Author: Colorado Potatoes

The humble potato is more interesting than you think. Here are some potato facts you will find interesting. Share them with your family over a big bowl of delicious mashed potatoes!

It is generally agreed that potatoes have been around for thousands of years. They were first cultivated in the high mountains of Peru and now are a staple food the world over.

Potatoes can be cooked in so many different ways, they’re considered the most versatile food grown by man. They retain their savory, somewhat nutty flavor and rich texture through all the different kinds of chemical tortures we put them through, and can be combined with just about any other food with great success.

One reason these tubers have become so popular over the millennia is because they stay fresh for so long. Stored correctly, they can remain edible for months. They’re also much easier to grow in very cold climates than wheat and rice, being quite frost-resistant.

The ingenious Incas of Peru, in fact, would store their potatoes in the freezing cold outside, then trample them to get rid of all the humid frost for about five days to create a nice potato flour. This incredible stuff can be stored for as long as four year! To this day, frozen potato flour (chuno) is still a staple baking flour in Bolivia, Chile and Peru.

In Europe, however, potatoes were shunned for many centuries, being considered a dangerous branch of the poisonous nightshade food group, But their natural advantages gradually won out, and now potatoes are among the world’s most popular – and interesting – foods.