It's criminal how delicious they are
It's the International Year of the Potato and the humble spud deserves a sizzling celebration
SINGAPORE: Has the name of any vegetable been more frequently used than the potato? Probably not: From couch potatoes and hot potatoes to "you say potato, I say po-tah-to", the humble spud has taken root in the English language in many ways.

Then, there's Mr Potato Head, which Hasbro rolled out in 1952 and which became the first toy to be advertised on American television. The tater-shaped toy proved so popular that it earned the company more than US$100 million (S$138 million) in its first year of production.

Now, the United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato in recognition of the role the world's fourth most important food crop has played in alleviating poverty and providing food security — no small potatoes, by any standards.

From its origin about 8,000 years ago in South America's Andes, the potato has come a long way, both geographically and as a food.

A bumpy beginning

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UN), potatoes first moved out of South America in the 16th century when the Conquistadors, who had travelled across the Atlantic to Peru in search of gold, brought these tubers back to Europe instead.

Their bounty also made an ideal food on those long journeys as it kept well and made for an excellent energy source.

Said NutriVentures nutritionist and dietician Anna Jacob: "Potatoes can be stored for several months after harvesting and are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates. Eaten plain, boiled or baked — especially with the skin on — potatoes are a nutrient-dense food. They provide generous amounts of Vitamin C, fibre, iron, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid. They're also fat-free and very low in sodium."

The Spaniards subsequently began growing potatoes on their soil, mainly for medicinal purposes, with the earliest evidence of this dating back to 1565 on the Canary Islands. Later, Europe's aristocracy began sending spuds across the region as exotic gifts.

Yet, it took about 150 years for potatoes to adapt to the northern hemisphere's long summer days, and a few more before most people (other than sailors, who had started taking potatoes with them on their ocean voyages to India, China and Japan in the 17th century) began regarding them as food.

Peasants believed them to be poisonous as these tubers are part of the nightshade family, which includes several deadly plants such as the mandrake and belladonna. And while the aristocracy admired the flowers of the potato plant, they considered its fruit only fit for pigs and the poor.

The French historian Legrand D'Aussy wrote in his 1783 Histoire de la Vie Privee des Francais (History of the Private Life of the French): "The pasty taste, the natural insipidity, the unhealthy quality of this food, which is flatulent and indigestible, has caused it to be rejected from refined households."

But the famines of the 1770s forced many to start growing this efficient crop — it takes well to a wide range of climates and needs less land to grow than any other plant — for food security.

Since then, these "eye"-studded root vegetables have not looked back. According to the United Nations' MediaGlobal media organisation, "potatoes generate cash for farmers and feed their families during lean times, fuel the lucrative snacking industry in the region's growing cities, and, with their high product-to-land-area ratio, lessen the environmental impact of agriculture on an increasingly crowded and hungry world".

Growing with the times

While there are no potato farms here, Singaporeans have received potatoes imported from the United States, China, Australia, Indonesia and Holland with welcoming arms and stomachs.

Said director of integrated purchasing at NTUC FairPrice, Tng Ah Yiam: "Over the past few years, potato sales at FairPrice have increased by about 10 to 20 per cent. In particular, Yukon gold potatoes from the US, Australian potatoes such as Beta Spuds and Indonesian potatoes have been gaining popularity.

"We have also started to import more varieties such as Sumich and Snow White washed potatoes from Australia."

Currently, the supermarket chain brings in about 14 types of potatoes.

Part of the reason for this popularity is probably that "the potato is such a popular food item the world over that there is no lack of recipes utilising it", said Marshall Cavendish senior editor Lydia Leong, who researched and put together the book, Potatoes in 60 Ways.

"For example, it features in dishes such as gado gado from Indonesia, aloo ka shorva (potato soup) from India, Japanese beef curry, Belgian salad, Swiss rosti and Spanish tortillas," she added.

"In Singapore, potatoes are commonly used in local dishes like curry puffs, ABC soup, begedil and mee goreng, as well as in Western dishes such as mashed potatoes and French fries."

Indeed, since merely being "sliced into crown-sized pieces, fried, and seasoned with melted butter and sugar", as one 18th-century potato recipe suggests, the number of ways to cook spuds has grown with the times.

Aurum chef and molecular gastronomy specialist Edward Voon said: "One of the main benefits of cooking with potatoes is that they are very versatile.

"They are like best supporting actors — they can help add thickness to a liquid, make a terrine, strengthen a puree, create a crust and give a stronger foundation to a soup, among other things.

"With potatoes, many cooking techniques can be implemented. At Aurum, we also steam, cure and pickle them, along with cooking them in a siphon, a gastrovac (an appliance that sucks the moisture out of food) and on an anti-griddle (a griddle that freezes instead of heats food)."

From South American soil to a siphon in Singapore — the simple spud's remarkable journey and effect on our lives must surely be celebrated.

So, one potato, two potato, three potato, four ...

The usual suspects

So many potatoes, so little space. From the popular Russet to the less common Ruby Crescent Fingerlings, there are about 3,000 varieties of spuds in the world, of which 700 are used in cultivation. Some are waxy (good for boiling, steaming, roasting and pan-frying as they keep their shape well) and others are mealy (excellent for frying, grating, mashing and sometimes baking), while yet others are all-purpose potatoes that cook well most ways. Here are four types available here:

Russet potato

If countries were represented by vegetables, the Russet would do it for America. This large dark-brown variety has a net-like texture to its skin and is widely grown in the US. It is high in starch and low in moisture, so it makes wonderfully fluffy mashed potatoes and tasty French fries. The Russet bakes well, too, and its size is ideal for accommodating lashings of sour cream and bacon bits.

Granola potato

The Granola is distinctly more delicious than the breakfast food of the same name. This squat, oval-shaped potato is from Indonesia, where it is the dominant variety grown in North Sumatra. Its flesh is quite floury and mealy, so it tastes good mashed or fried, too. While not as grubby-looking as the Russet, the Granola is also fairly rough-skinned.

Purple potato

Purple potatoes are fairly new to Singapore but are now easily available when in season, which is between the months of September and December. They get their brilliant colour from the same powerful antioxidant that is in blueberries and have a medium starch content. Purples make good all-purpose spuds but tend to get mushy when overcooked, so they're best as chips or to add a splash of colour in salads.

Red potato

While all-red potatoes do exist (these are red both inside and out), most of the red potatoes in Singapore are actually pink-skinned with pale yellow flesh. These firm spuds contain less starch and more sugar, and are of the waxy sort. They're best boiled, used in salads or for making scalloped potatoes. Mashing these will just get you in a sticky mess.

New potato

These cute, chubby taters are also known as baby potatoes and are prized for their creamy texture and high moisture content. The term "new" refers to the fact that they are harvested early, which is explains their tiny size. Want to find out if a potato really is young? Try peeling off the smooth, paper-thin skin. The more easily it comes off, the newer the spud is. These babies are delicious roasted whole. - TODAY/ac