February is National Potato Month. This vegetable, also known as spud and Irish potato, has been grown as a crop for at least 5,400 years. Today, it is the third most important food crop worldwide after rice and wheat, and is critical to the world’s food supply.
The potato has a single place of origin, from a wild plant in the South American highlands of the Andes in what is now Peru and Bolivia. It was brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadors in the late 16th century, and spread around the world. In its long history, the potato has also been used as folk medicine in many cultures. The Incas would carry around a potato if they had a toothache. The Chinese placed potatoes in their socks to cure colds.
Potatoes came to the American colonies in the 1600s when the Governor of the Bahamas sent a gift box to the Governor of Virginia. However, they were not widely grown until 1719 when Irish immigrants established potato patches in Londonberry, New Hampshire.
Slow to gain popularity, their ...