Potato story

The first sporadic mention of potatoes ( yoma in Chibcha language) is found in Spanish documents describing the conquest of the New Kingdom of Granada (territories of Colombia and Venezuela ): by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada (1539, edited by an anonymous author in 1548-1549; 1550), Juan de Castellanos (1540), Pascual de Andagoya (1540) by Fernandez de Oviedo (1545). Jimenez de Quesada, in his report " A summary of the conquest of the New Kingdom of Granada ", speaking about the inhabitants of the territory he conquered, reported on the most important plants they use for food:

The food of these people is the same as in other parts of India, because their main food is maize [maíz] and yuka [yuca]. In addition, they have 2 or 3 varieties of plants from which they greatly benefit from their food, some of which are similar to truffles, called ionas ^[2] , others are similar to turnips, called cubias that they throw into their cooking, it serves them as an important product.

- Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada. "Summary of the conquest of the New Kingdom of Granada" ^[3] .

In the manuscript of the anonymous Dictionary and grammar of the Chibcha language (around the beginning of the XVII century) ^[4] various types of potatoes are given:

• “Truffle animals. - Niomy ";
• “Truffle, root. - Iomza [or] iemuy ”;
• “Yellow Truffle. - Tybaiomy ";
• “A wide truffle. - Gazaiomy ";
• “A long truffle. - Quyiomy ";

Conquistador Pascual de Andagoya in 1540 indicated in his " Report on the acts of Pedrarias Davila in the provinces of Tierra Firma or Golden Castile " that "this valley and the area of ​​Popayan are very beautiful and fertile. The provisions [here] are maize and some roots called papas , similar to chestnuts, and other roots similar to turnips, not counting the numerous fruits ” ^[5] .

Thanks to the historian and conquistador Pedro Siesa de Leon , Europe learned in detail about such a culture as potatoes from his work The Chronicle of Peru , published in 1553 in the city of Seville , where he also reports that he met potatoes in Quito ( Ecuador ), Popayan and Pasto ( Colombia ). He, relying both on his own observations and on the information of the predecessor conquistadors, collected thanks to his position in the office of the Viceroy Pedro de La Guschi , gave his first description, the correct method of preparation and storage:

“Of the local products, with the exception of maize, there are two more that are considered by the Indians as basic food products. One they call Papas [potato tubers], like truffles, after cooking, becoming as soft inside as boiled chestnuts; it has neither shell nor seed, only what truffles have, because it forms underground, just like them. This fruit produces grass, exactly [in appearance], like [our] field poppy " ^[6] ," ... and they dry it in the sun, and store it from one harvest to another. After drying, they call this potato “ chuño ” ^[7] and they are very appreciated and cost a lot because they do not have irrigation canals, as in many other places in this kingdom, they do not even have enough natural water for sowing their fields they are in need and hardship if they do not have this dried potato. ” ^[8]

Potatoes were first brought to Europe ( Spain ), probably by the same Cieza de Leon in 1551, when he returned from Peru . The first evidence of the use of potatoes in food also applies to Spain : in 1573 it is listed among the products purchased for the Hospital of the Blood of Jesus in Seville ^[9] . Subsequently, the culture spread to Italy , Belgium , Germany , the Netherlands , France , Great Britain and other European countries.

It is claimed that in the Inca calendar there was the following method for determining daytime: the time spent on cooking potatoes was a measure - which was approximately one hour . That is, in Peru they said: as much time has passed as it would have taken to prepare a dish of potatoes ^[10] .

A description of the traditional way of preparing potatoes by the Peruvians is contained in a letter from the French explorer Joseph Dombay, dated May 20, 1779. Potatoes, along with corn, was a unique product of the Peruvians, who took them with them on long trips. They cooked potatoes in water, peeled and dried in the sun. The resulting product isp. papa seca was mixed with other products. There was another cooking method. The tubers were frozen and stamped (?) With their feet to peel. The mixture thus prepared was placed in a stream of water under a press. Fifteen to twenty days later, the resulting product was dried in the sun. Thus obtained product was called isp. chuño and "was pure starch that they could use to make powder (for hair)." Spanish chuño was used to make jams , flour for patients and additives to other dishes.

•  

  Chuño

•  

  Tunta , or chuño

•  

  Autre tunta

Freezing followed by dehydration is nothing more than lyophilization by natural means. . This means that you need to add water to drink. Chunyo was part of the diet of Indians working in silver mines.

