Potato or Potatoe? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Andes

Inhabitants of the Altiplano (southern Peru and northern Bolivia) already cultivated potatoes from 8000 to 5000 BCE. Nowadays there are about 4,000 different types of potatoes. Beside potatoes the conquistadors also brought pineapples, papaya, peanuts, tomatoes, cacao, paprika, avocados and vanilla from the New World. Imagine how limited our diet would be without all those ingredients.

Answer: False

The Spaniards didn't realise the potential value of the potato at all. It was only used in the Americas as cattle feed or as food for the natives who worked as slave labourers in the mines. In Europe potatoes weren't eaten on a large scale until the end of the 18th century.

Answer: False

Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very different. The sweet potato belongs to the convolvulaceae or morning glory family. It is the only edible plant in the morning glory family. The potato on the other hand is of the nightshade family which includes several other common foods such as tomatoes, chili peppers and eggplants.

Some claim that potatoes were already eaten in Spain as early as 1577. Teresa de Avila, a nun who was later canonised, is said to have cultivated potatoes for the poor and the sick. This is very unlikely because potatoes weren't eaten on a large scale in Spain before late 18th Century. It is more likely that she cultivated the sweet potato instead and later historians confused them with potatoes. The Spanish words for potato (patata) and sweet potato (batata) are very similar.

Answer: Antoine-Augustin Parmentier

During the Seven Years' War Parmentier worked as a pharmacist in the French army, and was taken prisoner by the Prussians. In jail they gave him a soup which kept him strong and healthy. He found out that the soup contained potatoes. This gave him the idea to introduce potatoes in France. Many of his high-society friends were sceptical so Parmentier invented a whole range of dishes containing potatoes. Today there are still a number of dishes that carry the name Parmentier suggesting they contain potatoes, such as 'Potage Parmentier' (leek and potato soup) and 'Hachis Parmentier' (the French version of cottage pie).

The three wrong answers are all former presidents of France.

Answer: Gratin Dauphinois

Gratin Dauphinois was invented in the 1780s by Duke Charles-Henri de Clermont-Tonnerre. At first Gratin Dauphinois only contained sliced potatoes, cream and a little garlic. Later the world famous chef Auguste Escoffier added milk, cheese and eggs and turned it into a much loved classic dish.

Bouillabaisse is fish soup, cassoulet is a stew based on meat and white beans, and andouillettes are sausages containing pig intestines.

Answer: Ireland

It is unknown how the 'phytophthora infestans', or potato blight as it is more commonly known, came to Europe but when it was introduced it spread rapidly. By August 1845 it had spread all over northern and central Europe. Potatoes infected with the blight show a white fungus on the outside, and are black and mushy on the inside.

In the early 19th Century there had been a population boom in Ireland, and by 1845 Ireland had a population of about 8 million. The diet of half of them, especially the poor, consisted almost entirely of potatoes. Most potatoes grown in Ireland were of the same variety, the Irish lumper, what made the crops more vulnerable for disease. During the whole famine food exports from Ireland continued or even increased.

By the end of the famine about one million people had died, and another million had immigrated. This meant a population decrease between 20 to 25 % in a decade. The famine contributed to the deterioration of the relations between Ireland and the UK, what eventually led to the independence of Ireland in the 20th Century.

Answer: Belgium

Many people in Belgium cringe when they hear the term 'French fries'. Most Belgians are convinced that French fries are in fact a Belgian invention.

So where do French fries come from? One theory says that American soldiers who were stationed in Belgium during WWI ate a lot of fries and liked it so much they kept eating them after they had returned to the USA. They called them 'French fries' because many Belgians speak French and French was the only language used in the Belgian army then. This theory is wrong! The term 'French fried potatoes' was already used in an American cookery book in 1856, long before WWI started.

A second theory says that the term is derived from the verb 'to french', which means a specific way of cutting vegetables. This theory is wrong, too. The verb is used in that sense only since the 1940s.

A third theory says that French fries were invented by farmers who lived alongside the river Meuse in the 1680s. They caught small fish as an addition to their diet and fried them in grease. During winter, when the Meuse was frozen, they made fish-shaped slices from potatoes. This is a nice story but it is an urban legend. Grease was way too expensive at that time for poor farmers to use in large quantities.

So even today it is not known with certainty where French fries originate, but we do know that the first Belgian 'friture' (kiosk or van that serves French fries) opened at a fair in Liege in 1838. It was opened by Fritz Krieger and it was a huge success. However, Fritz Krieger was a German. Krieger claimed to have learned how to make French fries in Paris. We also know that there were fritures in Paris in the early 19th Century. So, reluctantly, I have to admit that French fries may be French after all.

But why do Belgians claim it? Because French fries are such an important part of Belgian culture. There's a 'frietkot' (friture) in almost every Belgian street. In fact, there are ten times more fritures in Belgium than in France. Steak with fries and mussels with fries are classic Belgian dishes. When a Belgian returns from holiday abroad, the first thing he does after crossing the border is stop at a friture. We also pride ourselves on making the best fries in the world. So should we now say 'Belgian fries' instead of 'French fries'? Who's to say, but I think it's good idea. The French already have their frog legs and snails, so why not let us have our fries?

Answer: Belarus

Belarus is number one on the list of potato consumers but Russia and other former members of the USSR also score high. The reason for this is that the tsars encouraged the population to grow potatoes because they were cheap and easy to cultivate. The Soviets later adopted this policy in their collective farms. Also, many Russians make illegal vodka from potatoes.

Many typical Belarusian dishes are based on potatoes, such as draniki (potato biscuits with meat or mushroom filling) or babka (meat pie with potatoes, onions and eggs).

China is the biggest producer of potatoes and also has the highest total consumption (37 kg/82 lb per capita). Ghana has the lowest potato consumption per capita. All figures are based on 2009 statistics.

Answer: A gene bank that stores the genetic material of over 4,000 potato varieties

Storing the genetic material of all known potato varieties is only one purpose of the CIP (Centro Internacional de la Papa). The main goal is breeding a potato that can withstand extreme meteorological circumstances and is immune to potato diseases. This way they want to contribute to fighting world hunger and prepare for the consequences of global warming in developing countries.

Answer: Dan Quayle

In June, 1992 Vice President Dan Quayle visited the Munoz Rivera School in Trenton to talk to people involved with the Weed and Seed program (anti-drug education). He was asked to assist the students in a spelling bee, reading out the words from contest cards. One of the students was asked to spell 'potato' and spelled it correctly. Quayle told the student he had made a mistake and that he should add an 'e'.

The student politely complied and changed potato to 'potatoe'. Quayle's blunder made international headlines, and he was remorselessly mocked in the following weeks.

He said the word was misspelled on the contest card and he just went by it, caught off guard. Five months after the 'potato incident' Quayle and President Bush Sr were voted out of office, but whether the incident had anything to do with that I can't tell you.