1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: the show, fellow Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so 3 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:33,919 Speaker 1: much for tuning in. Let's hear it for the man, 4 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: the myth, the legend, the guy I almost called super 5 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:43,919 Speaker 1: producer Max Taters Williams. Sorry, there's a guy from Daly's 6 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: eyegeist who goes by Tater's O'Brien. 7 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 2: I don't know guys know this, but potatoes, I can 8 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 2: have them on the with the condition condition one of 9 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 2: the seven. 10 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 3: Foods, one of the seven. 11 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: There's a pantheon. We are joined by none other that 12 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: not only my favorite co host, but also our research 13 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: associate for today's episode, which will be part of a series, 14 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: mister Noel Brown. 15 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's me and Apollo, the dog who lent a 16 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,759 Speaker 3: paw in this potato deep dive which went a lot 17 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 3: deeper than I thought. It was your Ben Ben Bowlin. 18 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: We've got mister Jackpots over here, who has quieted down 19 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: because Jackpots can't wait to explore nol. What you and 20 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: I agreed will be part of a continuing series. 21 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 3: Well, a series of two likely, but you know who knows. 22 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 3: I was kind of surprised at how deep the what 23 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 3: do you got it? The potato hole went all the 24 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 3: way down to the core of the earth. Potatoes run 25 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 3: deep in this one and they're delicious too, and you know, 26 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 3: sometimes humble. They're often referred to as a humble potato, 27 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 3: which I think is selling them a little short. Frankly, 28 00:01:58,120 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 3: I guess maybe it comes from the fact that they're 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 3: not exactly the prettiest things to look at, which entered 30 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 3: into some of the suspicion that surrounded the early days 31 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 3: of potatoes in the Western world. But you know, whether 32 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 3: you've enjoyed a delicious French fry with ketchup or mayonnaise 33 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 3: if you're wild and or from Europe, or maybe a 34 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 3: little bit of mash with your bangers, probably you've had 35 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 3: a potato a cross your table and your palate and 36 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:28,799 Speaker 3: ultimately make its way into your heart. 37 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: M Yeah, you know this is this is fascinating Old. 38 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: This is a great compliment to our continuing series on 39 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: sauces and condiments. There are so many varieties of tubers. 40 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: There are so many different you know, different members of 41 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: the pantheon of what we call the potato. But as 42 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: you point out in your research, the potato is one 43 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: of the world's most important crops. It is scientifically known 44 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: solidum tubursum, Yes, solanum tuber rossum. 45 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 3: That is right. The potato is, in fact one of 46 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 3: the to your point been world's most important crops, with 47 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 3: a fascinating history that isn't just the history of one 48 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 3: humble it's not a vegetable, one humble tuber, but also 49 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 3: the history of cultivation of agriculture in many ways. The 50 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 3: stretches from the hilltops of the Andes all the way 51 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 3: to the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Shire, 52 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 3: where they like to boil and mash them or perhaps 53 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 3: stick them in a stew. 54 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's something that can be called ridiculous. You 55 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: might be asking us, guys, why are you dedicating so 56 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: much time to the potato. Well, first off, it's because 57 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: we love it. Secondly, we needed a palate cleanser after 58 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: our thoroughly curse word written exploration of one of our 59 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: favorite words. 60 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, we had to write our names on the blackboard 61 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 3: a bunch of times because we were bad boys. All 62 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 3: the teachers out there in the audience wrote to us 63 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 3: individually and said that we had to do that to 64 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 3: make amends. For that swear laden episode, but I think 65 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 3: it was worth it, Ben, I think it was worth 66 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 3: it because it was educational. 67 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: Hey, And speaking of educational novel, this one I'm very 68 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: excited about. And I can't thank you enough because what's 69 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: funny about the Potato is that everywhere you go in 70 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: this wide world of ours, people will know what a 71 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: potato is. It is as famous and as ubiquitous as 72 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: perhaps Michael Jackson was in the nineteen eighties. 73 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, and Michael Jackson's back baby in the form of 74 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 3: a biopic from Antoine Fuqua called Michael in a burst 75 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 3: of creativity, Dude, I know this is We're gonna get 76 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 3: to the potatoes and a second. But I always think it's 77 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 3: fascinating when a movie's critics score and audience score are 78 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 3: so wildly out of whack, and that is very much 79 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 3: the case for Michael thirty eight thirty four something like that. 80 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 3: To ninety seven audiences and even some real snarky YouTubers 81 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 3: that I like who do movie reviews, love it and 82 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 3: find it to be a delight and a bit of 83 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 3: a romp. 84 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: I don't love a sanitized or authorized biography. 