Potatoes today have risen to become one of the most important staple crops in the world. The potato dish has become a global symbol, such as French fries associated with the USA, Belgium, or France. Mashed potatoes are an essential dish in Western meals. Boiled, steamed, and baked potatoes, as well as soups, are popular throughout Europe and Latin America. McDonald's consumes over 3 million tons of potatoes just for its fries.

In Europe, potatoes are a national dish. In Asia, potatoes are also a staple food in many mountainous regions. Africa is increasingly growing more potatoes as a solution to combat poverty. Potatoes once helped Europe escape famine centuries ago. An American consumes an average of nearly 50 kg of potatoes each year. Vodka, the national spirit of Russia and Poland, can be distilled from potatoes. Potatoes were the first food crop grown in space.

But can you believe it? Potatoes were once called the devil's apple, banned from being grown, and only used to feed pigs.

That's true. The truth takes us back to 16th and 17th century Europe, a time when everything revolved around the Bible. Suddenly, a wrinkled and strange potato appeared. It did not grow from seeds like rice, wheat, or corn, but from the tuber itself. Bury one tuber in the ground, and you get one plant. Cut it into four, and you have four plants. People looked and were horrified by its strangeness. And the Catholic Church declared: "Potatoes are not in the Bible; God does not want us to eat them." Because before that, Europe had no potatoes. The French royal family banned the cultivation of potatoes, only allowing them to be used as pig feed. Yes, you heard that right, pig feed.

It was rumored that potatoes caused leprosy, a disease that distorted the flesh, resembling a wrinkled potato. Some scientists discovered that potatoes belong to the nightshade family, which includes poisonous plants, so they further asserted that potatoes were toxic and should not be eaten. Some people tried to eat them but mistakenly consumed sprouted tubers from the ground. Thus, they were poisoned. This reinforced the belief that potatoes were the devil's apple. The French philosopher Denis Diderot in the famous Encyclopedia even harshly wrote, "Potatoes are only for the starving." But how did it embark on a journey to reach our dining tables today? A miraculous journey.

Rewind thousands of years ago to the Andes in South America, the longest mountain range on the planet and also very harsh, where potatoes were discovered. The Incas, a very intelligent people, domesticated potatoes from wild plants. They turned it into a staple food, worshipped like a deity. Archaeologists have found pottery shaped like potatoes from 400 BC, and potatoes were even buried with the dead thousands of years ago. Thanks to the starchy potatoes, the Incas built a powerful empire with magnificent temples and golden cities.

They used potatoes as currency, collected taxes in potatoes, stored them in granaries, distributed them to soldiers, laborers, and even slaves. They even invented a method of freezing potatoes, called "freeze-drying," by drying potatoes in the cold Andean air, which helped preserve them for years without losing too much nutrition. In the 16th century, tragedy struck the Incas.

The Spanish, led by Francisco Pizarro, landed in what is now Peru. They plundered gold and silver, captured the Inca king, and destroyed the empire. Among the spoils, they casually tossed a few potatoes onto their ship. They called potatoes "truffles" because they looked wrinkled and muddy. Little did they know that this discarded item would later be worth more than gold. According to historians, the Spanish plundered gold and silver equivalent to a mountain of money today. But potatoes were the real treasure they did not recognize. When potatoes set foot in Europe, they received no warm welcome.

In Spain, Italy, France, Germany, England, and Iceland, they were all viewed with suspicion. People tried to grow them but only to feed pigs. Some botanists recognized that potatoes belonged to the nightshade family, which includes poisonous plants. Thus, potatoes were banned from cultivation or only allowed to be grown in herb gardens for research. The public feared and called them devil's apples due to their strange growth and the rumors that potatoes could cause diseases. Europe at that time was engulfed in famine. From the 16th to the 19th century, France suffered over 40 major famines. England fared no better with 17 famines in less than 100 years. Wheat crops failed, and people were starving, and this was the opportunity for potatoes to be noticed. They were easy to grow, did not require very good soil, needed little care, tasted good, and were easy to prepare.

But how could the people be persuaded to eat what they called pig food?

