We cannot imagine going a day without consuming our all time favourite potato. It is a compulsory food for ourselves. It was not always like this potato was not welcome at the table of many people. This vegetable was understood on a very large scale. People used to hate this and associate it with witchcraft. The journey of this tuber is very exciting. How it went from being a double vegetable to the most beloved food on the table.
People of inca used to harvest potatoes on the Andes mountain of the south region of America. This happened more over 7000 years ago. It was the Spanish people who first brought the potatoes into the European market. Instead of enthusiasm the potatoes met with great suspicion. It was growing under the ground and due to its shape, many people were treating it like some extraterrestrial entity.
This fruit was not even mentioned in the holy Bible that’s why the Europeans were really sceptical about their foods. They were not in favour of the foods that were growing under the ground instead of above the ground. Because of its growth appearance potatoes were normally taken as poisonous and unholy vegetables.
Among many there were some of the people who were thinking that potatoes were the reason people were getting leprosy. While others usually associated them with the Satanic rituals and witchcraft. many parts of Europe were not allowing potatoes. The cultivation and harvesting of potatoes was banned for nearly 2 centuries in Europe and France.
It was a French pharmacist who changed the perspective about potatoes. Basically, he was a prisoner who was imprisoned in the war of Persia. While in prison he mostly survived on potatoes. And when he came back to France, he became an advocate for potatoes. From conducting public experiments for potatoes to conducting the royalty dinners with the theme of potatoes for the Royal families. He made potatoes popular in France and all over Europe.
When people reached the 19th century potatoes became popular in all of Europe. it was spreading very fast. In the time of feeding the high population potatoes were serving as best food. Because it was high in calories.
Potato and their stories are more than the same. It is a story of humans overcoming their fears and embracing the only vegetable which they feared the most and associated it with witchcraft and satanic rituals. The vegetable became really popular because people came to know about its real characteristics. Today it is the most comforting food for people all around the world. From all of Samosa to French fries and mashed potatoes, the popular comfort food is taking over the world.