The True Story of the Potato. There were no potatoes in Rus'

History of the potato. How potatoes appeared in Russia

The name of the potato comes from the Italian word truffle and the Latin terratuber - earthen cone.

WITH potato related many interesting stories. They say that in the 16th century, a certain admiral of the English army brought an unknown vegetable from America, with which he decided to surprise his friends. A knowledgeable cook mistakenly fried not potatoes, but tops. Of course, no one liked the dish. The enraged admiral gave the order to destroy the remaining bushes by burning. The order was carried out, after which baked potatoes were found in the ashes. Without hesitation, baked potatoes hit the table. The taste was appreciated, everyone liked it. Thus, the potato gained its recognition in England.

In France in the early 18th century, potato flowers adorned the waistcoat of the king himself, and the queen adorned her hair with them. So potato dishes were served daily to the king at the table. True, the peasants had to be accustomed to this culture by cunning. When the potatoes reached, guards were placed around the fields. Thinking that they were guarding something valuable, the peasants quietly dug up potatoes, boiled and ate.

In Russia potatoes took root not so easy and simple. The peasants considered it a sin to use the devil's apple brought from nowhere, and even under pain of hard labor they refused to breed them. In the 19th century, the so-called potato riots arose. It took quite a long time until the people realized that potatoes are tasty and nutritious.

This the vegetable is used for making snacks, salads, soups and main dishes. Potato contains proteins, carbohydrates, potassium, dietary fiber, vitamins A, B1, c. There are 70 calories in 100 g of potatoes.

About a couple of thousand years before the human era, wild potatoes played an important role in the life of the first inhabitants of the Andes. The food, which saved entire settlements from starvation, was called "chuno" and was prepared from frozen, and then dried wild potatoes. In the Andes, until that time, the Indians cherish the proverb: "Jerky without "chuno" is tantamount to life without love." Also, the dish was used as a unit of exchange in trade, as "chuno" was exchanged for beans, beans, corn. "Chuno" was distinguished by two types - white ("tunta") and black. The recipe for "chuno" is something like this: the potatoes were laid out in the rain, and left to soak during the day. Once the potatoes were sufficiently wet, they were laid out to dry under the scorching sun. To get rid of moisture as soon as possible, after thawing, potatoes were laid out in a place that was blown by the wind and gently trampled underfoot. In order to peel off the potatoes better, they were placed between special crumpled skins. When preparing black "chuno", the potatoes peeled in the above way were washed with water, and when preparing "tunta", the potatoes were lowered into a pond for several weeks, after which they were left in the sun for final drying. "Tunta" kept the shape of a potato and was very light.

After this treatment, wild potatoes lost their bitter taste and were preserved for a long time. If there is a desire to enjoy wild potatoes, the recipe is valid to this day.

In Europe, potatoes took root difficult. Regardless of the fact that the Spaniards were the first Europeans to experience this crop, Spain was one of the last countries in Europe to truly appreciate the vegetable. In France, the first mention of potato processing dates back to 1600. The English first experimented with planting potatoes as early as 1589.

Potatoes to Russia came through the Baltic port, directly from Prussia around 1757-1761. The first official import of potatoes was connected with the foreign trip of Peter I. He sent a sack of potatoes from Rotterdam for Sheremetyev and ordered the potatoes to be scattered over various regions of Russia. Unfortunately, this attempt was not successful. Only under Catherine II, an order was issued to send to all regions of Russia, to the brood of the so-called earthen apples, and already 15 years later the potatoes were in territory, reaching Siberia and even Kamchatka. However, the introduction of potatoes into the peasant economy was accompanied by scandals and severe administrative penalties. Cases of poisoning were observed, since they did not eat potatoes, but poisonous green berries. Conspiracies against potatoes were intensified even by the name itself, as many heard "kraft teufels", which translates from German as - damn strength. To increase the rate of potato consumption, special instructions were sent to the peasants on the cultivation and use of "earth apples", which gave a positive result. Starting from 1840, the sown area for potatoes began to increase intensively, and soon after decades the variety of potatoes reached more than a thousand varieties.

Where did he come from? How and when did it become an essential food item?

Potatoes, one might say, were opened three times.

The first discovery in ancient times was made by the Indians, the second in the 16th century by the Spaniards, and the third by Russian scientists in the 20s of the current century.

First, a few words about the "third discovery". Studying the plant resources of the globe, Academician N. I. Vavilov suggested that in Latin America there should be a huge natural "selection warehouse" of potatoes. On his initiative, in 1925, an expedition consisting of SM researchers was sent there. Bukasov and S. V. Yuzenchuk (do not forget what a difficult time it was for our country). Together they visited Mexico, and then parted: Bukasov - to Guatemala and Colombia, and Yuzenchuk - to Peru, Bolivia and Chile. In these countries, they studied and described the types of potatoes growing there.

And as a result - an unusual botanical and selection discovery. Before that, Europeans knew only one species of this plant - Solyanum tuberosum, and two Russian scientists found in America and described more than 60 wild and 20 cultivated species of potatoes that fed the Indians for many centuries. Among the species discovered by them, there were many interesting for breeding for resistance against dangerous potato diseases - phytophthora, cancer and others; cold-resistant, early maturing, etc.

Numerous, well-equipped expeditions from the USA, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and England rushed to South America in the footsteps of the Soviet "pioneers". Specialists from Peru, Uruguay, Chile began to search and find new types and varieties of potatoes in their mountains.

Breeders of all developed countries are now using the "gold mine" discovered by scientists from Leningrad.

The ancient Indians of South America, even before the advent of agriculture, used, as established by archaeologists, wild potato tubers for food, probably digging them in places of its continuous thickets. Unwittingly loosening the ground at the same time, people could notice that potatoes grow better on such soil and their tubers are larger. They must have noticed that new plants grow from both old tubers and seeds. From here it was not difficult to come to the idea of ​​the possibility of growing this plant near their sites. And so they began to do so. Scientists believe that this happened in the mountainous regions of South America for 2 or even more than a thousand years BC.

In wild forms of potatoes, the tubers were small and with varying degrees of bitterness. Naturally, among them, people chose plants with larger and less bitter tubers. Cultivated areas near settlements were unconsciously fertilized with household waste. Selection of the best species from wild plants, cultivation in loosened and fertilized soil led to an increase in the quality of tubers.

