Potatoes have a very long and fascinating history. They were farmed by the Incas for thousands of years in Peru. The oldest archaeological evidence dates back to around 400 BCE on the beaches of Lake Titicaca. Potatoes began as little, slender plants, similar to our fingerlings, but a little gnarlier.

According to some research, the origin of potatoes actually started in the Andes. The civilizations of all these regions have been the first to cultivate this food that came from beneath the earth between 8,000 and 5,000 Before Christ.

The Incas established one of the continent’s greatest and most powerful nations, thanks in part to the potato. Because of this reason, the potatoes attracted plenty of consideration from the Spanish warriors who reached there around 1531.

In spite of this, the conquerors and rest of other European cultures first refused to eat potatoes owing to religious concerns. They assumed that something growing so swiftly underground must be the devil’s work or bewitched.

As a result, it took several centuries for the potato to be embraced by Western society. Antoine Auguste Parmentier, a French dietician, was responsible for this. Parmentier was very certain that it was excellent for human consumption, and succeeded to make it trendy among the upper classes by throwing parties where only potato-based meals were offered.

Europeans were suspicious of potatoes intensely

The aristocracy in Prussia and France realized in the 1700s how easy potatoes were to raise and how could they feed better their population with them. They were, however, faced with the task of persuading people that potatoes must be regarded as human food. Until then, they were nearly entirely consumed by animals.

The great Frederick desired to feed his country while also assisting in the reduction of bread prices. So he devised a plan and a very smart one at that.

He then planted a certain royal field full of potatoes. After that, he surrounded it with a heavy guard for elevating potatoes in the very eyes of his subjects. Naturally, this piqued people’s interest.

They reasoned that anything that is worth guarding so zealously was worth stealing. As a result, people began stealing potato plants to grow in their own gardens, and then the plants spread swiftly.

The French monarchs’ attempts to persuade their subjects should eat potatoes

The French aristocracy believed that the best way of getting people to perceive potatoes as fashionable was for them to start wearing potato blossoms. Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI were two of the most prominent followers of this dress trend.

They wore purple and white flowers in their hair and buttonholes to assist change people’s minds about these trendy and wonderful potatoes.

Potatoes became the top 5 most important crops in the world

People eventually learned that potatoes were the healthiest vegetable available—in fact, potatoes alone provide all essential nutrients except vitamin A, vitamin D, and calcium. They have gone from being the most misunderstood type of vegetable to finally one of the 5 top food crops of the world.