Although domesticated around 7,000-10,000 years ago, potatoes were not introduced to Europe until the mid-16th century – by Spanish explorer Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
How did potatoes come to Germany?
Potatoes were once guarded by soldiers
Native to the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes, the potato first arrived in Germany in 1630. According to legend, King Frederick II of Prussia believed in the economic and nutritious value of potatoes.
How did the potato get introduced to Europe?
In 1536, Spanish Conquistadors in Peru discovered the flavors of the potato and transported them to Europe. At first, the vegetable was not widely accepted. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589, but it took nearly four decades for the potato to spread to the rest of Europe.
When was the potato introduced to Europe?
sixteenth century
Originating from the highlands of the Andes, South America, potatoes were introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century. They were initially popular in Spain because they provided cheap sustenance for the poor.
How did potatoes spread around the world?
Potatoes Travelled to Europe by Way of Spanish Conquistadors
They stashed them aboard their ships, and returned home. The 1600s saw the spread of potatoes through Spain, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, and Portugal, but people were hesitant to cook with them.
Who brought the potato to Germany?
Although domesticated around 7,000-10,000 years ago, potatoes were not introduced to Europe until the mid-16th century – by Spanish explorer Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
Why are Germans called potato?
The first known use of the word in a similar sense was in 1873, when the Grimms’ Deutsches Wörterbuch used it in a teasing manner to describe inhabitants of the Ore Mountains as Kartoffelwänste (“potato tummies”), because potatoes were the only substance that they ate, whether out of poverty, habit, or both.
What country is the potato originally from?
The humble potato was domesticated in the South American Andes some 8,000 years ago and was only brought to Europe in the mid-1500s, from where it spread west and northwards, back to the Americas, and beyond.
What did Europe eat before potatoes?
grain
Fertile food
Before the introduction of the potato, those in Ireland, England and continental Europe lived mostly off grain, which grew inconsistently in regions with a wet, cold climate or rocky soil. Potatoes grew in some conditions where grain could not, and the effect on the population was overwhelming.
Why are potatoes important in Germany?
According to legend, King Frederick II of Prussia believed in the economic and nutritious value of potatoes. He tricked local farmers into planting more of the so-called apple of the earth by posting soldiers around the potato fields to protect them. It worked — highly valued goods taste even better.
Who brought the potato to England?
English explorer Sir Francis Drake discovered potatoes during his first, and the world’s second-ever, circumnavigation of the world in the late 16th century in Latin America. He brought them back to England and they have been a mainstay in British diets ever since.
What did the Irish eat before potatoes?
Grains. Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet.
Did the New World have potatoes?
Food historian Lois Ellen Frank calls potatoes, tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, chili, cacao, and vanilla the “magic eight” ingredients that were found and used only in the Americas before 1492 and were taken via the Columbian Exchange back to the Old World, dramatically transforming the cuisine there.
Why were potatoes illegal in France?
However, French people did not trust the new food, which was used mainly for feeding pigs, and in 1748 growing potatoes was banned by parliament as they were thought to spread disease, especially leprosy.
What country produces the most potatoes?
China
China and India are the main producers of potatoes, with the United States ranked fifth among the leading potato producers worldwide.
Who invented French fries?
The French fries’ American connection
Some historians have claimed that this recipe came from the French chef, Honoré Julien. By 1850s, this recipe gained so much popularity that it became a mainstay in several American cookbooks as ‘French Fried Potatoes’.
How did Frederick the Great get people to eat potatoes?
He struck on a classic marketing tactic that was later to be explained by Professor Cialdini in “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”: Scarcity. Frederick made the potato more appealing, not by promoting it but by taking it away. Scarcity or limited availability makes things more desirable.
Why do people put potatoes on Frederick the Great’s grave?
To this day, if you visit Old Fritz’s grave at his former favourite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam, you will often see people putting a potato on his gravestone to honour the potato king.
Who introduced potatoes to Prussia?
Frederick the Great
In Prussia it should take until the mid 18th century until the potato was finally adopted as nutrition. There it was Frederick the Great who was responsible for its first extensive deployment.
What do they call French fries in Germany?
pommes frites
In Germany, they are usually known by the French words pommes frites, or only Pommes or Fritten (derived from the French words, but pronounced as German words).
Do Germans eat a lot of potatoes?
And yes, Germany is a part of potato Europe (as opposed to tomato Europe), meaning they take their Kartoffeln seriously. Potatoes can be served in a variety of ways, from boiled (Salzkartoffel), mashed (Kartoffelpuree), baked (Bratkartoffeln) and, of course, as fries.