Purchase from Amazon
Purchase from Amazon
Potato: A Global History
|
Potato: A Global History |
From obscure Pre-Columbian beginnings in the Andes Mountains to global popularity today, the story of the potato is one of rags to riches. In Potato, esteemed culinary historian Andrew F. Smith reveals the captivating story of a once lowly vegetable that has changed—and continues to change—the world.
First domesticated by prehistoric people in the Andes, the potato has since been adopted by cultures around the globe. For instance, the potato was aggressively adopted by cooks in India and China, where it has become a dietary staple. In fact, these two countries now stand as the world’s largest potato producers. Nonetheless, despite its popularity, in this era of both fast food and health consciousness, the potato is now suffering negative publicity regarding its low nutritional value. Its health benefits continue to be debated, especially considering that the potato is most often associated with the ubiquitous but high-calorie french fry.
Potato is a captivating read that provides a concisely written but thoroughly researched account of the history, economy, politics, and gastronomy behind this beloved starch—as well as recipes. As loaded with goodies as a well-dressed baked potato, this book is comforting and satisfying.
……
Praise for Potato: A Global History
“Potato is a concise and readable history of the world’s favourite vegetable in which the New York food historian and editor of Reaktion Books’ Edible series Andrew F Smith traces the evolution of the common potato (Solanum tuberosum) from its South American origins to the present day. The potato first reached Europe in the 16th century and rapidly gained popularity owing to its adaptability, ease of cultivation, relatively short growing season and heavy cropping. Its versatility is well known: potatoes can be boiled, baked, fried, roasted, steamed, sautéed, mashed, hashed and scalloped, made into potato crisps, flour and starch and even used to make vodka. Today, potatoes are grown commercially in more than 130 countries and annual global production exceeds 300 million tonnes (making potatoes the world’s third most prolific crop behind wheat and rice), so that the average global citizen consumes about 33 kg of potatoes per year. No wonder that the United Nations declared 2008 to be the International Year of the Potato. Looking ahead, the potato is likely to play an ever-increasing role in the world’s future food supply.
The dust jacket claim that potato has changed – and continues to change – the world sounds extravagant until you consider the disastrous European potato famine of the mid-1840s. The almost total failure of the potato crop due to potato blight was particularly devastating in Ireland where an estimated one million people died of starvation and a further million emigrated to North America or Australia, precipitating a century-long population decline. The potato could also claim to have played a pivotal role in the 1992 US presidential campaign when the hapless incumbent Vice-President Dan Quayle mistakenly added an &r
ldquo;e” to the end of the word in a school spelling contest he was invited to officiate. “Potatogate,” as the story was dubbed, undoubtedly contributed to the failure of the Bush/Quayle re-election campaign.
At little more than 100 pages, including 49 illustrations and 12 pages of mainly vegetarian recipes, Potato is not as filling as its subject matter, but the book would make a novel and attractive gift for the spud-enthusiast-u-like, and reading it won’t turn you into a couch potato.”
Paul Appleby, International Vegetarian Union online news, April 2011
……
More praise for Potato: A Global History
“As food historian Andrew F. Smith shows in “Potato: A Global History” (Reaktion, 142 pages, $15.95), even the lowly spud packs a lot of colorful history, including a fleeting aphrodisiacal reputation: It was described by one 16th-century British writer as a lust-enhancing “venerous root.” The potato is such a staple today that few who enjoy it realize that it was known only in Latin America until conquistadors returning to Spain introduced it to their countrymen. Ironically, the French—so associated with the potato in its most delicate fried form—took longer to appreciate it. Only the -efforts in the 18th century of -Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a -pharmacist with a flair for promotion, really sold the French public. In 1778, -Parmentier—on the advice of an even more accomplished huckster, American envoy Ben Franklin—hosted a society banquet in Paris “with all courses, from soup to dessert, made from -potatoes.” Even the toasts were drunk with glasses of potato vodka. Too much of a good thing? Perhaps, but the same certainly can’t be said for this outstanding -series of food -volumes.”
Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2011.