The first to see the potential of potatoes was Frederick, the king of Prussia. In the mid-18th century, he enacted a potato law forcing the people to grow this tuber for food. But the Prussians were very stubborn and refused to comply. Frederick then devised a clever plan. He planted potatoes on the royal farm near Berlin and had guards watch them closely, but intentionally allowed the people to come in and take the potatoes. The people believed that something well-guarded must be very valuable. So at night, they sneaked in to steal potatoes, while the soldiers turned a blind eye. Potatoes were sold on the black market. Before long, potatoes spread throughout Prussia, saving the people through the famine seasons.

Thanks to potatoes, the Prussian army became strong, defeating the Austrian and French coalition in the Seven Years' War in the mid-18th century. And it was during this war that a Frenchman named Antoine Augustin Parmentier changed the fate of potatoes in his homeland. Parmentier was a pharmacist and also a military doctor. He was captured by the Prussians during the war. In the prison camp, he ate potatoes and found them delicious, non-toxic, and nutritious. After being released back to France, he decided to vindicate potatoes. He researched and discovered that non-sprouted potatoes were very safe to eat, but how to get the French to eat them. Parmentier followed Frederick's strategy in Prussia. He planted potatoes and had soldiers pretend to guard them to allow the people to steal.

But he was even bolder. He convinced the scientific community, the nobility, and even the royal family. He gifted purple potato flowers to King Louis XVI and the queen, and they wore the flowers in their hair. Parmentier also requested royal land in Versailles to plant potatoes, wrote a potato cultivation manual, and distributed thousands of copies throughout France. He published a cookbook with 20 recipes, including how to make French fries. Thanks to Parmentier, potatoes became the savior of France. Before that, crops had failed, and famines occurred continuously.

On average, every 7 years, France suffered a nationwide famine. But potatoes, which are easy to grow, easy to store, and energy-rich, solved the food problem. By the time of Napoleon, potatoes were encouraged to be grown everywhere. Allied countries and even France's enemies followed suit. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in the early 19th century, potatoes had become a staple food for Europeans. Potatoes not only alleviated hunger but also changed history.

According to research from Harvard, potatoes contributed to about 23 to 24% of population growth and about 27 to 34% of urbanization in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the early 20th century. The population of Europe surged. In Iceland, 40% of the population only ate potatoes, and the population doubled from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century, reaching 8 million people. Potatoes also fed the workforce, fueled the industrial revolution, and provided strength for armies.

Here are some interesting facts about potatoes.

Potatoes and the Cold War. Potatoes were once a propaganda weapon during the Cold War. The Soviet Union boasted about its massive potato production to demonstrate its superiority. Meanwhile, the USA promoted French fries as a symbol of Western culture. As a result, potatoes were consumed everywhere, and French fries became a global dish, present in every fast-food restaurant. Potatoes also have plans to go to Mars. NASA experimented with growing potatoes in a Mars simulation environment in Peru. With barren soil and harsh conditions, potatoes thrived, proving they could be a food source for humans on other planets. Potatoes are also related to migration.

Potatoes were once the savior of the Icelandic republic but also caused disaster. In the mid-19th century, a blight wiped out potato crops, leading to a great famine. Over 1 million people died, and millions migrated to the USA and Canada. This is a lesson about the risks of relying too much on a single crop. Speaking of the diversity of potatoes, the world has over 4,000 potato varieties in various colors: purple, red, yellow, and green. People have bred hundreds of varieties to adapt to the Andean environment. Today, potatoes are one of the major staple crops in the world, second only to rice, corn, and wheat. In industry, potatoes are not only food but also used to produce vodka, starch, and even environmentally friendly bioplastics. A potato is extremely versatile. This is something few would expect.

Speaking of records related to potatoes. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest potato in the world weighed 10.86 kg and was grown in England in 2021. The longest recorded French fry measured 86 cm and was made in Belgium in 2019. Currently, Europe produces about 52 million tons of potatoes each year, with France alone producing 8 million tons. Potatoes are a staple crop in over 100 countries, feeding billions of people. They are not only food but also a symbol of resilience, adaptability, and the power to change history.

From a tuber once called the devil's apple, banned and only used to feed pigs, potatoes have risen to become a superhero, saving Europe from famine, driving the industrial revolution, and helping countries become empires by feeding massive armies. They also aspire to conquer Mars, inspire art, and become a global dish. The story of potatoes is a testament that sometimes what is despised is the treasure that no one knows about.