Ask someone where the potato comes from, and, odds are, they’ll say Ireland. Blame the Great Famine of the 1800s, or the country’s famous shepherd’s-pie comfort dish. But the true origin of the world’s most versatile vegetable lies not in the emerald hills of Europe, but high in the Andean mountains of South America, specifically, modern-day Peru.
Potatoes: a Peruvian Crop as Old as Time
Long before Europeans had ever laid eyes on a potato, Indigenous communities in the Andes were cultivating and cooking them. Archaeological evidence shows that potatoes were first domesticated in Peru thousands of year ago, making them one of the oldest cultivated crops in the world.
“Between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago, local people in South America’s Andes Mountains bred a poisonous plant into edible potatoes” the American Museum of Natural History explains.
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The plant thrived in the harsh, high-altitude climate, and Peruvians didn’t just grow it—they worshipped it. The Incas even built intricate agricultural terraces to grow potatoes and used a freeze-drying method called chuño to preserve them for years.
So Why Does Ireland Get All the Credit?
When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, they took more than gold and silver back to Europe. Along with maize, tomatoes, and cacao, they brought the potato. But it took some time to catch on. Suspicion over the strange tuber ran deep. Some Europeans even thought it caused leprosy.
But, by the 1700s, potatoes had taken root in countries like Ireland, where they became a dietary staple due to their hardiness and high yield. That dependency ultimately led to disaster during the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s, further cementing the potato’s (somewhat misleading) Irish identity in the global imagination.
From the Andes to the World
Today, potatoes are one of the world’s most widely grown crops. But back in Peru, the spud still reigns supreme. The country is home to more than 1,000 native varieties ranging from bright purple and deep red to knobby, finger-sized varieties you won’t find at your local grocery store. Each type has its own flavor and texture.
Potatoes in Peru are the star of many plates. Papa a la Huancaína is a classic appetizer featuring boiled yellow potatoes smothered in a creamy, spicy cheese sauce made with ají amarillo peppers. Then there’s causa limeña, a cold layered dish where mashed yellow potatoes sandwich a filling of tuna, chicken, or avocado. And no Peruvian menu is complete without lomo saltado, a beef stir-fry that pairs soy-marinated meat with thick-cut fries.
Fried, mashed, boiled, or baked. However you slice them, potatoes are pure comfort food. And now you know: they’re proudly, unmistakably, 100 percent Peruvian. The Irish may have made them famous, but the Andes made them iconic.
