactor of Humanity.”
Monument to Parmentier in Montdidier Pirate's booty
In the 16th century, England was just challenging the decrepit but still powerful Spain for the crown of “Mistress of the Seas.” The famous corsair of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake, became famous not only trip around the world, but also raids on Spanish silver mines in the New World. In 1585, returning from one such raid, he took on board the British, who were unsuccessfully trying to establish a colony in what is now North Carolina. They brought with them the papa or poteitos tubers.
Francis Drake - a pirate, thanks to whom they learned about potatoes in England The territory of the British Isles is small, and there is little fertile land here, and therefore hunger was a frequent guest in the homes of farmers and townspeople. The situation was even worse in Ireland, which the English masters mercilessly plundered.
Potatoes became a real salvation for ordinary people in England and Ireland. In Ireland it is still one of the main crops. Local residents even have a proverb: “Love and potatoes are two things you don’t joke with.”
History of potatoes in Russia
Emperor Peter I, having visited Holland, brought a bag of potatoes from there. The Tsar was firmly convinced that this root crop had a great future in Russia. An overseas vegetable was planted on Apothecary garden, but things didn’t go any further: the tsar had no time for botanical studies, and the peasants in Russia were not much different from foreign ones in their mentality and character.
After the death of Peter I, the rulers of the state had no time to popularize potatoes. Although it is known that already under Elizabeth, potatoes were a frequent guest on both the royal table and the tables of nobles. Vorontsov, Hannibal, and Bruce grew potatoes on their estates.
The common people, however, were not inflamed with love for potatoes. As in Germany, there were rumors about the poisonousness of the vegetable. In addition, in German “Kraft Teufel” means “damn power.” In an Orthodox country, a root vegetable with this name caused hostility.
A special contribution to the selection and distribution of potatoes was made by the famous botanist and breeder A.T. Bolotov. On his experimental plot, he received record yields even in modern times. A.T. Bolotov wrote several works on the properties of potatoes, and he published the first of his articles in 1770, much earlier than Parmentier.
In 1839, during the reign of Nicholas I, there was a severe shortage of food in the country, followed by famine. The government has taken decisive measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. As usual, fortunately the people were driven away with a club. The Emperor ordered that potatoes be planted in all provinces.
In the Moscow province, state peasants were ordered to grow potatoes at the rate of 4 measures (105 l) per person, and they had to work for free. In the Krasnoyarsk province, those who did not want to plant potatoes were sent to hard labor to build the Bobruisk fortress. “Potato riots” broke out in the country, which were brutally suppressed. However, since then potatoes have truly become the “second bread”.
The peasants resisted the new vegetable as best they could, potato riots were commonplace In the middle of the 19th century, many Russian scientists, in particular E.A. Grachev, were engaged in potato breeding. It is to him that we should be grateful for the variety “Early Rose” (“American”), known to most gardeners.
In the 20s of the twentieth century, Academician N.I. Vavilov became interested in the history of the origin of potatoes. The government of a state that has not yet recovered from the horrors Civil War, found funds to send an expedition to Peru in search of wild potatoes. As a result, completely new species of this plant were found, and Soviet breeders were able to develop very productive and disease-resistant varieties. Thus, the famous breeder A.G. Lorch created the “Lorch” variety, the yield of which, subject to a certain growing technology, is more than a ton per hundred square meters.
Today, many gardeners successfully grow potatoes. Delicious and nutritious dishes are prepared from it. The history of the vegetable is truly amazing. Let's remember where the homeland of potatoes is located, and how the culture appeared in European countries and Russia.
Where is the homeland of potatoes?
Every educated citizen should know that the birthplace of potatoes is South America. Its history began more than ten thousand years ago in the territory adjacent to Lake Titicaca. The Indians tried to grow wild potatoes and spent a lot of time and effort on it.
The plant became an agricultural crop only five thousand years later. Thus, the birthplace of potatoes is Chile, Bolivia and Peru.
In ancient times, Peruvians idolized the plant and even made sacrifices to it. The reason for this veneration has never been established.
Today, more than 1,000 varieties of potatoes can be found on the commercial market in Peru. Among them are green tubers the size of walnut, crimson specimens. Dishes from them are prepared right at the market.
Adventures of Potatoes in Europe
Europeans first tried potatoes, which originated in South America, in the 16th century. In 1551, geographer Pedro Cieza da Leon brought it to Spain, and later described its nutritional properties and taste qualities. Each state greeted the product differently:
- The Spaniards loved him for appearance bushes and planted in flower beds like flowers. Residents of the country also appreciated the taste of the overseas food, and doctors used it as a wound-healing agent.
- The Italians and Swiss enjoyed preparing various dishes. The word “potato” itself is not associated with its South American homeland. The name comes from "tartufolli", which means "truffle" in Italian.