V. S. Lekhnovich, a great connoisseur of the history of potatoes, believes that two centers for the cultivation of potatoes have arisen in America. One - on the coast of Chile with adjacent islands and the other - in the mountainous regions of the Andes, on the territory of modern Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.

The Indians of the mountain regions, before using tubers for food, use special methods of processing them to remove bitterness: they lay them out in an open place, where the tubers freeze at night, thaw and dry out during the day (in mountainous conditions, as you know, cold nights are replaced by sunny windy days). Having endured a certain period, they trample them to squeeze out moisture, while peeling them off. Then the tubers are thoroughly washed in the running water of mountain streams and finally dried. Potatoes prepared in this way, the so-called "chuno", no longer have bitterness. It can be stored for a long time. "Chuno" often saved the Indians from starvation and also served as an object of exchange with the inhabitants of the lowlands.

Potatoes were the staple food of the Indians of many South American tribes. Even before our era, highly developed Indian civilizations existed in the Andes, which created cultivars of a number of plants, including potatoes. Subsequently, the great Inca empire inherited from them farming techniques and a set of crops.

The first recorded acquaintance of Europeans with the potato plant occurred in 1535. This year, Julian de Castellanos, a member of Gonzalo de Quesado's Spanish military expedition to South America, wrote about a potato he saw in Colombia that the mealy roots of this plant taste good, "a tasty dish even for the Spaniards."

But this statement of Castellanos remained unknown for a long time. In Europe, for the first time, they learned about potatoes in 1533 from the book “Chronicle of Peru” by Cies de Lyone, which he wrote after returning to Spain from Peru, telling, in particular, that the Indians call raw tubers “papa” and dried tubers “chuno”. According to the outward resemblance of the tubers to the previously known truffles, which form tuberous fruits in the ground, they were given the same name. On 8 1551, the Spaniard Valdivius reported to Emperor Charles about the presence of potatoes in Chile. Around 1565, potato tubers were brought to Spain and then presented by the Spanish king to the sick Pope Pius IV, as the potato was considered healing. From Spain, potatoes spread to Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Poland and other European countries. The British brought potatoes to themselves independently of the Spaniards.

Semi-legendary versions about the introduction of potatoes in European countries spread.

In Germany, the cruel Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I at the beginning of the 18th century proclaimed the cultivation of potatoes a national duty of the Germans and forced them to plant them with the help of dragoons. Here is how the German agronomist Ernst Duchek wrote about this: “... severe punishment threatened those who resisted, and sometimes they had to threaten with cruel punishments, for example, cutting off noses and ears.” Other German authors testified to similar cruel measures.

Of particular interest is the history of the introduction of potatoes in France. He was recognized there as early as the beginning of the 17th century. In Paris, potatoes appeared on the royal table in 1616. In 1630, an attempt was made, encouraged by the royal government, to introduce this plant. However, the potato did not take root in any way, perhaps because the dishes from its tubers did not yet know how to cook properly, and the doctors assured that it was poisonous and causes illness. Changes came only after Antoine Parmentier, a military pharmaceutical chemist, intervened. Participating in the seven-year war, he was captured by the Germans. In Germany, Parmentier ate potatoes and during this time highly appreciated their merits. Returning to his homeland, he became a passionate propagandist of this culture. Are potatoes considered poisonous? Parmentier arranges a dinner, to which he invites the luminaries of science - the chemist Antoine Lavoisier and the Democratic politician Benjamin Franklin, and treats them to potato dishes. Eminent guests recognized the good quality of the food, but for some reason they only expressed their fear that the potatoes would spoil the soil.

Parmentier understood that nothing could be achieved by force and, knowing the shortcomings of his compatriots, went to the trick. He asked King Louis XVI to give him a plot of land near Paris and, when necessary, to allocate guards. The king favorably reacted to the request of the pharmacist, and he received 50 morgues of land. In 1787, Parmentier planted potatoes on it. Solemnly, to the sound of trumpets, it was announced that any Frenchman who dared to steal a new precious plant would be subjected to severe punishment and even execution. When the potatoes began to ripen, during the day they were guarded by numerous armed guards, who, however, were taken to the barracks in the evening.

Parmentier's idea was crowned with complete success. The heavily guarded plants aroused the burning interest of the Parisians. The daredevils began to steal tubers at night and then plant them in their gardens.

In addition, Parmentier used, as they would say today, a publicity stunt. During one of the royal receptions, he brought potato flowers to the palace of Louis XVI and persuaded him to pin them on his chest, and the queen to decorate her hair with them. The king, in addition, ordered that potatoes be served to him for dinner. The courtiers naturally followed suit. There was a great demand for flowers and potato tubers, and the peasants began to quickly expand their plantings. This culture soon spread throughout the country. The French understood and recognized its valuable qualities. And in the lean year of 1793, potatoes saved many from starvation.

Grateful descendants erected two monuments to Parmentier: near Paris, on the site where the very “protected” site was, and in his homeland, in the city of Montdidier. On the pedestal of the second monument there is an inscription - "To the Benefactor of Mankind" and the words spoken by Louis XVI are carved: "Believe me, the time will come when France will thank you for giving bread to starving mankind."

This interesting version of the merits of Antoine Parmentier's introduction of the potato is widely circulated in the literature. However, Academician P. M. Zhukovsky called it into question. In his major work “Cultivated Plants and Their Relatives,” he wrote: “Only at the end of the 18th century, when the then famous Vilmorin company arose, potatoes were taken for propagation by this company. The mistake that made Parmentier supposedly the pioneer of the potato culture must be corrected. Roger de Vilmorin (botanist, foreign member of VASKhNIL. - S. S.) has an irrefutable document on the priority of the spread of potatoes. It is quite possible that Academician P. M. Zhukovsky is right; however, it seems that the merits of Parmentier in the spread of this culture should not be forgotten either.

In his work “The Past and Thoughts”, A. I. Herzen describes another version of the introduction of potatoes in France: “... the famous Turgot (Ann Robert Jacques Turgot - 1727-1781 - French statesman, philosopher-educator and economist. - S. S. ), seeing the hatred of the French for potatoes, sent potatoes to all tax-farmers and other subject persons for sowing, strictly forbidding them to be given to peasants. At the same time, he told them secretly that they should not prevent the peasants from stealing potatoes for sowing. In a few years, part of France was sown with potatoes.

