A humble treasure from Peru 
By Tim Hazell, June 1, 2007

There are hundreds of varieties, they have inspired myriad delectable dishes, are amazingly adaptable and so plentiful we take them completely for granted. The history of the potato has its roots in the austere windswept Andes mountains. This most unlikely environment, plagued by extreme temperatures and poor soil, somehow produced the humble potato some 7,000 years ago. In fact, about half of the agricultural products we eat today originated in this region due to the impressive engineering skills of these early farmers who built aqueducts to carry water to irrigation canals.

By the 1400s, at the start of the short-lived Inca empire, they had designed terraces of stone to create raised, level fields that hugged the steep Andean hillsides and which are still in use for cultivation throughout the region. In addition to retaining soil and water during heavy rains, these elevations were irrigated naturally as the water flowed downward from the higher altitudes through an ingenious system of channels that eventually reached the lush temple and palace gardens.

Grown up to an altitude of 16,500 feet, the potato is one of Peru’s national treasures. It can withstand the nightly frosts and was most likely the first dehydrated food. These freeze-dried potatoes, called chuñu, will keep for months and remain a staple.

European contact with the potato didn’t occur until the Spanish conquistadors tromped through Peru in the 1530s. And it was even later, about 1570, that the potato finally made it across the Atlantic. 

It was put to very limited use at first, probably due to its reputation as a food for the under-priveleged and its relationship to poisonous plants. The potato is a member of the nightshade family and its leaves are indeed poisonous. It wasn’t until the 1780s that the potato’s popularity began to grow. Recognizing its nutritional value and abundant yield, the Irish adopted it as a staple. Potatoes contain most of the vitamins needed for sustenance and can support about ten people on one acre of land.

If the Irish accepted the potato from the bottom up, with the French it happened from the top down. Antoine Augustine Parmentier, pharmacist to Louis XV, had discovered the value of potatoes while held prisoner by the Prussians during the Seven Years War. He failed to convince his fellow Frenchmen using conventional methods so he chose an unproductive, rundown plot of land on the outskirts of Paris, planted 50 acres of potatoes and posted a guard over it. Eager to see what the fuss was about, peasants would drift over during the night, when the guard was ‘relaxed’, and help themselves to this novel root. Before long they were growing potatoes in their own gardens. 

The potato’s etymological path is as intriguing as its history. The Incas, who spoke quechua, called them papas or bapas for sweet potatoes. The invading Spanish soldiers confused these two words, added a ta, which became patata eventually making its way into English as potato. The French, Russian and German words for potato stem from an error made by the Pope’s botanist in 1588. One of conquistador Francisco Pizarro’s soldiers managed to send a tuber or two over to Spain’s King Philip II. Too busy warring with the English to trifle with such things, he turned it over to the botanist, who having no idea what it was decided it must be some kind of truffle or taratuflis. Pope Sixtus V, who apparently suffered from very poor eyesight, read it as tartufoli which became the source for other European words such as the German kartoffel.

Not only a much loved part of our diet, the unassuming potato is also part of our language, as in the infamous “couch potato,” “a political hot potato,” “one potato, two potato...” But perhaps best of all, the lowly spud inspired the ineffably charming Mr. Potato Head.

Following is a delicious east Indian recipe that combines beautifully with a green vegetable dish. 


East Indian Potato Rice


½ onion thinly sliced

1 inch peeled ginger, minced

2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves

1 medium potato peeled and cubed

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

a pinch of black pepper

½ tsp salt

1 cup basmati rice



Thinly slice the onion. Peel and mince the ginger, chop garlic and coriander leaves. Peel and cube the potato, then place in cold water to keep from discoloring. Heat olive oil in a pot suitable for rice cookery, add the cumin seeds to gently brown, then onion, ginger, garlic and coriander. Lower to medium heat. Combine and stir until translucent, add turmeric, black pepper and salt and continue to stir a moment longer, taking care that the mixture doesn’t burn. Add rice, tossing in the oil and onion/spice mixture until the grains are translucent, taking care they do not stick. Add drained cubed potatoes and combine with the other ingredients. They should be evenly coated with the turmeric and turn a golden yellow. Add two cups of cold water to the pot and bring to the boil, then cover and cook on low heat another twenty minutes, using a trivet between the pot and the flame if gas is too high. Turn off the heat and let stand ten minutes, then uncover and gently fluff the rice to combine ingredients. Serves fo
ur as a dish with other vegetable courses, a salad, or as a side dish with chicken or fish.