- Initially, in Germany, people refused to plant the vegetable. The fact is that the population of the country was poisoned by eating not tubers, but berries, which are poisonous. In 1651, King Frederick William the First of Prussia ordered the ears and noses of those who opposed the creation of culture to be cut off. Already in the second half of the 17th century, it was grown in vast fields in Prussia.
- Potatoes arrived in Ireland in the 1590s. There the vegetable took root well even in unfavorable climatic areas. Soon, a third of the area suitable for farming was planted with potatoes.
- In England, peasants were rewarded with money for growing potatoes, the homeland of which is considered to be South America.
For a long time, Europeans unfairly called potatoes “the devil’s berry” and destroyed them due to mass poisoning. Over time, the product became a frequent guest on the table and received universal recognition.
Gallant France
The French believed that potato tubers were the food of the lower stratum of society. The vegetable was not cultivated in this country until the second half of the 18th century. Queen Marie Antoinette wove the flowers of the plant into her hair, and Louis the 16th appeared at the ball pinning them to his ceremonial uniform.
Soon, every nobility began to grow potatoes in flower beds.
A special role in the development of potato production was played by the royal pharmacist Parmentier, who planted a plot of arable land with vegetables and assigned a company of soldiers to guard the plantings. The doctor announced that anyone who steals a valuable crop will die.
When the soldiers went to the barracks at night, the peasants dug up the ground and stole the tubers. Parmentier wrote a work on the benefits of the plant and went down in history as a “benefactor of humanity.”
History of potatoes in Russia
Potatoes appeared in our country thanks to Tsar Peter the Great. The emperor brought new products, clothing, and household items from Europe. This is how potatoes appeared in Rus' at the beginning of the 18th century, which peasants began to grow on the orders of the Tsar.
People did not value tubers the way they did in his homeland. The peasants considered them tasteless and were wary of them.
During wars, this vegetable saved people from hunger and already in the mid-18th century became the “second bread”. The product became widespread thanks to Catherine II. In 1765, the government recognized its usefulness and obliged peasants to grow “earth apples.”
In 1860, a famine began in the country, forcing people to eat potatoes, which, to their surprise, turned out to be quite tasty and nutritious.
Over time, the earthen apple began to be cultivated throughout the country. Even the poor could afford it, because the culture is able to adapt to climatic conditions.
Today the benefits and chemical composition The product has been sufficiently studied by specialists. Agricultural producers have learned to properly care for crops and protect them from diseases and pests.
Conclusion
Currently, potatoes are among the staple foods and are an essential ingredient in many recipes. There is no need to idolize potatoes, as the Peruvians, the inhabitants of the homeland of potatoes, did. You should treat this root vegetable with respect, know where it came from and what it is useful for.
It has been scientifically proven that potatoes have existed on earth for more than 12 thousand years. Although some scientists dispute its 14 thousand-year existence. The first wild potatoes grew in the mountainous regions of South America. It was different from modern potatoes, and they were eaten in a slightly different way.
Potatoes were a very valuable food product for the Native Americans. It was eaten, exchanged for important and valuable things, it was spiritualized and worshiped. The Incas used potatoes for fortune telling and even counting time, taking the cooking time of medium-sized tubers as a unit. This was approximately one hour. But the time has come, and the whole world became acquainted with potatoes. The Europeans were the first here.
The history of the appearance of potatoes in Europe dates back to the times of the Great Spanish conquests of the 16th century AD. e. From numerous expeditions to America, Europeans brought home potato tubers, among other overseas wonders. Old World I didn’t immediately appreciate the overseas vegetable. In all European countries The distribution of potatoes was difficult. Sometimes they didn’t even know what to do with this plant. For example, in France it was originally grown for its beautiful flowers, unaware of the true value of the plant. And in Germany, in order to interest people in growing potatoes, they issued a decree to “cut off the noses and cut off the ears” of those who did not want to grow them. In England, potato growers were promised gold medals.
The reasons for the people’s non-acceptance of potatoes were almost the same in all states - ignorance of its agricultural technology and characteristics. It took two centuries for potatoes to become firmly established as a crop cultivated in large quantities for food consumption. Over the entire history of potato cultivation, many new ones have been developed productive varieties, having different taste and nutritional qualities, resistant to certain diseases. Varieties have appeared that repel its pests.
Nowadays, potatoes are the most valuable food product for many peoples of the world. It is grown in all countries of the temperate climate zone. Until recently, we were world leaders in this. Now the palm in potato growing has passed to China. IN recent years Many new dishes are made from potatoes: French fries, chips, croquettes. We will share recipes for some dishes that can be prepared at home on the pages of the site dedicated to potatoes.