The initial importation of this wonderful plant to England is usually associated with the name of the English navigator, vice-admiral (at the same time a pirate) - Francis Drake. In 1584, on the site of the current US state of North Carolina, the English navigator, organizer of pirate expeditions, poet and historian Walter Raleigh founded a colony, calling it Virginia. In 1585, F. Drake, returning from South America, visited those places. The colonists greeted him with complaints about the hard life and asked to be taken back to England, which Drake did. They allegedly brought potato tubers to England.

However, Academician P. M. Zhukovsky in the work mentioned above rejected the version of the importation of potatoes by Drake. He wrote: “Many literary sources attribute to the English admiral Drake, who made a round-the-world voyage in 1587 ... an independent introduction of potatoes to England; the reintroduction to England is attributed to Caverdish, who repeated Drake's voyage.

It is highly doubtful, however, that these navigators could keep the tubers healthy and unsprouted during many months of travel in the tropical latitudes of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is most likely that potatoes came to England and especially to Ireland from other receipts.

But Drake made a round-the-world trip in 1577-1580, and he took the colonists out of Virginia, located on the east coast of North America, in 1585. It is quite obvious that this was already another Drake voyage to America, and he returned from there to England directly across the Atlantic Ocean. This flight was incomparably shorter and completed much faster than the round-the-world trip of 1577-1580.

All this by no means excludes the possibility of bringing potatoes to England in other ways. It is possible that unknown English pirates brought it there, often robbing Spanish ships returning from America in those days. Or maybe the British brought potatoes from the European continent, where it has already become widespread.

By the way, in a number of books about potatoes, an interesting semi-legendary version is often given that it was Drake who showed the British an example of growing potatoes.

Here, for example, is what the German author K.E. wanting to breed potatoes in England, not only delivered a few seed cones to the famous English botanist Ion Gerard, he also gave his gardener a part of them with such an order that this precious fruit should be planted in his garden in fertile land and be carefully looked after. This assignment aroused such curiosity in the gardener that he looked after him very diligently. Soon the potato plant sprung up, blossomed, and produced many green seed pods, which the gardener, honoring the plant's own fruit and seeing that it was already ripe, plucked and tasted it, but finding it unpleasant, threw it away, saying with annoyance: “All my labors wasted over such a useless plant." He brought some of these apples to the admiral and mockingly said: "This is some vaunted precious fruit from America."

The admiral replied with hidden indignation: "Yes, but if this plant is unusable, then pull it out now, along with the root, so that it does not cause any harm in the garden." The gardener carried out the order and to his surprise found under each bush many potatoes exactly the same as those he had planted in the spring. Immediately, by order of the admiral, the potatoes were boiled and given to the gardener to taste. "A! he exclaimed in surprise. “No, it’s a pity to destroy such a precious plant!” And after that, he tried his best to break him up.

It is assumed that Drake gave a certain number of tubers to the English botanist John Gerard, who, in turn, in 1589 sent several tubers to his friend, naturalist-botanist Charles Clusius, who at that time was in charge of the botanical garden in Vienna. According to another version, the mayor of the small Belgian town of Mons Philippe de Sivry handed over to Clusius in the same year two tubers and a potato berry. It can be assumed that one does not exclude the other. Clusius was once an outstanding major botanist, and it is known that it was with his participation that the widespread distribution of this plant in Europe began.

At first, potatoes in England were considered only a delicacy and were sold at a high price. Only in the middle of the 18th century did it begin to grow on large areas, becoming a common food crop. He especially took root in Ireland, which at that time was a colony of England. For most Irish, potatoes became a staple food earlier than for the British. It was eaten with herring, or even just with salt - for many Irish families, even herring was too expensive a delicacy.

In different countries, potatoes were called in their own way. In Spain - "dad", having adopted this word from the Indians, in Italy - for the similarity of tubers with truffle mushrooms - "tartuffoli" (hence - "potato"). The British called it "Irish sweet potato" in contrast to the real "sweet sweet potato", the French called it "pomme de terre" - an earthen apple. In various other languages ​​\u200b\u200b- "poteitos", "potates", "putatis".

The first scientific botanical descriptions of potatoes were made by the botanists John Gerard in England in 1596 and 1597, Charles Clusius in Flanders in 1601, and Caspar Baugin in Switzerland in 1596, 1598, 1620. The latter in 1596 gave the potato a botanical Latin name, later recognized internationally, - Solyanum tuberosum esculentum - edible tuberous nightshade.

Potato came to Russia more than a century after its first import to Spain.

A written message about the importation of potatoes to Russia appeared in the Proceedings of the Free Economic Society in 1852. An untitled review of the book Potatoes in Agriculture and Manufactory, published in 1851, said: “It should be noted that the Great Peter sent a bag of potatoes from Rotterdam to Sheremetev and ordered that potatoes be sent to different regions of Russia, to local chiefs, charging them with the duty to invite the Russians to breed it; and at the table of Prince Biron during the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), potatoes often appeared as tasty, but not at all as a rare and tasty dish.

It is assumed that the above review was written by Professor of St. Petersburg University S. M. Usov, a well-known figure in the field of agriculture at that time. Judging by the text, the author knew perfectly well all the dates of the introduction of this culture into European countries and, obviously, he should have known the episode being described. Since then, this version of the first appearance of potatoes in Russia has been repeated in many articles and books devoted to this culture, and entered the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, that is, it became generally accepted.

However, it is by no means excluded that the way of importing potatoes to Russia with the assistance of Peter was not the only one.

One way or another, it is known that potatoes were grown in the Pharmaceutical Garden in St. Petersburg in 1736. Under the name "tartufel" it was served in very small quantities in the early 40s at court ceremonial dinners. So, for a banquet on June 23, 1741, half a pound was released to the "tartufel"; August 12 of the same year - a pound and a quarter; officers of the Semyonovsky regiment for a festive dinner - a quarter of a pound (one hundred grams!). Can't believe it? But this is from the reports of the palace office.

It is likely that at the same time or even earlier, potatoes appeared on the tables of the St. Petersburg aristocracy. It is possible that for court banquets it was obtained from the Aptekarsky garden, and for the tables of the aristocracy it was grown in gardens near St. Petersburg or imported from the Baltic states, where at that time there was already developed potato growing.

