FROM THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN CORDILLERA DE LOS ANDES ... the potato, scientific name Solanum tuberosum, is a species belonging to the family Solanaceae, native to South America and cultivated throughout the world for its edible tubers. He lives quietly in our kitchens and we love eating almost everyone, but almost no one knows who should be the queen of the house. Let's see why.
A group of scientists from the University of Wisconsin (USA) has discovered the origin of the potato, and explained in a study published in the journal American Proccedings of the National Academy of Sciences. According
this article, the first potato crop originated in an area south of Peru. In reaching this conclusion, U.S. researchers studied the DNA of 261 potato varieties of wild and 98 cultivated potato varieties. 
In this study, we were able to calculate that the cultivation of potatoes began approximately 7,000 years ago in Peru, spreading rapidly throughout America. Despite its age, did not reach Europe until the sixteenth century, shortly after it reached the new continent. It soon began to grow in several European countries, to become today one of the staples.
The history of the potato is surrounded by many mysteries, and his journey from America to Europe has areas and lagoons that lie halfway between the real and legend chronic transmitted.
Andean An old legend that men Quinoa growers dominated the peoples of the High Sierras and to let them die slowly, their crops stolen. On the verge of death, the poor hungry and he cried to heaven dropped a few seeds were round and fleshy.
The rulers did not object to seeding, with the idea that once the plant was in flower, would collect them and leave the harvesters on the brink of starvation. When the plants began to yellow, the oppressors mowed the fields and took what looked like a bumper crop of vegetables. Bereaved
and dying of hunger, farmers called back to heaven to help them and a voice from above said,
-Removed Bring out the land and the fruits, which have hidden there to outwit the bad guys and praise the good.
They did and, on the ground apparently stricken by the enemy, came those beautiful potatoes were collected and stored con gran secreto. Añadiendo una porción de patatas a su pobre dieta, muy pronto se restablecieron, cogieron fuerzas y lograron echar a los invasores que huyeron sin regresar jamás aperturbar la paz de las montañas.
Así pues la patata se cultivó organizadamente hace unos 8.000 años a. C. en áreas montañosas de los Andes donde no crecía el maíz, que era el alimento principal de los Incas. El explorador español Gonzálo Jiménez de Quesada, la descubrió en 1537, llegando a España hacia 1560 a manos de Pedro Cieza de León.
Fueron presentadas a Carlos I y algunos ejemplares se enviaron al papa Julio II como curiosidad botánica. Adorned the gardens of Rome for many years before being considered edible. of Spain went to Portugal, Italy and France. In England came about 1586 and in 1610 to Holland and was used initially as an ornamental plant. Only the poor ate.
was a French pharmacist, Antonio Augusto Parmentier, who became known throughout France as a gesture of thanks to survive thanks to her when she was taken prisoner by the Prussians. Parmentier said that potatoes had been saved from starvation when thousands of prisoners gave their flowers to King Louis XVI at a reception at the palace of Versailles on the occasion of his birthday.
So begins the second part of the history of the potato that it is only cooking: the thousand and one recipes to enjoy this wonderful food.
Parmentier wrote a book entitled "The Treaty of potato" whose presentation offers a banquet the king made only with potatoes cooked in different ways. It is lauded by the monarch and, thereafter, the people were fed potatoes to combat famine and calamities that beset the Europeans at that time.
The potato was a very important element in the European industrial revolution . Russia
alleviate their hunger with potatoes and a curious fact, made it the basis for the development of their national drink: vodka.
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