Chunyo is produced in Altiplano , namely in Souni and Pune (region in the Cordillera), where there are specific environmental and climatic conditions. Chuno is eaten in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. According to Redcliffe Salaman, chuno was ground into flour and added to stews and various soups .

Another traditional way to prepare potatoes is to hold the tubers for 6 months in a stream of water. Fermented product, sp. chuño podrido is used to make Mazamorra dessert.

In all likelihood, the first cookbook containing recipes for potato dishes was written by Lancelot de Casto , cook of three (consecutive) princes-bishops of Liege . The book, published in 1604 under the title Ouverture de cuisine, contains four recipes for cooking then still exotic dishes for Europeans.

Boiled potatoes. Take a thoroughly washed potato and boil in water; when ready, it needs to be cleaned, chopped, greased with butter and pepper.

Original text (Fr.)

Tartoufle Boullye. Prennez tartoufle bien lauee, & la mettez boullir dedans eau, eſtant cuite il la faut peler & coupper par tranches, beurre fondu par deſſus, & poiure.

Otherwise: Cut the potatoes into slices, as shown above, stew with Spanish wine, butter and nutmeg.

Original text (Fr.)

Tartoufle autrement. Conppez la tartoufle par tranches comme deſſus, & la mettez eſteuuer avec vin d'Eſpagne & nouueau beure, & noix muſcade.

| - |

Take potato slices, stew them with butter, chopped marjoram and parsley; whisk four or five egg yolks with a little wine at the same time, pour them into boiling potatoes, remove from heat and serve.

Original text (Fr.)

Autrement. Prennez la tartoufle par tranches, & mettez eſteuuer auec beurre, mariolaine haſchee, du persin: puis prennez quatre ou cinq iaulnes d'œuf battus auec vn peu de vin, & iettez le deſſus tout en bouilleret, ainsi.

| - |

Otherwise: Fry the potatoes like chestnuts in ash, peel and cut into slices. Sprinkle with chopped mint, pour (for?) Boiled raisins, vinegar and sprinkle with pepper.

Original text (Fr.)

Autrement. Mettez roſtir la tartoufle dedans le cendres chaudes comme on cuit les caſtaignes, puis la faut peler & coupper par trãches, mettez ſus mente haſchee, des carentines boullies par deſſus, & vinaigre, vn peu de poiure, & ſeruez a

The lack of salt in the gas stations is explained by the fact that at that time enough salt was contained in the oil.

De Casto did not leave comments regarding the origin, price of potatoes, its market availability. However, he has been using potatoes since at least December 12, 1558, since “boiled potatoes” appears on the menu (3 changes \ serving) of the banquet, given in honor of the joyeuse entrée of Archbishop Robert.

In Ireland, potatoes appeared at the end of the XVI century. He quickly gained popularity and by the end of the XVIII century firmly took the place of the main product in the diet of Irish peasants.

In peasant houses, potatoes have always been part of the dinner in one form, the easiest to cook, boiled in water. Tubers with peel were boiled in a cauldron. The contents of the boiler were poured into a wicker basket ( skeehogue ), which let water through and family members, sitting around the basket and in front of the fireplace, ate directly from the basket with their hands.

The potato crop failure, triggered by the influence of the pathogenic microorganism Phytophthora infestans, causing late blight , was one of the causes of the massive famine that hit Ireland in the middle of the XIX century. This, in turn, spawned the mass emigration of the Irish to the New World , and especially to the United States of America .

Since its appearance in Europe, potatoes have gained popularity in the bishopric of Liège , in Ireland, in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. In France, due to the similarity with the well-known poisonous representatives of the nightshade family, as well as the lack of storage and use technologies, the implementation was inhibited. In addition, there were problems of a purely agronomic (inappropriate environmental conditions) and religious nature (non-recognition of tithing ).

Olivier de Serre in the book "Théâtre d'agriculture et Mesnage des champs" in 1600 recommended the cultivation of potatoes and compared its taste ("white truffle") with the best examples of black truffle .

By 1750, many people and organizations began to recommend the cultivation and consumption of potatoes: Duhamel du Monceau , Bishops of Albi and Leon, Minister of Turgot , Rosa Bertin , Rennes Agricultural Society. Ten years before the publication of Antoine Parmantier and Samuel Angel, Duhamel du Monceau urged peasants not to ignore potatoes and noted that "... is an excellent product, especially with bacon or corned beef ."

