Celtnet Potato Recipes and Cookery, Home Page

Welcome to Celtnet's Potato Recipes Page — Potatoes are the starchy tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a member of the Solonaceae (deadly nightshade) family of flowering plants. It is the world's most widely grown root crop and is the globe's fourth largest good crop. The plant is native to the New World and wild relatives of the potato are found from the Southern United States through Central America to Uruguay and Chile.

It seems, however, that the plant originates from southern Peru. Today, however, the most widely grown cultivar Solanum tuberosum tuberosum (which accounts for 99% of global production) is believed to be indigenous to Chilé Archipelago where it was cultivated by the indigenous Chilean population.

The potato was introduced to Europe in 1536, and was spread world-wide by European Mariners. Once established in Europe, the potato soon became an important food staple and field crop. Indeed, by 1610 it is mentioned (under the name of 'Virginia Potato' as a salad ingredient in a number of English cookbooks.

Ultimately, the English word 'potato' derives from the Spanish patata which, itself, is a portmanteau word formed from a compound of the Taino batata (sweet potato) and the Quechua papa (potato); which would seem to suggest that, originally at least, the potato was regarded as a type of sweet potato (rather than the other way around, which is a common misconception today). In parts of the English Speaking world (most notably sub-Saharan Africa) potatoes are referred to as Irish Potatoes, to distinguish them from Sweet Potatoes which are also carbohydrate staples.

Potatoes are also incredibly versatile as a food source. Being a storage organ for the parent plant they pack lots of carbohydrate (in the form of starch) and thus considerable energy. However, 7% of this carbohydrate is indigesitble to human and counts the same as dietary fibre (it's 14% if the potato is cooked and consumed cold). As a result, eating potatoes can be an important preventative against colon cancer. Interestingly potatoes also improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and are important in controlling diabetes. What is much less known is that potatoes can also plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. There is also a very interesting effect in that, though packed with carbohydrates potatoes also increase satiety so that eating baked or boiled potatoes will actually help with dieting. A single potato (with skin) will actually provide 45% of the body's daily requirement of vitamin C.

There is a persistent old wives' tale that all the 'goodness' in a potato is to be found in the skin. Whilst not completely true, there is some veracity in this statement. Just under 50% of the dietary fibre in a potato is to be found in the skin as well as a significant portion of the vitamins and trace element. Indeed, the fibre content of a whole potato (with skin) is actually equal to that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals.

The United Nations has designated 2008 as the 'year of the potato' in recognition of the potato's role in the nutrition of the developing world. Indeed, the production of potatoes in countries such as China and India has now vastly out-stripped production in the USA and individual European countries.

Here you will find all the potato and potato-associated recipes on this site gathered in one place.