It is documented that in 1676 the Duke of Courland Jacob ordered one sucker (about 50 kilograms) of potatoes from Hamburg to the capital of Courland Mitava (modern Jelgava in the Latvian SSR). It can be assumed that these potatoes were then grown in those parts.

The famous Russian agronomist, scientist and writer A. T. Bolotov participated in the actions of the Russian army in East Prussia during the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1762). In the magazine "Economic store" in 1787, he reported that in Prussia, the participants of the campaign got acquainted with the potato and, returning, many took its tubers to their homeland. He wrote: “In Russia, until the last Prussian war, this fruit (potato. - S.S.) was almost not known at all; upon the return of the troops, who were accustomed to eating it in the Prussian and Brandenburg countries, it soon appeared in different places and began to become famous, but now it is everywhere, but even in the most remote regions, such as in Kamchatka itself, it is not unknown.

However, in general, until 1765, this crop in Russia was grown on insignificant areas by gardeners in cities and on landlord estates. The peasants hardly knew him.

It so happened that the Medical College was the initiator of the mass introduction of potatoes (colleges - the central institutions of the 18th century, in charge of individual industries, later transformed into ministries). In its report to the Senate (the highest body for legislation and public administration in Russia from 1711 to 1717), this institution reported that in the Vyborg province, due to crop shortages, the peasants often go hungry and on this basis a “pestilence ulcer” may arise, and recommended that the Senate take steps to cultivate in our country “earth apples,” “which in England are called pottes.” We must pay tribute to Empress Catherine II - she supported this proposal. As a result of January 19, 1765, the first Decree on the introduction of potatoes was issued. At the same time, 500 rubles were allocated for the purchase of potato seeds, and the Medical Board was asked to purchase potatoes and scatter them around the country, which they did.

In the same year, 1765, at the direction of the Senate, the Medical College developed a "Manual" on the cultivation of potatoes, printed in the Senate printing house in the amount of ten thousand copies and sent with the Decree to all provinces. “The instruction was a relatively competent agrotechnical and economic instruction, which spoke about the time of planting tubers, “about preparing the land”, “about cleaning the ridges and arable land”, “about the time of taking apples out of the ground and saving them in winter” and further on different types of use potatoes.

In December 1765, a similar “Instruction” was sent out on the storage of tubers. These first Russian printed manuals played a big role in the development of potato growing.

In the autumn of 1765, the College of Medicine purchased potatoes from England and Germany. In total, 464 pounds 33 pounds were brought to St. Petersburg. From the capital he was sent by sledge to 15 provinces - from St. Petersburg to Astrakhan and Irkutsk. However, during transportation, despite the careful warming of barrels with potatoes, hay and straw, a significant part of the dispatched tubers froze. Nevertheless, the Senate for the second time released 500 rubles to the Medical College for the purchase of seed potatoes in the next year, 1766. From these purchases, potatoes have already been sent to such distant cities as Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Okhotsk, and Kamchatka.

The tubers sent out have multiplied successfully in many places.

The report of the St. Petersburg Provincial Chancellery, presented to the Senate, on the results of potato propagation in this province in 1765 is curious. It can be seen from it that Catherine's grandees also took up the cultivation of potatoes: Razumovsky, Hannibal, Vorontsov, Bruce and others.

In total, from 1765 to 1767, the Governing Senate considered issues related to the introduction of potatoes 23 times, and since then this crop has been intensively distributed in Russia.

The activity of the Free Economic Society had a great influence on the development of potato growing. Almost every issue of his "Proceedings" contained articles on potatoes, gave agronomic advice on growing them, and summarized the results. The society was also involved in the distribution of seed potatoes.

The Free Economic Society, in essence, soon became the main organization, which took upon itself exceptionally great care for the introduction of "second bread".

A great contribution to this work was made by the most active member of the Society - A. T. Bolotov. In 1787 alone, he published five articles on potatoes, and his first article about him appeared in 1770 - 17 years earlier than Parmentier began his work on distributing potatoes in France.

In an article by a certain F. Istis “The History of Potato Cultivation in Russia”, published in the journal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1848, we read: “... Novgorodskaya was especially distinguished, due to these efforts of an active member of the Free Economic Society - the governor, Major General von Sievers. In 1765, by decree of the empress, four quarters of reddish and oblong potatoes were delivered to this province for divorce; half of this amount was used for sowing for the city, the other for the counties. From the planted in the city, 172 quadruplets were born (the Russian measure of volume - the quadruple is equal to 26.24 liters. - S. S.) ”.

Sivere ordered two more varieties of white and reddish potatoes from Livonia (south of the Baltic states). According to him, "In 1775, the potato began to be used among the peasants, who ate it either boiled as a special dish or mixed with soup."

“Regarding Moscow and its environs,” wrote F. Eastis, “the merits of Roger, who was in charge of the manor of the State Chancellor Count Rumyantsev, are remarkable; his actions are between 1800 and 1815. He invited the peasants under his jurisdiction and distributed it to them for this purpose from the very beginning of his administration; but the peasants, out of prejudice against this fruit, did not immediately follow the invitation; when later they were convinced of the good taste and benefits of potatoes, then, instead of honestly and openly asking for it from the manager, they began, driven by shame, to steal it from the master's fields on the sly. Having learned that the peasants did not use the stolen potatoes for food, but for sowing, Roger again began to distribute to them annually a significant part of his own collection, which greatly contributed to the establishment and distribution of potatoes in the Moscow province.

With the help of the Free Economic Society, a gifted breeder-nugget, a St. Petersburg gardener and seed grower E. A. Grachev launched his activities. He demonstrated the varieties of corn and potatoes he bred at world exhibitions in Vienna, Cologne, Philadelphia. For the development of vegetable growing, he was awarded ten gold and forty silver medals, and was elected a member of the Paris Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Grachev brought dozens of different varieties of potatoes from Germany, the USA, England and other countries. On his site near St. Petersburg, he planted and comprehensively tested more than two hundred varieties. The best of them he intensively propagated and distributed throughout Russia. The history of the early rose variety is interesting. Grachev managed to acquire only two tubers of this American variety. Thanks to the tireless work of the gardener, they laid the foundation for the unprecedented cultivation of the Early Rose in Russia, which remained in crops until the fifties of the XX century. In some places in Central Asia and in Ukraine it is grown even now. To date, more than twenty synonyms for the Early rose variety have appeared: Early pink, American, Early ripening, Skorobezhka, White flower and others.

