For thousands of years potatoes grew wild in South America and were cultivated as early as 750 B.C. by the Incas in Peru, Ecuador, and northern Chile. In 1524, when the Spaniards invaded South America they found a large number of varieties and species of potato being cultivated by the native peoples.

It was the Spaniards who brought the potato to Europe in the second half of the sixteenth century. (The English name, like the Spanish batata, is derived from patata, the Native American name for the vegetable.) From Spain the potato passed into Italy, from there, early in the seventeenth century, to Austria, then to Germany and from Germany to Switzerland and, finally, to France. Mystery surrounds the potato’s entry into the British Isles. Some say that when the Spanish Armada was defeated, several ships foundered on the west coast of Ireland and potatoes were found in the ships’ holds. Others claim that Sir Walter Raleigh, given some potatoes by a friend who had recently returned from South America, planted them on his property in Ireland.

More than a century passed, however, before the potato was widely eaten. Europeans were suspicious of a vegetable that was not mentioned in the Bible. In addition, because it was grown from a tuber; rather than from seed, it was said to be evil. It was the Irish who finally accepted the potato and it soon became their major crop.

In 1719, potatoes were first planted in North America, in Londonderry, New Hampshire, by Irish settlers. Shortly thereafter Irish farmers began settling in the “District of Maine,” which was still under the government of Massachusetts, and began growing potatoes there. It was soon evident that Maine’s rich soil conditions, long warm days, and cool nights made it an excellent region for growing high quality potatoes. In the middle of the twentieth century, Maine’s Aroostook County produced more potatoes than any other state in the union.

Today Naturally Potatoes® has its headquarters in Aroostook County - and the premium quality potatoes processed in the company’s world class, high-tech, environmentally friendly facility are grown by ancestors of those early Irish settlers.

For more information about potatoes see:
    The Goodness of Potatoes
    The Versatile Varieties
    Favorite Recipes

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