Potato

The Andean Mountains of South America is the birthplace of the “Irish” white potato that we eat today. European immigrants introduced potatoes to North America several times throughout the 1600s, but they were not widely grown for almost a century. Not until 1719, when Irish immigrants brought the potato to Londonderry, New Hampshire, were potatoes grown on a large scale. One of the largest, most comprehensive, potato research programs in the United States is financed by the Washington State Potato Commission. Scientific research and study is done in conjunction with Washington State University. To date, the total research investment has been well over $20,000,000. In the 1950s, potato consumption began to drop in the United States. It had risen steadily for over one hundred years but began to drop off with the advent of convenience foods and the mistaken idea that potatoes were fattening. Then food researchers began to develop various kinds of processed potatoes. Techniques such as dehydrofreezing (freeze-drying), explosion puffing, and using infrared light to create a kind of seal on the tissue of the potato were developed. By the late 1950s, consumption was on the rise again. Today, more than half of all potatoes grown in the U.S. are used in the processing industry