Eat potatose
Interesting history
Vocabulary
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Around 1780, the people of Ireland started to eat potatoes. They found that potatoes had
many advantages. The potatoes grew in poor land, and it grew well in their cold and rainy
climate. It gave more food than any other plant, and it needed little work. All they had to do was
to plant the potatoes, and then they could do other work on the farm. On a small piece of land, a
farmer could grow enough potatoes to feed his family. A person could eat 8 to 10 pounds of
potatoes a day, with some milk or cheese, and be very healthy. Soon, potatoes became the main
food in Ireland. Then, in 1845, a disease killed all the potatoes in Ireland. Two million people
died of hunger. Many Irish who did not die came to the United States at this time. Over a million
Irish came to America; one of them was the great-grandfather of John F. Kennedy.
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In other parts of Europe, people did not want to change their old food habits. Some
preferred to die of hunger rather than eat potatoes. In 1774, King Frederick of Germany wanted to
stop his people from dying of hunger. He understood that potatoes were a good food, so he told
the people to plant and eat potatoes or else his men would cut off their noses. The people were not
happy, but they had no choice and so started to eat potatoes. Today, people in this part of
Germany eat more potatoes than any other nationality. Each person eats about 370 pounds of
potatoes every year!
Today, many countries have their own potato dishes. Germans eat potato salad, and the Unites
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imagine (v.): to form (a picture, idea) in one’s mind (นึกภาพ,
สร้างภาพความคิด)
- instead (adv.): in place of someone or something else (แทนที่,
แทน)
- poison (n.): any substance that harms or kills people,
animals, or plants if it is swallowed or touched
(สารพิษ)
- advantage (n.): benefit (ข้อดี)
- disease (n.): an illness (โรคภัยไข้เจ็บ)
- dish (n.): a type of cooked food (อาหาร (แต่ละชนิด))
- mayonnaise (n.): a food sauce made of eggs, oil and lemon juice
(น้ำสลัดข้นทำจากไข่แดง น้ำมัน และน้ำส้ม)
- ketchup (n.): a thick, red sauce made from tomatoes and
spices (ซอสมะเขือเทศ)
The history
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In the 1500s, the Spanish went to South America to look for gold. There, they found
people eat potatoes. The people of Peru in South America had been eating potatoes for 7,000
years! The Spanish brought the potato back to Europe with them. But people in Europe did not
like this strange vegetable. Some people thought that if you ate potatoes, your skin would look
like the skin of a potato. Other people could not believe that you ate the underground part of the
plant, so they ate the leaves instead. This made then sick because there is poison in the leaves.
Others grew potatoes for their flowers. At one time in France, potato flowers were one of the
most expensive flowers. Marie Antoinette, the wife of king Louis XVI, wore potato flowers in he
Live a Little: Eat Potatoes!
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Can you imagine life without french fries? Potatoes are very popular today. They are
fourth most important crop in the world, after wheat, rice, and corn. But in the past, potatoes were
not always popular. People in Europe started to eat them only 200 years ago!