No, I´m not referring to daddies or fathers, but rather, the Peruvian potato, scientifically known as solanum tuberosum.
You have to give Peru credit for a lot more than Machu Picchu and the Incas. The potato, that famous tuber that is quickly converting North Americans into obese citizens as they munch away on French fries at the thousands of McDonald´s, Burger Kings, and the millions of snack shops and restaurants, is of Peruvian origin.
Potatoes have been preserved in dry areas and caves enabling archaeologists to shed light on the domestication of the potato. Excavations in the highlands of Chilca, southeast of Lima, have revealed remains of potatoes dating back to 8000-6000 BC.
Although the potato was domesticated high in the Andes, current research also suggests that some 4,000 years ago, coastal inhabitants enjoyed varieties of the potato similar to those consumed today. Potato remains have also been found in ancient coastal settlements north of Lima. Most of these finds date to the Formative era, between the second and first millennia BC. It is believed that these potatoes arrived to the coast through trade, as coastal dwellers were unable to grow the crop in the desert.
Not quite as far back, the Aymara Indians developed more than two hundred varieties of potatoes at elevations greater than 10,000 feet. Potatoes formed the basis of the Aymara and Inca diet. In the Andes, the Incas thought the potato made childbirth easier and used it to treat injuries.
The Spanish conquerors first encountered the potato when they arrived in Peru in 1532 in search of gold. They were not aware, however, that the potato, not gold or silver, was the true treasure of the Andes. They did appreciate the fact it contained vitamin C or something that fought off scurvy, quite common amongst sailors who spent long periods at sea without the proper nutrition.
After the Spanish conquest, the potato was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula in approximately 1550. The royal court tried to keep it a secret, but it wasn`t long before other European countries were aware of it. At the beginning, this strange plant that was relished not only by the Incas but by their ancestors was frowned upon by the majority of the French, Italians and Russians who refused to eat it since it grew underground rather than above the surface like corn or wheat.
In France, Antoine Augustine Parmentier saw that the nutritional benefits of the crop combined with its productive capacity could be a boon to the French farmer. He was a pharmacist, chemist and employee of Louis XVI. Parmentier discovered the benefits of the potato while he was being held prisoner by the Prussians during the Seven Years War and had nothing else to eat but potatoes. He was so impressed by the potato that he was determined to make it a staple in the French diet. After failing by conventional means to convince Frenchmen of its advantages, he found a clever means of making his point.
He convinced King Luis XVI of the value of the crop and the king granted him use of a miserable and unproductive spot of ground on the outskirts of Paris where he planted 50 acres of potatoes. Marie Antoinette even wore potato blossoms in her hair. During the day he had a guard watching over the land. By some strange circumstance, the local townspeople managed to sneak in at night and steal the potatoes out of curiosity.
Little by little they developed a taste for this strange delight and its popularity spread throughout Europe and its cultivation grew extensively on the Old Continent as well as Asia and Africa. Europe would wait until 1780 before the potato gained prominence. Until the French and the rest of their neighbors realized its true value, the potato was fed to the pigs and cattle as a cheap source of protein.
This same year the people of Ireland adopted the rugged food crop. The primary reason for its acceptance in Ireland was its ability to produce abundant, nutritious food. Unlike any other major crop, potatoes contain most of the vitamins needed for sustenance. Perhaps more importantly, potatoes provided this sustenance to nearly 10 people on an acre of land. This was one of the prime factors that caused the Irish population explosion in the early 1800s.
Unfortunately by the mid-1800's, the Irish had become extremely dependent upon this crop. Peasants were eating a daily average of 10 potatoes per person. Potatoes supplied about 80 percent of the calories in their diet. They used potato fodder to feed their animals, animals which provided milk, meat and eggs to supplement the peasants' diet. This dependence on one food crop was dangerous, but no other crop had ever proved to be as reliable.
In the 1840s, disaster struck. Three successive years of late blight, the microscopic fungus Phytophthora infestans, and heavy rains rotted the potato crops in the ground. Without potatoes, both the peasants and animals went hungry. When the animals died for lack of food, milk, meat and eggs were no longer available. More than one million of Ireland's 8 million inhabitants died of starvation; almost 2 million emigrated. The population of Ireland was reduced by almost one-fourth and has never regained its former numbers to this day.
Down through the ages, the potato has been blamed for causing everything from lust to leprosy. The Scots at one time refused to eat potatoes because they weren't mentioned in the Bible.
