Potatoes, a worldwide food
At the dinner table in many parts of the world
You can see it
(Source: soogif)
For Chinese
It's even more from snacks to big ones
A potato
100 ways to eat
Cut into strips and cut into pieces
Or steam it directly on the pot and grill it on a rack
It can also be made into mashed potatoes and French fries
Potatoes prop up Chinese table
It also witnessed the Chinese days getting better and better
Potatoes, scientific name potatoes
（Solanum tuberosum L.）
Its homeland is in the Andes Mountains of South America
Now it is also a "foreign for chinese use"
About when it was introduced to the mainland
Academia has been inconclusive
Studies say: probably 1423
Zheng He's 6th voyage
Brought potatoes back to China[1]
There are also studies that say:
It was around 1600 in the Ming Dynasty
(Nearly 200 years later than Zheng He)
Entering the northwestern part of the mainland by sea (or southeast coast)
or entering the mainland from land via southwest or northwest[2]
Either way
During the Ming Dynasty, potatoes have already appeared on mainland land
Just a slight embarrassment to the identity
Because at that time, southerners mainly ate rice
Northerners eat mainly wheat
Potatoes are not vigorously promoted as a staple food
Until the Qing Dynasty
Potato was discovered because of a "superpower"
Gradually spread[1]
Ancient disasters and famines occurred frequently on the mainland
According to statistics, from 1368 to 1937
As many as 2,209 disasters nationwide[3]
In the year of the catastrophe, there was no harvest in the grain
Ordinary people have nothing to eat at all
May starve to death
Thankfully, people have found:
Potatoes can also grow well on barren land
And can be used to feed the hungry
Because of the "superpower" of being resistant to barrenness, high yield, and being able to fill the hunger
Potatoes have become a life-saving food for the people
Helped countless people survive the famine
There is a folk song in Shouyang, Shanxi
"If you don't receive grain, you won't suffer,
And our two acres of yam eggs."
By the 19th century
Potatoes have become a staple food for mountain villagers[4]
The 1866 Fangxian Chronicle clearly records it
"Deep in the mountains, there are not many grains,
Only roasted potatoes for food"
Potatoes are born in barrenness and can endure barrenness
It was also saving the same barren people at that time
The real rise of potatoes
In fact, in recent years
In 2016 the mainland proposed
Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Potato Industry[5]
Potatoes will gradually become
After rice, wheat, corn
The fourth largest staple food crop on the mainland
Potatoes as dry food
No longer a joke
Potato's counterattack is inseparable from its "superpower"
Compared to vegetables
It has higher carbohydrates, potassium and other nutrients
Compared to staple foods
Higher nutrients such as vitamin C, carotene, and potassium[6]
Nutritional characteristics of both vegetables
It also has the nutritional advantages of staple foods
Potatoes are eaten as grain
Not only can we be fed
You can also eat healthy[7]
(Image source: soogif)
The second biggest advantage of potatoes is
It is highly adaptable to the environment
Save water, save land, save fertilizer, save medicine
Strong disaster resistance and high yield
Can optimize the planting structure and alleviate ecological pressure[7]
Now
The continent has become the world
The highest potato producing country in terms of total production[8]
Potato cultivation is almost all over the country
The planted area was basically stable between 4.7 million and 4.9 million hectares[9]
In 2018, the output has reached more than 90 million tons
24.7% of world production
Each Chinese can eat an average of more than 80 pounds of potatoes per year[10]
From the delicacies of the palace to the food of the common people
From spontaneous planting by the people to government-led promotion
A small potato
It has supported half of China's centuries-old grain history
Also accompany Chinese
It's been tough
Victories have been ushered in
(Volunteers eat frozen potatoes in the Battle of Chosin Lake, source: the movie "Chosin Lake")
Potatoes, even in barren land
We also strive to grow fruits that nourish life
Chinese is like this potato
Ordinary and great
Through countless years of poverty and hardship
Down-to-earth, hard-working
Finally, with both hands to create the good life now
Thumbs up for potatoes
Thumbs up for every Chinese
bibliography
Xie Conghua,Liu Jun. Analysis on the introduction and spread of potatoes in China[J].Journal of Huazhong Agricultural University,2021,40(04):1-7.
Cai Xingkui, Xie Conghua. History of potato development in China, Breeding status and development suggestions[J]. Yangtze River Vegetables, 2016(12): 30-33.
Deng Yunte. History of China's famine relief[M]. The Commercial Press, 1937.
Xie Conghua,Liu Jun. The change of potato from famine crop to staple grain in China[J]. Journal of Huazhong Agricultural University, 2021, 40(4):8-15
[5]http://www.moa.gov.cn/nybgb/2016/disanqi/201711/t20171126_5919565.htm
[6] Yang Yuexin, Editor-in-Chief, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Food Ingredient List (Standard Edition, 6th Edition/Volume 1). Peking University Press, Beijing, 2018
[7]http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2015-01/16/content_2804802.htm
Cai Xingkui,Xie Conghua. Development history, breeding status and development suggestions of potatoes in China[J]. Yangtze River Vegetables, 2016, 12: 30-33
Shen Chen, Sun Jiabo, Wu Jianzhai, Zhou Xiangyang. Pattern and evolution of potato production, consumption and trade in the world[J].Shandong Agricultural Sciences, 2021, 53(2): 127-132,141.
Luo Qiyou, Gao Mingjie, Zhang Shuo, Lun Yanqi. International Comparative Analysis of China's Potato Industry[J].China Agricultural Resources and Regionalization, 2021, 7(42): 127-132,141
Editors: Zhao Yanan, Guo Qian, Zhang Liang
Proofreading: Wu Yihe | Typesetting: Li Yongmin
Operation: Han Ningning | Coordinator: Wu Wei