But Grachev was engaged not only in the acquisition, reproduction and distribution of tubers. He himself bred about twenty varieties from seeds by cross-pollination of flowers, some of which at one time had a significant distribution. They differed in the color of the tubers - white, red, yellow, pink, purple, in shape - round, long, cone-shaped, smooth and with deep eyes, and in resistance to fungal diseases. The names of most of these varieties are associated with the surname of Grachev: Grachev's Trophy, Grachev's Triumph, Grachev's Rarity, Grachev's light pink, etc. But the following are also known: Suvorov, Progress, Professor A.F. Batalia and others. After the death of Yefim Andreevich, his work was continued for some time by his son V. E. Grachev. In 1881, at the exhibition of the Free Economic Society, he demonstrated 93 varieties of potatoes.

Of the varieties imported from abroad and propagated by Grachev, as well as the varieties bred by him, food varieties were famous and widely distributed - Early Rose, Peach Blossom, Snowflake, Early Vermont and distilleries with a starch content (27-33 percent) - Alcohol with purple flowers , Alcohol with white flowers, Light pink, Efilos.

Government and public events did their job: potato planting areas in Russia were steadily expanding.

However, things did not go smoothly everywhere. The Old Believers, of whom there were many in Russia, opposed the planting and eating of potatoes. They called it the "devil's apple", "the devil's spit" and "the fruit of harlots", their preachers forbade their co-religionists to grow and eat potatoes. The confrontation of the Old Believers was long and stubborn. Back in 1870, there were villages not far from Moscow where peasants did not plant potatoes in their fields.

Mass unrest of peasants called "potato riots" entered the history. These unrest lasted from 1840 to 1844 and covered the Perm, Orenburg, Vyatka, Kazan and Saratov provinces.

The "riots" were preceded by a large crop shortage in 1839, which covered all areas of the black earth belt. In 1840, information began to come to St. Petersburg that winter seedlings were almost everywhere killed, famine began, crowds of people walk along the roads, rob passers-by and attack landlords, demanding bread. Then the government of Nicholas I decided to expand the planting of potatoes without fail. The issued resolution ordered: “... start growing potatoes in all villages with public plowing. Where there are no public plowings, planting potatoes should be done under the Volost Board, although on one tithe. It was planned to distribute potatoes to peasants free of charge or at inexpensive prices for planting. Along with this, an unquestioning demand was put forward to plant potatoes at the rate of obtaining from the harvest 4 measures per capita.

It would seem that the event itself is good, but, as was often the case during the reign of Nicholas I, it was accompanied by violence against the peasants. In the end, the riots against serfdom generally merged with indignation against the hard introduction of potatoes. It is characteristic that this movement did not capture all the peasants, but mainly the appanage. It was their rights that were most infringed upon by the “reforms” of Nicholas I at the end of the thirties of the 19th century, and it was on them that new duties were imposed. Along with this, an order was given to state peasants to grow potatoes in plots near volosts free of charge. This was perceived by the state peasants as turning them into serfdom from the Minister of Agriculture, Count Kiselev. Therefore, not the potato itself, but the administrative measures of the tsarist officials to expand its plantings, associated with harassment and abuse, caused the riots. It is possible that the situation was aggravated by rumors spread by someone about the introduction of a “new faith”. It is significant that the main areas covered by the "potato riots" were located exactly where the uprising of the peasants under the leadership of Pugachev had previously taken place.

Peasant uprisings were defeated everywhere.

For a long time, turnips were one of the staple foods for the common people in Russia. But gradually interest in potatoes increased.

Potato planting areas began to grow especially rapidly after the abolition of serfdom in 1861. Russia's entry into the era of capitalist relations entailed the development of industry, including that of its industry, which was engaged in the processing of tubers. One after another, starch and distillery enterprises began to be built - and soon there were already hundreds of them. Landowners, breeders and individual peasants began to grow potatoes in the fields. In 1865, the area occupied by this crop amounted to 655 thousand hectares, in 1881 they exceeded 1.5 million hectares, in 1900 they reached 2.7, and in 1913 - 4.2 million hectares.

Potato yields, however, remained low. Thus, the average yield in the country for 1895-1915 was only 59 centners per hectare.

Before the revolution in Russia, experimental work with potatoes was insignificant: experimental fields were maintained mainly at the expense of private individuals, research was carried out by single amateurs. Only in 1918-1920 specialized institutions began to be created: the Kostroma Experimental Field, the Butylitskoye (Vladimir Region), the Polushkinskoe Sand and Potato Experimental Field and the Korenevskaya Experimental Potato Breeding Station (Moscow Region).

Hero of Socialist Labor Alexander Georgievich Lorkh (1889-1980) is rightfully considered the founder and organizer of breeding and seed-growing work on potatoes. On his initiative, the Korenevskaya experimental station was created, reorganized in 1930 into the Research Institute of Potato Farming, of which he remained the scientific director for a long time. A. G. Lorkh created the first Soviet varieties of potatoes - Korenevsky and Lorkh. The latter can rightly be considered the pride of the Soviet selection. It is characterized by high yield, good taste, keeping quality and plasticity. It supplanted most foreign varieties and until recently had no equal in the world in terms of prevalence. This variety in 1942 on the Krasny Perekop collective farm in the Mariinsky district of the Kemerovo region gave a world record harvest - 1331 centners per hectare.

Fundamental research on the systematics, selection, genetics, seed production and agricultural technology of potatoes was carried out by a prominent biologist, academician of the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hero of Socialist Labor Sergei Mikhailovich Bukasov. They developed cancer-resistant varieties of this plant.

The founder of breeding work on potatoes in Belarus, Hero of Socialist Labor, Academician of the All-Union Agricultural Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR Petr Ivanovich Alsmik - the author of well-known varieties - Loshitsky, Temp, Boiled, Belarusian starchy, Willow.

In 1986, the average potato yield in the USSR was 137 centners per hectare. But this is still lower than in some countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, England and Switzerland, where the climatic conditions for growing this crop are incomparably better. However, even today in our country there are quite a few collective farms and state farms that receive stable yields of 200-300 centners per hectare.

