PotatoesBy Pierce DesJarlais

Introduction

• Why Potatoes?• What are Potatoes?• History of Potatoes• Potatoes Today• Grow Your Own Potatoes

Why Potatoes?

• Delicious– Mashed– Fried– Roasted– Baked– Potato Salad

Why Potatoes?

• Nutritious– 28% RDA of Vitamin C– Iron– Fiber

What are Potatoes?

• Potato is:– An Edible Tuber– Member of the Solanacea Family– Single ancestor in Southern Peru

• A Sweet Potato is Not a Potato– Distantly related– Sweet potatoes aren’t even Yams

What are Potatoes?

• Common potatoes include AnyaArran VictoryAtlanticBelle de FontenayBintjeCabritasCamotaChelinaChiloéCieloClavela BlancaDésiréeFiannaFingerling

FlavaGolden WonderJersey RoyalKerr’s PinkKestrelKing EdwardKipflerLady BalfourMaris PiperNicolaPachacoñaPink EyePink Fir ApplePrimura

Red NorlandRed PontiacRoosterRusset BurbankRusset NorkotahShepodySpuntaVivaldiYukon Gold

…of the nearly 5,000 known varieties!

History of Potatoes

• Origins– Native to South America– Irish Potato predates the Irish• First Cultivated: 10,000 years ago• Ireland Settled: 8,000 years ago

– Brought to Europe in 1536

History of Potatoes

• Europe– Famines in early 1770s led to widespread appeal– 1845 - 1849 – Great Irish Famine

• Idaho– Potatoes in Idaho as early as 1838– A million bushels in 1900

Potatoes Today

• More than just Idaho• World Wide– 350 million tons in 2006– Average diet includes 73 lbs. per year– 2008: International Year of the Potato– China and India

Grow Your Own Potatoes

Conclusion

• Why Potatoes?• What are Potatoes?• History of Potatoes• Potatoes Today• Grow Your Own Potatoes

Thank You!

Sources

Chapman, Jeff. "History Magazine - The Impact of the Potato." History Magazine - Home. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.history-magazine.com/potato.html>.

"Potato." Wikipedia. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato>.

Rayment, W. J. "Potato!" InDepthInfo: Information Delivered In-Depth. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. <http://www.indepthinfo.com/potato/>.