Today, potato is the fourth most important food crop in the world, with annual production approaching 300 million tons. More than one-third of the global potato output now comes from developing countries, up from just 11 percent in the early 1960s. The Potato is a very nutritive foodstuff producing energy due to its starch content and regulatory functions, as well as its content of hidrosoluble vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It also has a substantial quantity of proteins with relatively high biological value amongst other foodstuffs of vegetable origin.
A single medium-sized potato contains about half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C. Other staples such as rice and wheat have none. Potato is very low in fat, with just 5 percent of the fat content of wheat, and one-fourth the calories of bread. Boiled, it has more protein than maize, and nearly twice the calcium. Combined with milk, potatoes supply almost all food elements required for a healthy diet. Potatoes contain a high percentage of water ( 77%) and 18% starch, which is the basis for energy, as well as mineral substances such as potassium. As for calories, it has only 80 calories/100gms. If fried, its value can be tripled, since it absorbs a large part of the oil. Potatoes can be boiled, steamed, baked, fried, and grilled, and can be eaten as a main dish or as a side to meats, fish, or chicken. French fries and potato chips are amongst the most popular snacks on the world market and have become even more popular with the boom of the fast food chains like McDonald´s and Burger King, and our local chain, Bembo´s.
What´s ironic is the fact that all the fast food chains operating in Peru import potatoes for French fries from Canada! Of all the thousands of varieties of potatoes in the Andes, none have the ideal characteristics required. The large, long, smooth skinned Canadian potato is cheaper and facilitates processing more than any local variety. Despite an experiment in Nazca some years ago, it was impossible to come close to the competition from abroad. The only alternative is educating the public towards baked, grilled, boiled and mashed potatoes employing exotic varieties enjoyed since the time of the pre-Colombians, 8,000 years ago.
People have found many uses for the potato, above and beyond its essential role as sustenance. They have cured gastric ulcers by drinking raw potato juice; stemmed bleeding wounds with poultices of raw mashed potato, and even relieved the pain of rheumatism. with plasters of hot mashed potato; brought down swelling with a tea made from potato leaves; cured insect bites with slices of raw potato; eased the pain of burns with compresses of grated raw potato; dissolved kidney stones by drinking potato juice; soothed headaches by placing potato slices on their temples; and prevented facial wrinkles by wearing a mask of mashed potatoes at night.
The invention of chuño or dehydrated potatoes by the Andean Indians proved not only essential to the potato's development as a staple food; it also symbolized a sort of “humanization” of the potato in the collective imagination of Andean people. Indeed, in the Andes potatoes are believed to have human attributes, including anatomic and sexual features. Thanks to the centuries-old chuño technology, the potato forms part of the family, and is “always at home.” A visitor is offered potatoes on arrival, and receives them as a parting gift. In this way, Andean people continue to celebrate the potato's existence, consecrating it as kawsay, or life itself.
It was only natural that Peru became the center of attraction for the investigation of the potato. Dr. Richard Sawyer, a scientist from the state of Maine, which is also famous for its potatoes, established the International Potato Center (CIP) next to the local agrarian university in La Molina, just outside of Lima more than 40 years ago. CIP maintains the world's largest bank of potato germplasm, including some 1500 samples of about 100 wild species collected in eight Latin American countries and 3800 traditional Andean cultivated potatoes. The collection is maintained under the auspices of the FAO and is available to plant breeders worldwide free upon request.
Traditionally, most farmers used part of the harvest as seedlings when planting a new crop. CIP developed a revolutionary method called TPS (True Potato Seed), which has played an important role in this shift, providing resource-poor farmers with a range of new technologies and potato breeding lines specifically designed for developing-country conditions.
TPS has many advantages over planting tuber seeds. One is the obvious difference between storing and transporting tons of tubers versus grams of true seed. Farmers who normally plant a hectare of potatoes using two tons of seed tubers can achieve the same or better results by planting as few as 100 grams of TPS. Low cost is another TPS benefit: it costs about $1200 to plant one hectare of high-tuber seed, while TPS (100 grams) costs about $80 per hectare.
Today the potato is one of Peru´s most important legacies to the world. It is cultivated in over 125 countries and is the 4th basic foodstuff after rice, wheat, and corn, and one of the six most energetic in the human diet, together with wheat, corn, kiwicha (amaranth), rice, and barley. So what are you waiting for, get out there and enjoy some potatoes!
