Description

Potato History
The potato is originally from the high and cool areas of theAndesof Peru. It was grown as a food crop more than 7,000 yearsago.When Spanish conquistadores came to South America in the 1500stheytook potatoes back to Europe.

It took nearly 200 years for the potato to become a widelygrowncrop. In the 1780s the farmers in Ireland began growingpotatoesbecause they grew well in the poor soils. They also havemost ofthe vitamins that people need to survive. The Irish becamesodependent on the potato that when the crop failed in 1845 therewasa famine and many people starved to death. These days wecan'timagine life without potatoes on our table.

The potato plant is now grown in many different parts of theworld.Captain William Bligh planted potatoes on Bruny Island,Tasmania in1792 In Australia they are now the largest vegetablecrop.
The English word potato comes from Spanish patata (the name usedinSpain). The Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word isacompound of the Taíno batata and the Quechua papa (potato).[13]Thename potato originally referred to a type of sweet potatoalthoughthe two plants are not closely related; in many of thechroniclesdetailing agriculture and plants, no distinction is madebetweenthe two.[14] The 16th-century English herbalist John Gerardusedthe terms "bastard potatoes" and "Virginia potatoes" forthisspecies, and referred to sweet potatoes as "commonpotatoes".[15]Potatoes are occasionally referred to as "Irishpotatoes" or "whitepotatoes" in the United States, to distinguishthem from sweetpotatoes.
Nutrition facts
Potatoes are naturally gluten-free and they’re packedwithnutritional benefits needed for a healthy lifestyle. Potatoesareone of the world’s most versatile vegetables. Foundational inawide range of international and all-American cuisine, potatoesarethe perfect blank canvas for a variety of flavors. This iswelcomenews when your good health depends on eating agluten-freediet.

An ideal substitution for some of your favorite bread, grainandpasta-based dishes, potatoes add a boost ofnutritionalbenefits.
The potato contains vitamins and minerals, as well as anassortmentof phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and naturalphenols.Chlorogenic acid constitutes up to 90% of the potato tubernaturalphenols.
A medium-size 150 g (5.3 oz) potato with the skin provides 27 mgofvitamin C (45% of the Daily Value), 620 mg of potassium (18%ofDV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts ofthiamin,riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron,andzinc.