Devil or Angel, Feast or Famine, the Illustrious Papa

By Uncle Paul

Today I would like to take you on a journey to Europe by starting in the tropical rain forests of Peru. We will have to hike up through the jungle to an elevation of 10,000’ to the Titicaca Plateau and go back in time over 4,500 years to the Aymara Indian ruins to find the beginnings of the wonderful papa vegetable.

The first written record of a European encounter with papa was penned in 1537 by Castellanos, a Spanish conquistador. After raiding a village in South America, he found the area deserted and entered the houses in search of treasure. Instead of gold and silver, they found maize, beans, and truffles. These truffles were in fact papas or what we call potatoes.

The potato spread to Spain, then slowly across Europe. The Queen of England ordered her cooks to prepare an entire feast of potatoes. They prepared the plant but not the potatoes themselves. The plant being poisonous didn’t sit well with the court.

Fear of the potato lasted for centuries, as some people believed that it was unholy or unchristian, dirty, primitive, or unhealthy. Was it a devil or and angel? However, others began to recognize the potato as a medicinal plant and its popularity soared when it was heralded as a powerful aphrodisiac. Herbalists claimed that the potato could cure ills ranging from diarrhea to tuberculosis. Frederick the Great, the Prussian ruler, ordered his people to plant and eat them as a deterrent to famine. The Prussians’ fear of poisoning led Frederick to enforce his orders by threatening to cut off the nose and ears of those who refused. Not surprisingly, this was effective and by the time of the Seven Years War (1756-1763), potatoes were a basic part of the Prussian diet.

The French continued to be suspicious of potatoes. Potatoes gained acceptance in the 18th century through the work of Antoine Parmentier, a French pharmacist who was imprisoned during the war in Prussia. Parmentier gave credit to the potatoes fed to him in jail. When he was released, Parmentier worked to promote the vegetable in his homeland. He gave flowers to King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The king wore them in his lapel and she wore them in well let’s not say “her lapel.” He convinced the king to support the potato and gave him a plot of land in the city to grow them. Parmentier asked that the land be guarded only during the day and the guards removed at night. The people saw this and thought this must be an incredibly valuable crop and went in and stole the plants at night and thereby began the popular spread of potatoes in France. Parmentier began making incredible potato dishes and invited esteemed gentlemen such as Benjamin Franklin to his home to sample them in an attempt to quell the fears of his fellow Frenchmen. Potato leek soup was his invention. Today in France most potato dishes carry the name of Parmentier.

The potato has played an important role in Irish history but it was not until 1663 that the potato was established as a field crop. In Ireland the potato found a perfect growing climate and the Irish people quickly embraced the crop for daily nutrition. The potato was so popular that it was soon established as a national food and the name “Irish Potatoes” was given to them to distinguish them from sweet potatoes. When the Irish potato crop failed the Irish headed to America to help establish this great country.

With Thomas Jefferson’s support in 1789, the potato was better accepted in America. As the American minister to France, Jefferson had gained an appreciation for French cooking and, in particular, their potato dishes. Jefferson can be given credit for introducing pomme-frites — the French word for french fries — to American cuisine.

Potatoes eaten with the skin provide nearly half of the daily value for vitamin C and are one of the best sources of potassium and fiber. Most of the nutrition is not found in the skin but the potato itself. The skin adds important fiber to the diet. One medium-sized potato has 100 calories and provides complex carbohydrates needed to fuel our brains and bodies, giving us the energy we need for a busy lifestyle. One potato provides 3 grams of protein about that of half a glass of milk. You can eat a potato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and top it with anything.

The potato has been a devil and an angel throughout history, but being a true potato lover that I am, I consider it a little bit of heaven on earth. Enjoy the thousands of ways you can prepare the great energy food, the papa or potato.

Uncle Paul, along with his wife Calla, owns Uncle Paul’s European Style Open Air Produce Market, 2310 SE Hawthorne, 503-484-8612 or visit www.unclepaulsproduce.com.