Select Page

Here at Fresh Potato Factor, our name says it all. We love potatoes! It’s not just because it’s our brand. Potatoes are nutritious. These are excellent sources of Vitamin C, Iron, Potassium, and Vitamin B6. They only have 110 calories per serving and are fat- and cholesterol-fee.

If you’re wondering where this ultimate food comes from, read on.

The History

The potato is one of the world’s largest crop. It is from the perennial Solanum tuberosum, which was first cultivated in Peru around 8,000 to 5,000 BC.

When the Spanish conquered Peru in 1536, they brought potatoes with them to Europe. By the 16th century, potatoes were cultivated along Spain’s shore. The Spanish government also used potato as food for their military and navy.

Spread in Europe

Potatoes were introduced to Britain by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1589. It took almost four decades before potatoes scattered all over Europe. This was mostly because the locals looked at them as unneeded, poisonous, and oftentimes evil. Potatoes were often accused of causing leprosy, early death, and syphilis among other things.
It wasn’t only until France’s efforts to grow potatoes in order to sustain their starved population and the military that the rest of Europe followed through.

Potatoes in the US

The US was the last country who adopted potatoes in their cuisine. The potatoes arrived in the shores of America in 1921. Nathaniel Butler, governor of Bermuda, sent chests of potatoes and other vegetables Francis Wyatt of Jamestown. However, potatoes were first regarded as crops for animals.

The first permanent patches of potato in North America were established by Scotish-Irish immigrants in 1719 in Londonderry. From there, potatoes spread across the country.

Potatoes in the Present Day

Today, potatoes have spread across the world as a well-loved food source. It is high in caloric value and has a wide variety that helps it appear in most of the different cuisines around the world. Its production has reached more than 300 million tons every year and is continuously growing.