85 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 3: I don't love a biography period especially about musicians. Most 86 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 3: of this stuff not to be like, I'm the nerdy, 87 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 3: nerdiest Michael Jackson aficionado on the planet, but a lot 88 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 3: of this stuff is kind of obvious. And the fact 89 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 3: that they're not digging into the nuance of some of 90 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 3: the accusations and some of the more you know, to 91 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 3: your point, been unsanitary aspects of the story does give 92 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 3: me pause. But I did think I would mention that 93 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 3: out of whack critic to audience score. 94 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: Isn't it crazy? Because the previous pick and we promise 95 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,280 Speaker 1: We'll move on had the exact reverse. It was. It 96 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: was lauded by critics, it was a critic starling, but 97 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 1: the fans did not care for it, did not care 98 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: for it. The previous Michael Jackson exploration thing that went 99 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 1: to film. Yeah it I got to send this to. 100 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 3: You off air. 101 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: It's it's a study in the division between the public 102 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: and the holders of critical power. But the reason I'm 103 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: bringing up this popularity here, Noel, is because the potato, 104 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: i would argue, is one of the most recognizable food 105 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: stuffs across the planet. It's up there with rice, you 106 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: know what I mean, It's up there with bread. But 107 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: a lot of people are not aware of its strange 108 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: origin story. It is so much older. We want to 109 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: bust a myth right at the top. Potatoes are not 110 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: from Ireland, sorry, every body. They're from way further back 111 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: and way farther away. 112 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 3: You're right, Ben, They do come from much farther afield 113 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 3: than one might think, and they are a whole heck 114 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 3: of a lot older than one might think, eight thousand 115 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 3: years old by some estimations, but their place in Western 116 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 3: cuisine is a good bit newer than folks might have thought. 117 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 3: So it's kind of an interesting mixed bag. Potatoes were 118 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,239 Speaker 3: first cultivated, as we were saying, by some estimations, close 119 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 3: to eight thousand years ago by the Inca Indians in 120 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 3: the Andes Mountain region of Peru, southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia. They, 121 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 3: to your point, been developed thousands of different varieties of potato, 122 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 3: suited to the regions, different climates, altitudes, and various soils, 123 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 3: various types of soils. Not only were they an important 124 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 3: food to the antient people, but the crop was incredibly 125 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 3: central to their culture. For example, some of the ancient 126 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 3: civilizations in this region actually measured time by how long 127 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 3: it took potato to cook, or how you know long 128 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 3: it took the potato to grow. 129 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: I love that. I love a different clock, man, you 130 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: know I do. 131 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 3: So it's actually, isn't a potato clock a thing? Can't 132 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 3: you like power from a potato sticking like electrodes a 133 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 3: different kind of potato cloth. 134 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: I love the idea that thousands of years ago someone 135 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: would say, hey, you're two potatoes late. 136 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 3: Did jumping here? 137 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 2: I'm thinking of like the old Futurama episode where they 138 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 2: go into the Death Star of old people and there's 139 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 2: making sure about the matrix, about how everyone's like all 140 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 2: the people are in the things being batteries and bender goes. 141 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: Wouldn't anything be a better battery like a potato or 142 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 2: a battery or a battery? 143 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, as we mentioned this, this guy not to answer 144 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: for warphize too much, but this little guy is what 145 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: we call an herbaceous annual, so it grows about the 146 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: plant itself grows about forty inches tall in freedom units 147 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: or one hundred centimeters tall for the rest of the world. 148 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: As it grows, it's leaves the stuff above ground manufacture 149 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: starch that gets transferred to the ends of its underground stems. 150 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: The fancy were there being Stolens Stolns. Congratulations to everybody 151 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: who just won a spelling bee. 152 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, and I learned some new words and some new 153 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 3: cultivation techniques yesterday when I watched the first episode of 154 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 3: Zach Galifanakis's new gardening show. 155 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: Oh it's great. 156 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, I've only seen the first episode where he talks 157 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,719 Speaker 3: about apples. I really hope they get to potatoes. But 158 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 3: I can't speak to that for certain, because I haven't 159 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 3: really looked at apples. 