Ok so it may seem like quite a bizarre subject to write an opinion on but the humble potato is taken for granted by so many of us that I have decided to speak out in its favour, and hopefully do it the justice that it deserves in the form of this review.
The Origins of the Potato
The origin of the Potato dates back to around 3000BC. Potatoes grow wild in the Andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia where they were cultivated by the Incas who called them "Papa". Following the Spanish conquests of Peru Potatoes were first brought to Europe via Spain in the Sixteenth Century.
The cultivated Potato has the Latin name Solanum tuberosum and is a member of the Solanaceae family of plants, whose members include Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant and Tobacco. Cultivation of the Potato in Europe spread quickly but the first large scale cultivations were in County Wicklow in Southern Ireland during the 1600's and the Potato soon became part of the staplediet
in Ireland. This ultimately led to mass starvation and wide scale emigration during the 1840's when the Potato crops failed for two successive years due to infestation by a blight called Phytophthera infestans.
Varieties of Potatoes
Successful cultivation of the Potato around the world has ensured that several hundred different varieties of Potato now exist. Each variety is distinctive in size, shape, colour and more importantly taste. For reasons which are obvious it is neither useful or practical to list all of the known varieties in a review such as this, so instead I have decided to pick out just a handful of popular varieties sold in the UK which I have tasted and can thoroughly recommend.
Maris Piper - These are ideal for boiling or frying as they have a medium texture and a firm, creamy white flesh. I find these are excellent for mashing and they are one of the easiest varieties to peel, often requiring nothing more than a quick scrape.
King Edwards - These tend to be large in size, and creamy white or yellow in colour. They are one of the most popular varieties and they are ideal for most types of cooking. They are the most popular variety used in Chip Shops as their large size make them ideal for chipping.
Jersey Royal - These are one of the earliest varieties to reach our shops and they are in season from May to October. They have a firm yellow, flaky skin.
A trip to the Supermarket will produce up to a dozen or so different varieties at any one time, which will change over the months due to availability, but these days it is fair to say that we have lumped the majority of the different varieties into groups that are colloquially referred to as "Reds" or "Whites, "New" or "Old."
How To Cook Potatoes
The success of the Potato lies in the fact that they can be cooked and prepared in so many different ways. The most popular of these being:
Chips - One of the most popular forms of the humble potato is the Chip and one my favourite ways of enjoying this vegetable. Chips are sliced pieces of Potato deep fried in hot oil or fat. The secret to a perfect chip is to make sure that the oil is very hot which ensures that the outer layer goes nice and hard and crispy, whilst the inside of each chip remains soft. In recent years Chips have attracted quite a lot of bad press and are now pretty high on the list of things to avoid if you wish to heat healthily. I tend to deep fry my chips in Sunflower Oil, and obviously the choice of Oil is paramount when it comes to taste. My Grandmother and Great Aunt both cooked their Chips in Pure Lard or Dripping which would be unthinkable in today's society, but they both lived well into their nineties.
Boiled Potato - I find these very easy to prepare and very tasty. They are excellent with Pies (although I usually prefer mashed with Pie) or with Fresh Fish. To prepare you simply peel and boil in a pan of boiling water for around 20 minutes. For best results it recommended to use lightly salted water and place a lid over the pan to create additional heat.
Mashed Potato - Preparation is as above but once cooked they are mashed with a fork (or Potato Masher) with milk and margarine. For extra tasty mashed potato (and extra calories) the milk and margarine can be replaced with butter and cream.
Baked Potato - Also often called Jacket Potato these are one my favourites and nutritionally one of the best methods of eating Potato. Baked in a hot Oven for about an hour and a half, these are best served with a knob of butter and a variety of fillings which can be anything ranging from Coleslaw, Cheese or even Chilli. The Skin is my favourite part of the Potato and during the war it was discovered that the Potato Skin is where the majority of the Vitamins are found. Potato Skins were disregarded prior to the food rationing of the War, but were eaten when food became scarce and the beneficial results to the health of those eating them (and especially children) was noted.
Roast Potato - This has to be one of the tastiest ways of enjoying Potato and no Sunday Dinner can be considered complete without them. They are best cooked in the shallow fat around the joint of meat and for best results regular basting is required.
The forms mentioned above are the ones that I use most often but there are many more ways that Potatoes can be cooked and enjoyed.
The Nutritional Information
Potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C and 8oz of boiled or baked Potato contains 180Kcal.
One medium sized potato will provide us with
45 percent of the Recommended Daily Value for vitamin C 21 percent of the Recommended Daily Value for potassium 3 grams of fibre
Other Information
Potatoes are grown from tubers and are quite easy to grow even for a novice Gardener like myself. Although my impressive crop was thoroughly enjoyed by slugs. If you leave a potato at the back of a dark, dry cupboard you will notice that it will start to sprout "shoots" and these "shoots" are the tubers which, when planted a few inches beneath soil in Springtime or early Summer will grow into the plants that will give you your Autumn crop. Believe me it really is as simple as that.
Conclusion
The Potato is the most popular and widely used Vegetable in the world and when you stop to think about its versatility you will realise why. Potatoes are excellent value for money too so it is quite fortunate that they form a part of our staple diets.
Thank you for reading.
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