Currently, potatoes in Europe are grown on an area of ​​​​about 7 million hectares.

Potato in the life of a modern person is a familiar root crop, dishes from which are present on the table of an ordinary person almost daily. Relatively recently, potatoes were considered a rarity, and food made from them was a delicacy. We are so used to it that we don’t even think about the country in which potatoes were first grown.

Origin story

For the first time, potatoes were discovered by Europeans (military expedition) at the beginning of the 15th century in the territory of modern Peru (South America). It was on this territory that about 15 thousand years ago the Indians began the process of domesticating wild tubers. The find was called truffles because they looked very much like mushrooms. A little later, another traveler - Pedro Ciesa de Leon - discovered fleshy tubers in the valley of the Cauca River (the territory of modern Ecuador). The Indians called them "Papa". Pedro wrote about this in his book and called potatoes a special kind of peanuts, which, after boiling, become soft and taste like baked chestnuts. Each harvest was accompanied by a religious holiday, the Indians honored and respected the potato, because it was the main food, and the cultivation of potatoes was the main occupation. The Indians saw something divine in everything, so potato tubers became an object of worship.

It should be noted that wild potatoes are still found in Peru today, but cultivated varieties are already very different from it. Despite the fact that it began to be cultivated 15 thousand years ago, it became a fully-fledged agricultural crop about 5 thousand years ago.

The emergence of potatoes in Europe

Europe got to know the potato in 1565. The first were the Spaniards. They didn't like it, probably because they tried to eat it raw. In the same year, the tubers were brought to Italy and were nicknamed "tartufolli", for the same resemblance to truffles. The Germans changed the name to "tartofel", and then its usual name appeared - potatoes. A few years later, the tubers get to Belgium, a little later to France. In Germany, the potato did not take root immediately, it became especially in demand in 1758-1763, when the country was seized by famine caused by the war. People ate it and had no idea in which country they first began to grow potatoes.

Appearance in Russia

In our country, the appearance of potatoes is associated with the reformer tsar Peter I. Europe was his weakness, he dragged everything European into the country - customs, clothes, food. He also brought potatoes. There is an opinion that Peter sent the first bag of potatoes from Holland to Russia and ordered Count Sheremetyev to distribute it. Allegedly, the history of potatoes in our country began with this bag. At first, the Russians did not accept the new vegetable and were not interested in which country first began to grow potatoes. But the king threatened the peasants with the death penalty - so everyone began to grow it.

The merits of the root crop would have been forgotten if not for the hungry war years. It gradually introduced itself into the diet of the Russian people; by the middle of the 18th century, the peasants already called it “the second bread” and grew it on a voluntary basis. Root crops quickly adapted to the climate. Later, even the poorest people had potatoes on the table. Most Russian scientists wondered in which country they first began to grow potatoes, but expeditions at the beginning of the 20th century proved that his homeland was South America. At the time of the discovery of the central and northern parts of America, nothing was known about potatoes there.

Potato Dishes

In Peru, where they first began to grow potatoes, they prepare a traditional dish from it - chuño. Simply put, these are canned potatoes. This country has a hot climate, so residents need to save the harvest for the future. Chuno is stored for several years and nothing happens to him. The recipe for its preparation is extremely simple: the potatoes are first laid out on straw and left overnight. The frozen tubers are then crushed to remove excess moisture and dried in the sun.

In Russia, a huge number of dishes are prepared from potatoes, the most familiar of which is mashed potatoes. Potatoes are also baked, fried, boiled, steamed and baked whole tubers on charcoal. In addition, it is used to prepare stuffing for baking, add to salads, prepare all kinds of side dishes. Sometimes, when asked in which country they began to grow potatoes, I want to answer: “In Russia!”, It has taken root and become familiar so much.

It is difficult to find a person who does not like potatoes. Even those who do not eat it for the sake of maintaining harmony speak of this as a feat. It is not surprising that the vegetable itself was called the "second bread": it is equally appropriate on the festive table, in the working dining room and on a long hike. I can’t even believe that three hundred years ago, most of the population of Europe did not even know about the existence of potatoes. The history of the appearance of potatoes in Europe and Russia is worthy of an adventure novel.

In the 16th century, Spain conquered vast lands in South America. The conquistadors and the learned monks who came with them left the most interesting information about the life and way of life of the indigenous people of Peru and New Granada, which included the territory of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

The basis of the diet of South American Indians was maize, beans and strange tubers, which they called "dad". Gonzalo Ximénez de Quesada, conqueror and first governor of New Granada, described "papa" as a cross between truffles and turnips.

Wild potatoes grew almost throughout Peru and New Granada. But its tubers were too small and bitter in taste. More than a thousand years before the arrival of the conquistadors, the Incas learned to cultivate this crop and developed several varieties. The Indians valued the potato so much that they even worshiped it as a deity. And the unit of time was the interval required for cooking potatoes (about one hour).

The Peru Indians worshiped potatoes, they measured the time by the duration of its preparation.

Potatoes were eaten boiled "in their uniforms". In the foothills of the Andes, the climate is more severe than on the coast. Due to frequent frosts, it was difficult to store "daddy" (potatoes). Therefore, the Indians learned to prepare for the future "chuno" - dried potatoes. To do this, the tubers were specially frozen so that bitterness left them. After thawing, "daddy" was trampled under foot to separate the pulp from the peel. The peeled tubers were either immediately dried in the sun or first soaked in running water for two weeks and then laid out to dry.

Chunyo could be stored for several years, it was convenient to take it with you on a long journey. This advantage was appreciated by the Spaniards, who set off from the territory of New Granada in search of the legendary El Dorado. Cheap, filling, and well-preserved, chuño was the staple food of slaves in the Peruvian silver mines.

In the countries of South America, many dishes are still prepared on the basis of chuño: from main dishes to desserts.

Potato Adventures in Europe

Already in the first half of the 16th century, along with gold and silver from overseas colonies, potato tubers came to Spain. Here they were called the same as in their homeland: “dad”.