But the broad masses were skeptical of potatoes. Most of the French neglected him, although in some areas he was grown and consumed. Potatoes represented an alternative to wheat , a staple food whose lack of food has led to hunger for centuries and contributed to panic at the dawn of the French Revolution .

Parmantier particularly actively promoted the cultivation of potatoes as a vegetable crop. His treatise Examen chymique des pommes de terres (1774) proved the high nutritional value of potatoes. The government and the royal family itself took up the introduction of the new culture. They say that Queen Marie Antoinette loved to curl potato flowers in her hair.

The Free Economic Society associated the appearance of potatoes in Russia with the name of Peter I , who at the end of the 17th century sent a bag of tubers from the Netherlands to the capital, supposedly for distribution to the provinces for cultivation ^[11] . An outlandish vegetable was not widespread in Russia in the first half of the 18th century, although the “Historical Note on the Introduction of Potato Culture in Russia” reads:

Foreign innovation was adopted by individuals, mainly foreigners and some representatives of the upper classes ... Even in the reign of Empress Anna Ivanovna, potatoes already appeared at the table of Prince Biron as a tasty, but not at all rare tidbit.

At first, potatoes were considered an exotic plant and served only in aristocratic houses. In 1758, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences published an article "On the cultivation of earthen apples" - the first scientific article in Russia on the cultivation of potatoes. A little later, articles on potatoes were published by Y. E. Sivers (1767) and A. T. Bolotov (1770) ^[12] .

State measures for the distribution of potatoes were taken under Catherine II: in 1765, the Senate issued an Instruction on the Cultivation of Ground Apples ^[13] . The manual contained detailed recommendations on the cultivation and use of the new culture and, together with potato seeds, was sent to all the provinces. This happened in line with the pan-European trend: “In large sizes, potatoes began to be cultivated from 1684 in Lancashire, from 1717 in Saxony, from 1728 in Scotland, from 1738 in Prussia, from 1783 <...> during France ” ^[14] . Compared to rye and wheat, potato was considered an unpretentious crop, and therefore it was considered as a good help in crop failure and in non-crop places ^[13] .

In the “Economic description of the Perm province” of 1813, it is noted that peasants grow and sell “Permanently large white potatoes” in Perm, but they are skeptical of increasing the crops: “They are always ready to answer that they don’t have time to sow the necessary bread, if more potatoes, which should be planted with hands. " The peasants eat potato as food “baked, boiled, in cereals, and also make pies and shangi (a kind of cake) from it with the help of flour; and in the cities they flavor soups, cook with fries and make flour from it for the preparation of jelly ” ^[15] .

Due to the many poisonings caused by eating fruits and young tubers containing solanine , the peasant population initially did not accept the new culture. Only gradually did he gain recognition by displacing turnips from the peasant diet ^[16] . Nevertheless, as far back as the 19th century, many peasants called potatoes a “devil's apple” and considered eating it as a sin ^[17] .

State measures were taken in the future. So, in Krasnoyarsk they began to grow potatoes since 1835. Each family was required to grow potatoes. For failure to comply with this order, the perpetrators were supposed to be exiled to Belarus for the construction of the Bobruisk fortress. The governor sent all the information about growing potatoes to St. Petersburg annually.

In the years 1840-42. at the initiative of Count Pavel Kiselyov , the area allocated for potatoes began to increase rapidly. According to the decree of February 24, 1841, “On Measures to Spread Potato Breeding,” the governors were required to regularly report to the government on the rate of increase in the cultivation of the new crop. With a circulation of 30,000 copies, free manuals on the proper planting and cultivation of potatoes were sent out across Russia .

As a result, a wave of “ potato riots ” swept across Russia. The fear of the people before innovations was shared by some enlightened Slavophiles . For example, Princess Avdotya Golitsyna “with tenacity and passion defended her protest, which she rather amused in society.” She stated that potatoes “are an encroachment on Russian nationality, that potatoes will spoil both the stomachs and the pious customs of our ancestors and the God-preserving bread and pastry-eaters” ^[18] .

Nevertheless, the "potato revolution" of the times of Nicholas I was crowned with success. By the end of the 19th century, over 1.5 million ha were occupied by potatoes in Russia. К началу XX века этот овощ уже считался в России «вторым хлебом », то есть одним из основных продуктов питания.