ABOUT POTATOES

Potatoes are a starchy tuber vegetable in the Solanum family that was first cultivated in the Andes, specifically Peru and Bolivia, anywhere between 4,500 - 10,000 years ago (depending on the type). Indigenous peoples of these regions of the Andes have a deep history of growing and cooking with potatoes, as well as using natural elements to preserve potatoes through freeze drying, dehydration, and fermentation. Indigenous peoples of the Andes have also continued to cultivate a wide variety of potatoes with flesh that come in a range of colors including red, black, and blue.

Although potatoes are often associated with European countries like Ireland, they wouldn’t reach Spain until the mid-1500s, and this would be after Spanish colonizers invaded and began to exploit the resources and Indigenous peoples of Peru and Bolivia. European colonizers would then take potatoes to Europe, and by the late-1700s were being widely cultivated in Ireland.

Potatoes continue to be an important crop in the diets of people across ethnicities and class lines due to them being a delicious, reliable, and inexpensive storage crop that offers an incredible source of energy.

COOKING & STORAGE

Edible parts: Tubers*
Nutrients: Potatoes are a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, potassium, vitamin C and B6.
Storing and Shelf Stability: The best place to store potatoes is in a cool, dry area of your kitchen, with good ventilation and out of direct sunlight. At warmer or more humid temperatures, they have a tendency to start sprouting or going bad; and when they’re too cold they develop sugars that can make their texture gummy when cooked.
Cooking with them: Potatoes can be baked, roasted, boiled, fried, grilled, and slow cooked; and can also be the basis for soups or salads.

RECIPES

Papa Rellena (Eating with Andy)
Crispy Skillet Fried Potatoes (The Kitchn)
Mashed Potatoes with Vegan Mushroom Gravy (Sweet Potato Soul)
Southern Sweet Potato Salad (Sweet Potato Soul)
Spring Potato Salad (Mississippi Vegan)
Lomo Saltado: In English, Tastemade and en Español via La Cocina de Victoriano

*Note: Although potatoes are commonly called root vegetables, they are not true roots, but are tubers and their “roots” are the little eyes they have. Tubers are a swollen underground stem. Whatever you want to call them is fine though.

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes and Ayllen Kocher