Potato
There is not probably such a food that could be compared to the potato on its popularity and demand. Every day millions of people give preference to it on their dinner table. So many delicious and wholesome dishes can be made out of it! After all, potatoes are wonderfully combined with fish, meat, mushrooms, vegetables and cereals. Boiled and fried, baked and grated, mashed and dried, stewed and stuffed potatoes; it’s only an incomplete list of their use. Both a soup is more delicious and a salad is more appetizing with them. The potato is justly called the second bread by people, its “younger brother”. There are songs, fairy tales and legends composed about the potato. The history of the potato goes back to exposed to the wind severe mountains of the South America. As far back as before Columbus, 7000 years ago, farmers of the South America successfully cultivated potatoes. They valued their durability, possibility of long-term storage and food value. First, potato tubers were introduced to Spain by conquistadors; it was not until 1570 that the potato started its triumphant procession across Europe. But its road was not easy. In those days nobody could appreciate potato food properties. It was regarded as a foreign wonder, an ornamental plant, and was grown up in botanical gardens. The potato was generally considered as a poisonous plant by many people. The appearance of the potato in Russia can easily be connected with the name of Peter the Great who sent a bag of potatoes from Holland and ordered to plant them in Russia at the end of the 17th century. Today the potato is one of the major agricultural crops in the world.
It is cultivated in Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and even on Oceania islands. The potato is a valuable food. Potato tubers contain on average 67-82 % of water and 18-33 % of solid matter including 12-26% of starch, 0,5-1% of sugar, 0,8-2% of protein, approximately 1% of mineral compounds. The basic nutrient of the potato is starch. It plays a big role in human nutrition. It is the basic source of carbohydrates. There is a relatively small amount of protein in tubers, but it is distinguished with a high biological value. Potatoes play a big role as a vitamin C source (ascorbic acid). New potatoes contain it most of all; there are 25-30 milligrams of it in 100 grams of tubers. There is a small amount of vitamin B1, B2, B6, P factor as well as carotin which turns into vitamin A in a human body. Along with vegetables, fruit and berries potatoes are one of the major sources of mineral matters in human nutrition. Mineral compounds are presented mainly by the salts of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, etc. Tubers also contain numerous trace elements: iron, manganese, copper, zinc, nickel, etc. None of the foodstuffs, except dried fruits, contain as much potassium as potatoes. Potassium helps to bring out water, sodium chloride. That’s why potatoes are good for people with kidney and cardiovascular system diseases. Juice derived out of raw potato tubers is successfully used for stomach and duodenal ulcer treatment, gastritis treatment. Raw potatoes are put to burns, used for skin disease treatments. In cosmetic practice it is added to face pack mixtures.
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