The Potato: History, culture and varieties – Growing and storing your own – Using potatoes around the home – Favourite ways to eat and drink them – All you need to know in one concise manual

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We LOVE potatoes, and why not? At only 100 calories per spud, they’re an incredible source of vitamins and minerals (they pack more vitamin C than tomatoes and oranges), and contain 60 different kinds of phytochemicals and vitamins in their skins and flesh. They are also one of the most popular of foods, whether it’s a bowl of buttery mash, a cone of salty chips at the seaside or a baked spud with melting cheese on top. But perhaps the most amazing thing about potatoes is how useful they are

This book looks at every aspect of this humble vegetable, from its origins and how it spread around to world, to how to grow them, cook and eat them. From comfort food to eye watering poteen, we can also use them to clean silverware, remove rust, shine shoes, create a decorative stamp and alleviate arthritis, heartburn, and even cure scurvy!

From the Publisher

Earliest Beginnings

The potato began life in South America, thousands of years ago when Andean farmers began building terraced fields in the mountains that stitch together Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Seen from space, these mountains look like a rumpled scarf left out on a frosty night, but at ground level, the birthplace of our potato is formidable.

The iced summits of the Andes, the world’s longest mountain range, trail down the western flank of South America. Most of the land between the mountains and the Pacific coastline is arid and inhospitable, yet the western slopes, sheltered from the elements and watered by glacial streams, have been the home of Andean peoples for thousands of years. The members of these valley communities tamed the llama, domesticated the guinea pig and improved their beans, maize and potatoes by selection.

The Inca people carved terraced fields from the rugged slopes of the Andes.

There are about 250 different varieties of potato available in the UK and suppliers routinely market about 50 of them.

Arran Pilot (Scotland): Good at fighting off scab and blight; high-yielding.

Duke of York (Scotland): High resistance to scab; excellently flavoured, general-use potato.

Pentland Javelin (Scotland): Later developer in earlies’ terms, giving a good yield; good general-use potato that performs well in a show tent, too.

Top Tatties

Peter Miller is a man who knows his potatoes. He comes from several generations of seedsman and spent more than 50 years as trials manager for Kings Seeds. These are his top tatties by type or use.

Earlies: Lady Christl and CasablancaSecond earlies: Nadine and KestrelMaincrop: Cara and Desirée (below)Best for salads: Jazzy and CharlotteMost disease-tolerant: SetantaExhibitor’s favourite: Vales SovereignBest of all? ‘I grow Cara as my standby maincrop. It yields well and ticks all the boxes for cooking – roast, jacket, boil and chip. The only slight drawback, it does crop fairly late in the season.’

Practical Homecare

The potato is possibly the most unglamorous and unprepossessing of all the vegetables.

At first sight it does not have a lot going for it. It lacks colour, any uniform shape, and, unless cooked in prodigious quantities of fat, has a bland taste. But, do not be fooled: within that knobbly, grubby and blemished exterior lies a veggie with a little bit of magic and some mega-practical applications. It has a breadth of uses that puts it way ahead of other vegetables. The next time you roast your potatoes, or prepare a bowl of chips, do not head for the compost bin with the waste. You can use it, and here’s how.

Removing Rust

Potatoes contain oxalic acid and this can help dissolve rust. It is so easy and effective, it is a wonder that potatoes are not sold in the supermarket along with other domestic cleaning products. The oxalic acid in the potato reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to dissolve the hydrated iron oxides.

Cleaning Glass

Despairing that you never seem to have gleaming, streak-free panes of glass? Want the ultimate solution? Cheaper and often more effective than many branded cleaners, the potato has the answer. Rub a piece of raw potato on the glass and follow up by wiping with a clean cloth. Easy.

Home, Health and Well-being Practical homecare Traditional remedies and customs Medical matters The potato spa Potato inventions Potato games

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Haynes Publishing UK (April 23, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1785216147
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1785216145
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 0.6 x 8.55 inches