THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 29, 1994 TAG: 9409270035
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO FLAVOR
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
A BIOGRAPHY of the potato - white or sweet - would make for good reading.
Adventure, tragedy, controversy, even romance, fill the life story of these vegetables, which have been around since prehistoric times.
A humble-looking food that grows underground and is often still clotted with dirt when it arrives at market, the white potato has noble attributes.
In the early Americas, when overhunting by prehistoric man combined with climatic changes to bring about the extermination of many species of game, the potato likely was one of the root vegetables that saved the first inhabitants from starvation, according to the book ``Food in History'' by Reay Tannahill (Stein and Day, 1973).
Thousands of years later, explorers carried the potato, along with other treasures from the New World, back to Europe, where it was hailed as a fashionable and nutritious food by some, shunned by others as a poison that could cause leprosy. This was just one of many times the potato has received mixed reviews in its long culinary career.
The potato took the part of both hero and villain in Ireland. In the 1580s, when the vegetable was introduced there, the peasants were thrilled. Here was a crop that could remain safely hidden in the earth when the weather was inclement or when battle raged above ground. A small plot could produce enough to feed a large family.
The potato seemed the ideal food for the masses, until one month in 1845, when potato plants all over Europe began to wilt and rot. The resulting famine in Ireland gave way to an epidemic of scurvy, induced by lack of vitamin C that potatoes had supplied, and to widespread emigration: Many of the Irish who survived the famine left their homeland to resettle in England and the United States.
The lowly potato had the power to change the course of history.
Fast-forward to mid-20th century America, where controversy continued to surround the potato. In the 1971 edition of ``Joy of Cooking'' (Bobbs-Merrill), several pages of potato recipes are preceded by this lament: ``In recent years, potatoes have been maligned as too caloric - although they are only equal to the same-sized apple or a baking-powder biscuit. They are full of . . . vitamins, plus many minerals and even some high-class protein. Do include them regularly in the diet. . . ''
We do.
Each American, according to statistics provided by the National Potato Board in Denver, ate 133.4 pounds of potatoes in 1992, about 1/3 pound of potatoes per person per day.
Happily, we don't have to feel guilty about our potato habit anymore. Endorsed by nutritionists as a wholesome food, the potato proudly claims a position on the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid as a vegetable rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamin C and potassium. It contains no fat, no cholesterol, and just trace amounts of sodium.
Until we douse it with butter, sour cream, cheese and bacon bits. And then it moves its way up to the evil penthouse position on the pyramid, where fats and oils reside.
When a character in the 1990 movie ``Eating'' said, ``I'm still looking for a man who could excite me as much as a baked potato,'' no doubt she wasn't referring to an unadorned potato. The line suggests the addictive nature of some potato preparations.
But even a character with this type of passion can change, according to Doris Trant, a home economist with the Cooperative Extension Service in Virginia Beach. In an era when french fries and baked-potato bars have become even more American than apple pie, ``we need to modify cooking techniques and to change our taste buds,'' Trant said.
``It takes about three months to change your tastes. But the bonus is that if you use parsley and herbs in place of butter and oil, the potato returns to its status as a low-calorie food high in nutrition.'' ON THE SWEET SIDE
The same compliment can be paid to the sweet potato, whose history is just as long if not as checkered as that of the white potato. Low in calories with no cholesterol and a negligible amount of fat, high in fiber and complex carbohydrates and an extremely good source of vitamin A, the sweet potato also had humble beginnings centuries ago in the Americas. Explorers of the New World introduced it to Europe, Asia and Africa.
The most controversial issue surrounding the sweet potato seems to be the difference between it and a yam. Randy Brittain, a produce buyer with Farm Fresh grocery stores in Norfolk, explained: ``Every sweet potato grown in the United States is technically a sweet potato,'' he said. ``A true yam is grown only in the tropics, such as South American and Caribbean countries. A yam is larger and starchier and has a bitter taste compared to the sweet potato. You'll probably find a yam only in an exotic or imported-section of a produce department.''
While the sweet potato was a staple in primitive cultures, we now we know that the president of at least one country eats sweet potatoes regularly.
But Bill Clinton can't even eat sweet potatoes in peace. He has come under fire from nutritionists because his family recipe for sweet potato casserole uses a pound of sugar.
Following are some healthful recipes using sweet and white potatoes. ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff color photos
A comfort food gets a new look and taste in Chicken Pie With Sweet
Potato Crust.
by CNB