They refused to accept the vegetable, referring to it as “hog feed” and believing that these tubers caused leprosy. In fact, the French Parliament officially banned potatoes in 1748.
The potato first spread in Europe for non-food purposes. It was regarded with suspicion and fear due to it being a member of the nightshade family. Europeans assumed its resemblance to nightshade meant that it was the creation of witches or devils.
Introduced from South America by the Spanish in the 16th century, potatoes were considered by the French to cause leprosy. In fact, between 1748 and 1772 it was illegal to grow or eat potatoes in France.
They eat them in many forms: boiled, roasted (which I think means baked?), mashed ("puréed"), fried ("frites"), or grilled. They eat them with salt or mayonnaise or whatever else; the point is that potatoes are very much a part of French cuisine. And yes, they eat them baked as well.
Potatoes are believed to have been banned in France from 1748 to 1772. The French Parliament reportedly forbade potato cultivation as it was considered to be poisonous, and it was also claimed that potatoes caused leprosy.
The Irish often used the good land to grow things like wheat and corn that they would sell to pay their rent. This left the farmers with a small piece of land to grow their own food. Potatoes took up very little space and were very nutritious. One acre of potatoes could feed a family of four for a year.
A century of farmer selection produced a variety that set tubers earlier in the summer, and the potato took the mantle it would carry for centuries: the staple crop of peasants. Villagers prized potatoes because they provided an unmatched nutritional yield per hectare.
The top ranked country, China, accounted for 27.0 % of potato consumption in the world. The top 3 countries hold a 46.7 % share while the ten largest countries some 64.6 % in 2020.
Indeed, potatoes are the favorite vegetable of French people.
In 1748 France had actually forbidden the cultivation of the potato (on the grounds that it was thought to cause leprosy among other things), and this law remained on the books in Parmentier's time, until 1772.
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.
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.
The earliest recorded trace of the spud was found in the Peruvian Andes at around 6000BC. Research implies that communities of hunters initially came to the South American continent 7000 years before harvesting wild potato plants. The plants sprouted around Lake Titicaca situated high up in the mountains.
Because Ireland was so dependent on the potato, one in eight Irish people died of starvation in three years during the Irish potato famine of the 1840s.
The Potato riots in June–July 1917 was a popular uprising in the Dutch capital city Amsterdam that was caused by the food shortage in the Netherlands during World War I.
The story of the 'mythical centre' of French cuisine reflects the triumphs and tribulations of its people. Stock in trade: an advertisement for pot-au-feu beef cubes, illustration by Severo Pozzati (Sepo), 1957. Pot-au-feu is to France what roast beef is to England.
According to Guinness World Records, Turkey has the largest per capita consumption of bread in the world as of 2000, with 199.6 kg (440 lb) per person; Turkey is followed in bread consumption by Serbia and Montenegro with 135 kg (297 lb 9.9 oz), and Bulgaria with 133.1 kg (293 lb 6.9 oz).
The most consumed type of meat worldwide is poultry, followed by beef, and lastly pork. The countries with the highest meat consumption per capita are Argentina, Israel, and Iceland, while India has one of the lowest levels of meat consumption per capita.
In 2022, pasta consumption per capita varied significantly across countries. Italy topped the list, with its citizens consuming an average of 23 kilograms of pasta annually. Tunisia ranked second with a per capita consumption of 17 kilograms.
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.
Irish people have traditionally preferred floury potatoes to waxy varieties. Whilst silversmiths in Georgian Ireland made potato rings for the Anglo-Irish ascendancy, the poor cottiers cooked in a cauldron and ate their potatoes 'with and without the moon', using a long thumb nail to peel the skin.
Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland's population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.