The potato has earned its place on American dinner plates.
The humble spuds we call potatoes are America’s favorite vegetable but their origin was not in the United States. The potato is native to the Peruvian-Bolivian Andes, cultivated in South America by the Incas as early as 1,800 years ago. The Spanish colonizers introduced the potato to Europe the last half of the 16th century.
I am telling the story of the potato using a list of many more facts along with some humor:
In Shakespeare’s time the potato was known as the apple of love. In 1589 Sir Walter Raleigh introduced the potato to Ireland which had the very best soil for growing. Potatoes became popular in France in the 18th century. King Louis XIV in 1767 hosted a dinner that featured only dishes (20 of them) of potatoes. Ben Franklin was in attendance. Marie Antoinette wore potato blossoms in her hair.
Potatoes came to the colonies in 1621 when the governor of Bermuda sent two chests of potatoes to Jamestown. The potato was no...