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Shipping records from 1567 show that the first place outside of Central and South America where potatoes were grown were the Canary Islands. [38] As in other continents, despite its advantages as an anti-famine, high-elevation alternative to grain, potatoes were first resisted by local farmers who believed they were poisonous .
The Propitious Esculent: The Potato in World History is a book by John Reader outlining the role of the potato (the esculent of the title) in world history. [1] [2] It was also published under the titles The Untold History of the Potato and Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent.
Potatoes are underground tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United States to southern Chile. Genetic studies show that the cultivated potato has a single origin, in the area of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia.
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Food historian Lois Ellen Frank calls potatoes, tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, chili, cacao, and vanilla the "magic eight" ingredients that were found and used only in the Americas before 1492 and were taken via the Columbian Exchange back to the Old World, dramatically transforming the cuisine there. [17] [18] [19] According to Frank, [20]
[5] Pliny the Elder writes extensively about agriculture from books XII to XIX; in fact, XVIII is The Natural History of Grain. [6] Crops grown on Roman farms included wheat , barley , millet , pea , broad bean , lentil , flax , sesame , chickpea , hemp , turnip , olives , pear , apples , figs , and plums .
The large size of America and its long history of immigration have created an especially diverse cuisine that varies by region. American cooking dates back to the traditions of the Native Americans, whose diet included a mix of farmed and hunted food, and varied widely across the continent.
Potatoes have 135 calories and 3 grams of protein. Learn potato nutrition facts and benefits. Plus recipes including mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes and potato salad.