Herb. No. 188 · Solanaceae
Andean highlands; a temperate staple from Ireland to the Andes themselves.
Native · South America
Native Also grownNow a garden plant worldwide
LegalCautionplant
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
Fruit & vegetableHarvestCompanions
The Andean tuber that feeds the world — and a nightshade whose green skin and sprouts are not supper.
Potato is food when the tuber is mature, stored dark, and cooked. Green skin and sprouts concentrate solanine; peel them away or throw the tuber out. Leaves and berries are not food. Traditional Andean cuisines freeze-dry and freeze-thaw it; Irish and Eastern European tables boiled it. This plate is a cooked tuber from a named variety, not a green salad of the haulm.
Flavor
Earth, cream, a little sweetness when young. Old and green is bitter — listen to that.
Parts used
Mature tuber, cooked
Helpful
- Stores the winter
- A real calorie crop in a small bed
Cautions
- Green and sprouts are toxic
- Blight years
- Raw is not a snack