The Spaniards appreciated not only the taste, but also the beauty of the overseas guest, and therefore potatoes often grew in flower beds, where they pleased the eye with their flowers. Doctors widely used its diuretic and wound healing properties. In addition, it turned out to be a very effective cure for scurvy, which in those days was a real scourge of sailors. There is even a case when Emperor Charles V presented potatoes as a gift to the ill Pope.

At first, the Spaniards fell in love with potatoes for their beautiful flowering, they liked the taste later

The potato became very popular in Flanders, which was then a colony of Spain. At the end of the 16th century, the cook of the Bishop of Liege included several recipes for its preparation in his culinary treatise.

In Italy and Switzerland, the benefits of the potato were also quickly appreciated. By the way, it is to the Italians that we owe this name: they called the root crop, similar to truffle, “tartuffoli”.

But further across Europe, potatoes literally spread with fire and sword. In the German principalities, the peasants did not trust the authorities and refused to plant a new vegetable. The trouble is that potato berries are poisonous, and at first people who did not know that the root crop should be eaten were simply poisoned.

Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia got down to business. In 1651, the king issued a decree according to which those who refused to plant potatoes were to have their noses and ears chopped off. Since the words of the august botanist never disagreed with deeds, already in the second half of the 17th century, significant areas in Prussia were planted with potatoes.

Gallant France

In France, it has long been believed that root vegetables are the food of the lower classes. The nobility favored green vegetables. Potatoes were not grown in this country until the second half of the 18th century: the peasants did not want any innovations, and the gentlemen were not interested in overseas root crops.

The history of potatoes in France is associated with the name of the pharmacist Antoine-Auguste Parmentier. It rarely happens that in one person a disinterested love for people, a sharp mind, a remarkable practical acumen and an adventurous vein are combined.

Parmentier began his career as a military doctor. During the Seven Years' War, he was captured by the Germans, where he tried potatoes. Being an educated man, Monsieur Parmentier immediately realized that the potato was able to save the peasants from hunger, which was inevitable in the event of a crop failure. It only remained to convince of this those whom the master was going to save.

Parmentier began to solve the problem in stages. Since the pharmacist had access to the palace, he persuaded King Louis XVI to go to the ball by pinning a bouquet of potato flowers to his dress uniform. Queen Marie Antoinette, a former trendsetter, wove the same flowers into her hair.

Less than a year later, every self-respecting noble family acquired its own potato bed, where the queen's favorite flowers grew. That's just a flower bed - not a garden bed. In order to transplant potatoes into French beds, Parmentier used an even more original technique. He arranged a dinner for which he invited the most famous scientists of his time (many of them considered potatoes, at least, inedible).
The royal pharmacist treated his guests to a wonderful meal, and then announced that the dishes were prepared from that very dubious root vegetable.

But you can't invite all the French peasants to dinner. In 1787, Parmentier asked the king for a plot of arable land in the vicinity of Paris and a company of soldiers to guard the potato plantations. At the same time, the master announced that anyone who steals a valuable plant will be executed.

All day the soldiers guarded the potato field, and at night they went to the barracks. Needless to say, all the potatoes were dug up and stolen in the shortest possible time?

Parmentier went down in history as the author of a book on the benefits of potatoes. In France, two monuments were erected to Master Parmentier: in Montdidier (in the homeland of the scientist) and near Paris, on the site of the first potato field. On the pedestal of the monument in Montdidier is carved: "To the Benefactor of Mankind".

Monument to Parmentier in Montdidier

pirate loot

In the 16th century, England was just contesting the crown of the "Mistress of the Seas" from the decrepit, but still powerful Spain. The famous corsair of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake, became famous not only for traveling around the world, but also for raids on Spanish silver mines in the New World. In 1585, returning from one such raid, he took on board the English, who were unsuccessfully trying to establish a colony in what is now North Carolina. With them they brought tubers "papa", or "poteitos".

Francis Drake - the pirate who made the potato known in England

The territory of the British Isles is small, and there is little fertile land, and therefore famine was a frequent guest in the homes of farmers and townspeople. Things were even worse in Ireland, which the English masters mercilessly plundered.

Potatoes have become a real salvation for the common people in England and Ireland. In Ireland, it is still one of the main cultures. The locals even have a proverb: "Love and potatoes are two things that are not to be trifled with."

History of potatoes in Russia

Emperor Peter I, having visited Holland, brought a sack of potatoes from there. The tsar was firmly convinced that this root crop had a great future in Russia. An overseas vegetable was planted in the Pharmaceutical Garden, but things didn’t go any further: the tsar had no time for botanical studies, and the peasants in Russia were not much different from foreign ones in their mindset and character.

After the death of Peter I, the rulers of the state had no time for the popularization of potatoes. Although it is known that already under Elizabeth, potatoes were a frequent guest both on the royal table and on the tables of nobles. Vorontsov, Hannibal, Bruce grew potatoes on their estates.

The common people, however, did not inflame with love for potatoes. As in Germany, there were rumors about the poisonousness of the vegetable. In addition, in German, "kraft teufel" means "damn power." In an Orthodox country, a root crop with this name caused hostility.

A special contribution to the selection and distribution of potatoes was made by the famous botanist and breeder A.T. Bolotov. On his experimental plot, he received record yields even for today. A.T. Bolotov wrote several works on the properties of potatoes, and he published the first of his articles in 1770, much earlier than Parmentier.

In 1839, during the reign of Nicholas I, there was a severe shortage of crops in the country, followed by famine. The government has taken drastic measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. As usual, fortunately the people were driven with a club. The emperor ordered that potatoes be planted in all provinces.

In the Moscow province, state peasants were ordered to grow potatoes at the rate of 4 measures (105 liters) per person, and they had to work for free. In the Krasnoyarsk province, those who did not want to plant potatoes were sent to hard labor to build the Bobruisk fortress. Potato riots broke out in the country, which were brutally suppressed. However, since then, the potato has really become the “second bread”.

The peasants resisted the new vegetable as best they could, potato riots were commonplace

In the middle of the 19th century, many Russian scientists were engaged in potato breeding, in particular, E.A. Grachev. It is to him that we should be grateful for the variety “Early Rose” (“American”) known to most gardeners.

In the 1920s, academician N.I. Vavilov became interested in the history of the origin of potatoes. The government of a state that had not yet recovered from the horrors of the Civil War found funds to send an expedition to Peru in search of wild potatoes. As a result, completely new species of this plant were found, and Soviet breeders managed to develop very productive and disease-resistant varieties. So, the famous breeder A.G. Lorch created the Lorch variety, the yield of which, subject to a certain growing technology, is more than a ton per hundred square meters.

