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The potato... Photos |
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Posted by Avid Reader on Tue Jan 16 07:45:15 2024 Thank you Wikipedia Wild potato species can be found from the southern United States to southern Chile. The potato was originally believed to have been domesticated by Native Americans independently in multiple locations, but later genetic studies traced a single origin, in the area of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia. Potatoes were domesticated there about 7,000–10,000 years ago from a species in the S. brevicaule complex. Many varieties of the potato are cultivated in the Andes region of South America, where the species is indigenous. The Spanish introduced potatoes to Europe in the second half of the 16th century. They are a staple food in many parts of the world and an integral part of much of the world's food supply. Following millennia of selective breeding, there are now over 5,000 different types of potatoes. Over 99% of potatoes presently cultivated worldwide descend from varieties that originated in the lowlands of south-central Chile. The importance of the potato as a food source and culinary ingredient varies by region and is still changing. It remains an essential crop in Europe, especially Northern and Eastern Europe, where per capita production is still the highest in the world, while the most rapid expansion in production during the 21st century was in southern and eastern Asia, with China and India leading the world production of 376 million tons (370,000,000 long tons; 414,000,000 short tons) as of 2021. The English word "potato" comes from Spanish patata (the name used in Spain). The Royal Spanish Academy says the Spanish word is a hybrid of the Taíno batata (sweet potato) and the Quechua papa (potato). The name originally referred to the sweet potato although the two plants are not biologically closely related, despite their similar appearance. The 16th-century English herbalist John Gerard referred to sweet potatoes as "common potatoes" and used the terms "bastard potatoes" and "Virginia potatoes" for the species now known as potato. In many of the chronicles detailing agriculture and plants no distinction is made between the two. Potatoes are occasionally referred to as "Irish potatoes" or "white potatoes" in the United States to distinguish them from sweet potatoes. Which one and style is your favorite, and don't say "Couch Potato" |
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