Tubers through time
1984
Zamula, Evelyn
Potatoes were not always as popular as they are now. As a member of the nightshade family, it was looked upon with suspicion and fear. Spanish conquistadors brought the potato back to their homeland from Equador in 1539. It is thought by some historians to have been introduced into Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh, who maintained an estate there. It took the English 250 years to start eating potatoes with any regularity after they were exhibited as a curiosity at the Leyden Botanical Gardens in the Netherlands in 1588. Even in France, the center of gastronomy, the potato was considered unfit for humans until a military pharmacist, who had spent years as a German prisoner living on a potato and water diet, championed the potato's cause after his release. By the 19th century, the potato had caught on in both Europe and America. (emc)
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