Recently I watch the documentary The Botany of Desire on
Netflix, based on the Michael Pollan book of the same name. Of
the four plants they focussed on, one was the potato. And as I
was planning a trip to visit a potato vodka distillery, I
decided to take notes. The Origin of the Potato Potatoes
originate in the Andes mountain in South America and were first
domesticated 8000 years ago. There are more than 5000 potato
varieties in the Andes region. The potato in the wild is
poisonous, but over time people bred out the more poisonous
ones. Early Peruvians grew many varieties of potatoes depending
on the altitude/direction of the hill. Potatoes were grown by
Incas. Spanish conquistadores brought them back to Europe. The
Potato in Europe In Europe potatoes grew well in poor soils in
northern countries, wet areas where grains were hit or miss. The
potato provides an immense amount of food per acre. It may have
helped the industrial revolution to happen, as less people were
needed in the fields to grow it. The Ir