“Food in Week Three”

This blog is talking about potatoes, which is a food that people can see and can eat it every single day. There are many ways to cook with it, such as fried, boiled, stewed and chilled. Therefore, I would like to explain what a potato is, how it spreads all around the world and how is it significant for humans?

 

What is Potato?

  • It is a root vegetable 
  • A starchy tuber of the plant Solanum tuberosum
  • Similar to tomatoes, the vegetative and fruiting parts of the potato contain the toxin solanine and are not fit for human consumption (if humans eat too many raw potatoes)
  • It grown from seed potatoes which provide consistent and healthy plants

The history of potato:

  • It was first domesticated in the region of southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia, it was between 8000 and 5000 BC.
  • It is the world’s fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize
  • Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 on 40,000 acres of land near Cork, it took four decades for the potato to spread to the rest of Europe

How it spread all around the world:

  • The first permanent potato patches in North America were established in 1719 by Scotch-Irish immigrants and the crop spread across the country at the same time
  • A.Parmentier helped King Louis XIV popularize the potato in France in the 18th century
    • Parmenties created a potato dishes, then this concept spread to Germany while he was imprisoned in 1767

Why is it significant?

  • It contained most of the vitamins, such as rich in vitamin C, high in potassium and an excellent source of fiber 
  • Provided to nearly 10 people for each acre of land cultivated
  • It may improve blood sugar control
    • For instance, A study of people with type 2 diabetes found consuming a meal with resistant starch helped better remove excess blood sugar after a meal

 

Potato history, https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-fun-facts-history/ Impact of Potato, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-potatoes#section3 Potato, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato