Potato, also known as potato, is the "king of cost-effectiveness" in the food industry. This is not only because of its "integration of food and rice" identity, which makes people easily full, but also because of its asexual reproduction characteristics, it is easy to plant and produce and affordable.
web 0 potatoes with simple appearance are like the "iron idiot" in the food industry © Photo Network
Don’t look at its rustic atmosphere, it is actually a species that has come from across the ocean. After "settling" in China for hundreds of years, it has long been spread all over the country, and has gradually become a treasure food that is loved by the people of the whole country. Such "politeness" may have been something it did not expect. So the question is, how many types of potatoes are eaten in China?
Potatoes have many names in China, including Potato , Yam egg , Potato , etc. Among them, the name of "potato" still retains a "life clue", and the word "foreign" points out the past of its imported products.
Potatoes are species that have traveled from South America. ©Photo.com
About 8000 BC to 5000 BC . Today, Han Indians in Peru have "domesticated" wild potatoes and planted the earliest artificially grown varieties of potatoes today. Afterwards, the north of Chile, the west of Argentina, and the south of Ecuador became the first areas for potato transmission.
Potatoes are delicious hidden in the ground ©Photo.com
between 1525 and 1543. When the former Spanish discovered Peru and conquered the local area, potatoes were introduced to the European continent , and then they had the earliest written records related to it so far in the "General History of the Incas" published in 1552.
Most of the earliest potatoes in South America were purple-skinned ©Photo.com
As for the time and path for potatoes to enter China, there has been no fixed number. However, from the deeds of Sino-foreign exchanges and related documents, it can be inferred that potatoes have a history of at least 400 years in China , that is, about wanli period in the Ming Dynasty (16th-17th century) followed the Europeans .
Xu Guangqi's "Complete Book of Agricultural Affairs" once stated: "It grows like leaves and beans, the roots are round as chicken eggs, and the inside is white and yellow..." © Photo Network
Potatoes were once regarded as food for common people in Europe, but after "settling in" China, potatoes were controlled by the royal family because they were foreign species and their seeds were controlled by the royal family and planted in the royal vegetable fields in the capital, and once became a favorite delicacy of the royal family. Until during the Qing Dynasty, the royal vegetable supply system was banned, potato seeds were sent to the people, and with population migration, potato began to spread to various places. Among them, North China, mainly Hebei and Shanxi, became the "potato source" for China to grow potatoes.
Potato planting site ©Photo.com
After the potatoes continued to spread, in Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and other places, and by , it gradually spread across the country in . Twenty or thirty years later, facing the surge in population, potatoes, which are in the period of planting and development, have saved many lives with the calories and nutrition they can provide to people. By the 1980s and 1990s, the period of large-scale production was ushered in , and the planting scale further expanded, laying the foundation for China to become a potato country. To date, China has a vast area of potatoes, abundant production, and more and more varieties, and has become a big potato country.
potatoes have saved countless people in the famine era. ©Photo.com
As a crop of the Solanaceae crop, the potatoes are very adaptable. At present, China's potato planting has formed a regional pattern, with the national planting area exceeding 70 million mu, ranking first in the world. In addition, it has a special liking for high-altitude areas, so it has formed two major production areas with a planting area of 87% in the northwest and southwest regions. Among them, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan are the core production areas.
Of course, it is also planted in other regions in the Northeast, Central Plains, and the southern region. Production in various places forms a "mound and tenon mosaic model" to ensure that people in all regions have potatoes to eat all seasons.
Chinese potato incomplete map © Huaxia Fengwu
The territory of the northwest always gives people a vast feeling, and the potato planting area here is also very vast. There are alpine grasslands here, and most areas are in temperate continental climate zones. They are sunny, have sufficient light, have large temperature differences between day and night, and have a good soil, which provides good natural conditions for potato growth.
potato flowers ©Photo Network
. In Wuchuan County , 210 kilometers away from the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hulunbuir, the potatoes have been planted here for more than a hundred years. Because they are located in the northern foot of Yinshan , the temperature, light and temperature difference make it have a good taste and appearance here. . It has not only become a special food for the Olympics, but also a "national standard" product. Also having the halo of "national standard" is Damao potatoes from Baotou , which are all created by similar geographical conditions in the two places.
Wuchuan potatoes ©Photo source network
Ulanqab , which has the reputation of " Chinese potato capital ", , after all, 80% of the arable land in the country is used to plant potatoes, the production skin is smooth, large and plump, and the starch content is high. Locals usually use to stew mutton , or steam or roast it, and they will also make yogurt cake , etc. There are many ways to eat it.
Ulanqab potato planting base ©Photo source network
There are quite a way to eat it that represents the northwest. "Yam Fish Fish" (locals call potatoes "yam eggs"). This is actually a local specialty snack that combines potatoes and buckwheat noodles. It is named because it looks like a small fish. It can be eaten with soup, cold dishes, and dipped in sauce.
Yam Fish ©Photo source network
In addition, there is a snack called Potato rub is also a product of the combination of potatoes and pasta. Cut the potatoes into shreds, sprinkle them with flour and mix well, steam them in a tray, and then add seasonings to stir-fry them. They have a unique northwest flavor and are mainly popular in Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi and other regions.
Potato wipe ©Photo source network
Speaking of the "Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia" area, the natural conditions of high-altitude mountainous areas here make it one of the core potato production areas in the country, and have outstanding representatives in their respective production areas.
elliptical, with few buds and soft taste, Dingbian potatoes are considered to be the representative of Yulin, Shaanxi, and the potato feast is the respect of locals. In Dingxi County, Gansu, potatoes began to grow here 200 years ago, and now it has become the largest detoxified potato planting base in the country. The Dingxi potato produced here has become the "brand" product of the province. The potato mingling made with it is smooth and dense; there is also this snack in Ningxia. Guyuan County in the south here has a natural condition that potatoes like because of Liupanshan , so Guyuan potatoes with red skin, yellow flesh, soft and fragrant sand were born.
A bowl of "stir-frying balls" are indispensable for fragrant leeks and spicy chili oil. ©Photo source network
In addition, some areas in Qinghai and Xinjiang have also cultivated representative potatoes with high starch content based on their similar climate and soil conditions. For example, with yellow skin and yellow hearts, potato with white skin and white meat, and Qitai white potato . It is not only suitable for direct cooking, but also very suitable for making potato powder .
North China region has a historical advantage and has become the earliest potato cultivation area in China since during the Ming Dynasty. Today, the potato cultivation here is mainly led by Hebei and Shanxi.
Potatoes just dug out of the soil © Photo Network
When it comes to potatoes in Hebei, they naturally can't avoid Zhangjiakou . In the minds of local people, a round and plump potato is one of the important products of their longing for their hometown. Especially in Zhangbei County , the altitude, cool climate, day and night temperature difference, sunshine duration and sandy soil brought by the location advantage, make the soft and sweet entrance Zhangbei Potato famous. At the same time, Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences has established the Potato Research Institute since 1950, just to cultivate better potatoes using professional methods.
Zhangbei County potato farmers are busy harvesting potatoes ©Photo source network
Shanxi, which is posted as a "jealous province", may be unexpected. This has always been the main production base of potatoes in China. The planting area is mainly Jinzhong area , such as Luliang Lanxian potato and Xinzhou Zhai potato .
Among them, it is not difficult to see the love of potatoes in Luliang people from three meals. They are made in different ways throughout the day. However, it is more regional to look at " fried " , a special pasta made from potatoes. If you are curious, you can only unlock this delicacy when you go to the local area.
Fried bad, also known as fried calyx. "Callis" is another name for potatoes in some parts of Shanxi ©Photo source network
Of course, whether it is eating potatoes or growing potatoes, the Northeast region cannot be ignored. stewed potatoes with beans, stewed potatoes, egg sauce , mashed potatoes with rice buns ... Strong northeastern wind. As an area with high latitude, low temperature, flat terrain, deep soil and fertile soil, the potatoes grown - gram mountain potato in Heilongjiang, in Jilin, Baicheng potato in Liaoning, in Shenyang small potato in Liaoning - natural quality and good flavor.
Potatoes with beans ©Photo source network
The love of potatoes among people in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan can be seen from the various ways to eat them. Especially in the Yunnan-Guizhou area, potatoes are called potatoes . Various ways to eat potatoes are either exposed to the streets, living in the alleys, or hiding in restaurants. Potatoes are almost everywhere. For example, Guizhou's potato cake , egg-packed potatoes, pot-baked potatoes, braised potatoes, potato silk cakes, etc., Yunnan's fried potato , roasted potatoes, old-fashioned potatoes, paste cake bait blocks... are also not inferior.
Guiyang Potato Baba ©Photo source network
Western Sichuan and Yunnan-Guizhou region are located in the plateau, with many mountains and large temperature differences. The high and cold environment is exactly what potatoes love , so this is China's second largest core potato production area . The potatoes produced are very excellent in terms of quality and taste. Therefore, the potatoes here have long been uneasy about the status quo and have started to "compete" for online traffic with their "glorious colors".
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未口用后 ©Photo source network
Red skin, purple skin, black skin, purple flesh, red meat, flower-colored meat, colorful cloud-shaped meat... These " colored potato " are simply eye-opening. In Liangshan area, Sichuan, the popularity of Liangshan potato has almost been snatched by the purple Puge alpine umber potato , there are 4 umber potato in Liupanshui, Guizhou, and colorful potatoes in Huize, Yunnan.
have appeared on the Internet in recent years because of their unique colors, instantly flooding ordinary potatoes such as Chongqing's Wulong Alpine Potato and Tibet's Emma Potato , which have no traffic.
colored potatoes with yellow skin and purple hearts are derived from the anthocyanins in the body. ©TuChong Creative
However, although these "rainbow potatoes" are labeled as "Internet celebrity", their own quality and taste are no different from those of ordinary potatoes. They are also soft and glutinous in texture and have a strong aroma. This is simply a paradise for potato lovers.
fried potatoes on the streets of Kunming, Yunnan ©Photo source network
Although potatoes are widely distributed, they are concentrated in the transition zones of the second and third steps ( Daxinganling , Taihang Mountain , Wushan , Xuefeng Mountain), so in the Central Plains and Southeast regions, potatoes are not the main planted vegetable species. However, in order to distinguish the harvest season between September and November of other major producing areas, the climate characteristics of temperate and subtropical monsoon climate zones here mainly fills the "window period" of potato harvest in February, March, May and June.
Potatoes in the southern production areas are mainly for fresh food and export. © Photo Network
Among them, the potato stars in the southeast area must be given to the Jiaohe Potatoes in Gaomi, Weifang, Shandong. It has a large round, yellow skin and yellow meat, and it tastes crisp and refreshing. It is very suitable for stir-frying or cold stir-frying. A dish of spicy and sour potato shredded is a proof of regional delicacy.
Jiaohe Potato ©Photo source network
This method of eating seems to be homely but is mainly concentrated in the area north of Huaihe . It is also common in Henan. from Suiyang, Shangqiu, Shangqiu, Suiyang, Guocun Potato although flat and round, it is very large. After shredding, stir-frying in vegetarian water or blanching it in cold water, you can still feel the crispy and soft taste.
Also has large round squares, including , Anhui Fuyang, Anhui, Jieshou potato , , Jiangxi, Huaiyushan potato , and , Huizhou, Guangdong, Huidong potato , respectively. They are the main force in the production of potatoes in their respective provinces.
Ningbo roasted potatoes ©Photo source network
In sharp contrast to it is small potatoes . Huchen potatoes are small and round potatoes. The popular way to eat them locally is roasted potatoes. From the street to the home, salt-grilled and kale roasted, with a particularly good flavor. Similarly, Hubei's Enshi potato is also a small potato. The favorite thing locals love is " kang potato ", a cooking technique that is close to fried. It also uses local squeezed pepper and stir-fried, which is spicy and delicious.
squeezed pepper fried potato slices ©Photo source network
This treasure gift from the underground is not very good-looking, but nutritious and delicious. There are different ways to eat it in different regions, especially in the collision with different ingredients, cooking skills and eating habits, creating colorful and unique snacks and delicacies, and gaining such high popularity. This may be the best expression of people's love for it.
Topic discussion in this issue: What is your favorite potato food?
References:
[1] Zhai Qianxiang, "A preliminary exploration of the era of potato introduction in my country", 2001.
[2] Chen Guichao, "The Legend of Potato - How It Becomes the World Food", 2014.
[3] Cai Xingkui, Xie Conghua , "China's Potato Development History, Breeding Status and Development Suggestions", 2016.
[4]Nong Xiaofeng, "2022 China Potato Industry Data Analysis Brief", 2022.
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