Just as it affected the development of Europe in the 19

Potatoes
When Spanish explorers travelled deep into the New World, they discovered many things. None was as important as the potato. Today potatoes are found on menus everywhere in the world. It's hard to believe that this vegetable was only brought to Europe and then later to Asia just 500 years ago.
When we think of a potato we are usually thinking of the part that grows below the ground — the tuber. The average person can probably identify several different types of potatoes, grown locally but amazingly there are about 5,000 varieties worldwide. Potatoes come in many different colors, including orange, purple and pink, and in many sizes.
When the Spanish first brought potatoes to Europe from the Americas, people were suspicious of the ugly tuber. But soon the local farmers changed their minds, and from Ireland to France and then to Russia, potatoes became an important crop. In the 19^th century, the European population grew quickly, and one reason is because of the potato, which became the primary food for many poor farmers and their families.
Potatoes are rich in many vitamins and minerals. In fact, a person could survive eating only potatoes and occasionally milk and butter (which have vitamins A and D, which potatoes don't have). Potatoes are prepared in an almost infinite number of ways, including mashed, fried, baked, boiled, and steamed. Cooks put them in pancakes, pies, stews, soups, and casseroles.
Potatoes can grow almost anywhere as long as the soil is cool and moist enough for the tubers to store their key ingredient — starch. For this reason, they have become a popular agricultural crop almost everywhere they have travelled. However, potatoes do not survive very well in storage, certainly not as well as grains like rice and wheat which can be stored for years. Potatoes are usually grown and consumed locally.
Just as it affected the development of Europe in the 19^th century, the potato is now an important ingredient in the future of developing countries. The United Nations declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato to build awareness of the importance of this crop in areas like China, India and Africa.

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