French Fries in Italy

Much to my delight, I found a store in Italy dedicated to the French Fry. There is an art to making the perfect fry, and these folks are artists. 

Potatoes! 

Whoever discovered the potato should be given an award. And whoever cut this delightful tuber into batonnets and fried them in oil should be given Sainthood.

Some think potatoes were introduced through the Belgians or the French (ya'd think the Irish), but it appears it was the Spanish. In 1537, Spanish conquistadors apparently discovered potatoes in Peru, where the Incas had been growing them since 8,000BC. (So, really, it was the Incas we have to thank!)

The Spanish called them truffles. They are a far cry from truffles, the fruit of a fungus, but potatoes do grow in the ground. In the late 1500s, the conquistadors brought potatoes back to Spain and then introduced them to Italy. Italy had the potato before Ireland!  The Irish association with potatoes came later, notably after potatoes were introduced by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 16th century. However, this might be a little fabrication.

Spuds and the Irish

No one really knows who introduced the spud to Ireland, but we know it was in the early 1600s. It could have been Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, or John Hawkins; they have all received credit at some point. As we know, the Irish became dependent on the potato, and the potato famine in 1845, called the Great Hunger, killed one million people, and another million fled the country - spreading Irish roots far and wide. And that, my friends, is why we all have a little Irish in us.      

What we do know is that the potato came from South America. They were first domesticated in the Andes and spread to Europe in the 1500s-1600s.

The French Fry

It's likely the French started frying the vegetable in the 1790s and, in part, helped promote the potato throughout Europe. Prior to this, the French thought potatoes were disease-ridden and only fed them to the hogs. Sacrilege!!  

Well, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist and agronomist, was the man who turned the potato from pig fodder into a celebrated staple in France. Captured during the Seven Years' War and fed potatoes as a prisoner, he became obsessed with proving the potato healthy and edible for humans. Many of us have also become obsessed with the potato.

Through clever publicity stunts, including hosting potato banquets (A potato banquet! That's what we're missing.), and guarded growing fields to deter the peasants from stealing the prized vegetable, he convinced the suspicious French people to embrace the potato. He indirectly helped spread the idea of frying potatoes as 'frites' by the late 1700s. He was so successful that the French now worship potatoes almost as a sacred gift alongside those who first fried them crispy and golden.

Photographie de l'auteur - link to credit

Parmentier died on 13 December 1813, aged 76, and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. He rests in a plot ringed by potato plants, and his name was given to a long avenue in the 10th and 11th arrondissements. They even honored him with statues.

The Varied Variety

Over 100 countries cultivate the plant and have created 4,000 varieties specific to different areas. It has now become the third most important food crop in the world after wheat and rice. It is more water efficient than the grain crops, an important quality in the drought-prone areas. And that importance will grow as climate change impacts food production.

The versatility of the potato is far greater than wheat and rice, plus it's gluten-free. 

In the 1990s, a "vicious campaign" against carbohydrates began, and this gave potatoes a bad name. There is nothing wrong with the potato. In fact, they are a great source of potassium, fiber, magnesium, Vitamin B-6, calcium, and protein… and comfort. 

Today, a wide variety of potatoes is available, and we prepare them in many different dishes. They are served at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks around the world. I think potatoes speak the universal language of comfort food. 

We have baked, mashed, scalloped, au gratin, gnocchi, Latkes, hassle-back, roasted, steamed, boiled, and fried potatoes. We grate, wedge, slice, dice, cube the potato for stews, casseroles, sauté, stir-fry, and soups.

But most of all, we have FRENCH FRIES!