Today, potatoes are almost the main basis of the Russian table. But not so long ago, just some 300 years ago, they did not eat it in Russia. How did the Slavs live without potatoes?

Potatoes appeared in Russian cuisine only at the beginning of the 18th century thanks to Peter the Great. But potatoes began to spread among all segments of the population only in the reign of Catherine. And now it is already difficult to imagine what our ancestors ate, if not fried potatoes or mashed potatoes. How could they even live without this root crop?

Lenten table

One of the main features of Russian cuisine is the division into lean and modest. About 200 days a year in the Russian Orthodox calendar fall on Lenten days. This means: no meat, no milk and no eggs. Only vegetable food and on some days - fish. Seems sparse and bad? Not at all. Lenten table was distinguished by richness and abundance, a huge variety of dishes. Lenten tables of peasants and rather wealthy people in those days did not differ much: the same cabbage soup, cereals, vegetables, mushrooms. The only difference was that it was difficult for residents who did not live near the reservoir to get fresh fish for the table. So the fish table in the villages was rare, but those who had money could call it themselves.

The main products of Russian cuisine

Approximately such an assortment was available in the villages, but it must be borne in mind that meat was eaten extremely rarely, usually this happened in the fall or in the winter meat-eater, before Maslenitsa.
Vegetables: turnips, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, beets, carrots, rutabagas, pumpkins,
Kashi: oatmeal, buckwheat, pearl barley, wheat, millet, wheat, barley.
Bread: mostly rye, but there was also wheat, more expensive and rare.
Mushrooms
Dairy products: raw milk, sour cream, curdled milk, cottage cheese
Baking: pies, pies, kulebyaks, sikas, bagels, sweet pastries.
Fish, game, livestock meat.
Seasonings: onion, garlic, horseradish, dill, parsley, cloves, bay leaf, black pepper.
Fruits: apples, pears, plums
Berries: cherry, lingonberry, viburnum, cranberry, cloudberry, stone fruit, blackthorn
Nuts and seeds

Festive table

The boyar table, and the table of wealthy townspeople, was distinguished by rare abundance. In the 17th century, the number of dishes increased, the tables, both lean and fast, became more and more diverse. Any big meal already included more than 5-6 meals:

Hot (soup, stew, soup);
cold (okroshka, botvinya, jelly, jellied fish, corned beef);
roast (meat, poultry);
body (boiled or fried hot fish);
savory pies,
kulebyaka; porridge (sometimes it was served with cabbage soup);
cake (sweet pies, pies);
snacks (sweets for tea, candied fruit, etc.).

Alexander Nechvolodov in his book “Tales of the Russian Land” describes the boyar feast and admires its wealth: “After vodka, they started snacks, of which there were a great many; on fast days, sauerkraut, various kinds of mushrooms and all kinds of fish were served, ranging from caviar and salmon to steam sterlet, whitefish and various fried fish. With a snack, borsch botvinya was also supposed to be served.

Then they moved on to the hot soup, which was also served with the most varied preparations - red and black, pike, sturgeon, crucian carp, national team, with saffron, and so on. Other dishes prepared from salmon with lemon, white salmon with plums, sterlet with cucumbers, and so on were served right there.

Then they were served to each ear, with seasoning, often baked in the form of various kinds of animals, also pies cooked in nut or hemp oil with all kinds of fillings.

After the fish soup followed: "salted" or "salted", any fresh fish that came from various parts of the state, and always under the "zvar" (sauce), with horseradish, garlic and mustard.

The dinner ended with the serving of "bread": various kinds of cookies, donuts, pies with cinnamon, poppy seeds, raisins, etc.

All apart

The first thing that was thrown to foreign guests if they got to a Russian feast was an abundance of dishes, no matter if it was a fast day or a fast one. The fact is that all vegetables, and indeed all products, were served separately. Fish could be baked, fried or boiled, but there was only one kind of fish on one dish. Mushrooms were salted separately, milk mushrooms, white mushrooms, butter mushrooms were served separately ... Salads were one (!) Vegetable, and not at all a mixture of vegetables. Any vegetable could be served fried or boiled.

Hot dishes are also prepared according to the same principle: birds are baked separately, separate pieces of meat are stewed.

The old Russian cuisine did not know what finely chopped and mixed salads were, as well as various finely chopped roasts and meat azu. There were also no cutlets, sausages and sausages. Everything finely chopped, chopped into minced meat appeared much later.

Stews and soups

In the 17th century, the culinary direction that is responsible for soups and other liquid dishes finally took shape. Pickles, hodgepodges, hangovers appeared. They were added to the friendly family of soups that stood on Russian tables: stew, cabbage soup, fish soup (usually from one kind of fish, so the principle of “everything separately” was respected).

What else appeared in the 17th century

In general, this century is the time of new products and interesting products in Russian cuisine. Tea is imported to Russia. In the second half of the 17th century, sugar appeared and the assortment of sweet dishes expanded: candied fruits, jams, sweets, candies. Finally, lemons appear, which are beginning to be added to tea, as well as to rich soups with a hangover.

Finally, during these years, the influence of Tatar cuisine was very strong. Therefore, dishes made from unleavened dough have become very popular: noodles, dumplings, dumplings.

When did the potato appear

Everyone knows that potatoes appeared in Russia in the 18th century thanks to Peter the Great, who brought seed potatoes from Holland. But the overseas curiosity was available only to rich people and for a long time potatoes remained a delicacy for the aristocracy.

The widespread use of potatoes began in 1765, when, after the decree of Catherine II, batches of seed potatoes were brought to Russia. It was distributed almost by force: the peasant population did not accept the new culture, because they considered it poisonous (a wave of poisoning with poisonous potatoes swept across Russia, since at first the peasants did not understand that it was necessary to eat root crops and ate tops). The potato took root for a long time and was difficult, even in the 19th century it was called the "devil's apple" and refused to be planted. As a result, a wave of “potato riots” swept across Russia, and in the middle of the 19th century, Nicholas I was still able to massively introduce potatoes into peasant gardens. And by the beginning of the 20th century, it was already considered a second bread.