160 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: They're just crazy. 161 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 3: Apples are wild. The thing called grafting, like all of 162 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 3: this stuff where you like slice off, it's not quite 163 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 3: the same as propagating. It's its own thing, and they 164 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:54,959 Speaker 3: acknowledge in the episode that it is something that a 165 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 3: lot of people are painfully unfamiliar with. So the stems 166 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 3: that you were talking about ben thicken underground to form 167 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 3: just a few or as many as twenty tubers close 168 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,439 Speaker 3: to the soil surface. And you know, we talk a 169 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 3: lot about route beggas on our sister show Stuff. They 170 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 3: don't want you to know why. You may ask, you'll 171 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 3: have to listen to find out. I'm not even sure 172 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,079 Speaker 3: exactly why. But it's become a theme, and I think 173 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,599 Speaker 3: we all love it and are here for it. We 174 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 3: had a little off my discussion as to whether a 175 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,959 Speaker 3: potato was in fact a root vegetable like a root 176 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,959 Speaker 3: of bega, because we've been thrown around this term tuber, 177 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 3: and we had a little bit of a debate and 178 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 3: did a little bit of googling and found out that 179 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 3: both root vegetables and tubers are something known as geophytes, 180 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 3: which is a botanical classification for plants that have that 181 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 3: main the major part that is to be cultivated growing 182 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 3: beneath the soil. And here's the kicker. All tubers fall 183 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,839 Speaker 3: under that umbrella term of root vegetables. However, not all 184 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 3: root vegetables are tubers. So the method in which the 185 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 3: rude bega grows and propagates is different than or the 186 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 3: I guess mechanic of it is different than what happens 187 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 3: with a tuber. So I think that hopefully clears it 188 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 3: up for everyone out there who maybe had a question 189 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 3: about rudebegas versus potatoes, because they do seem like they 190 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,680 Speaker 3: would be exactly the same, but they are similar enough, 191 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,319 Speaker 3: but then have some distinct differences. So to continue on 192 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 3: the number of tubers that actually can reach maturity depends 193 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 3: a lot on conditions, things like the nutrients in the 194 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 3: soil and moisture that is available. Tubers can vary distinctly, 195 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 3: as we all know, in shape and size, and usually 196 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 3: weigh roughly up to three hundred grams. And this comes 197 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 3: from a delightful site, the International Potato Center, which I'm 198 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 3: just glad a thing like that exists. 199 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: I'm super happy that there is an international cabal of 200 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 1: people very interested in potatoes. 201 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,079 Speaker 3: Another thing that this Potato org had to say about 202 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,599 Speaker 3: the science of potatoes is that at the end of 203 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,959 Speaker 3: the season, the plants leaves and stems die down to 204 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 3: the soil level, and then it creates new tubers. It's like, 205 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 3: thus the circle of potato continues. The tubers then serve 206 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 3: as a nutrient store that allows the plant to survive 207 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 3: and lay dormant during the cold months and then regrow 208 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 3: later and reproduce. And this isn't It's going to come 209 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 3: into play in part two when we talk about a 210 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 3: horrific potato related event in history known as the Irish 211 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 3: Potato fam Potatoes are all actually clones of themselves. They 212 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,199 Speaker 3: do this through a process called vegetative propagation. So when 213 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 3: a potato or a piece of one develops sprouts from 214 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 3: those little things that we kind of look at to 215 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 3: see if a potato is still good the eyes, if 216 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 3: it starts to form a bunch of those, you maybe 217 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 3: know that the potatoes a little long in the tooth. 218 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 3: Once it's planted, it then can grow a new plant 219 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 3: that is genetically identical to the parent. And as we've 220 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 3: discussed in stuff that I want you to know and 221 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 3: surely on this show as well, this can create something 222 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:18,559 Speaker 3: called a monoculture, which is very susceptible to blight and 223 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 3: certain other types of disease. 224 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: See also the gross Michelle banata, right, so, which is 225 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: a very different type of flauta. So the issue is, folks, 226 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: if you are looking at your old bag or rusted 227 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,079 Speaker 1: potatoes that you hid in the pantry away from the light, 228 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: and you see those eyes, you probably know that you 229 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: can cut those sprouts out and still use the non 230 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 1: discolored part of your potato. 231 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, unless it's like got rot, actual grossness or any 232 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 3: kind of mildewy nastiness on it, they're utterly fine. And 233 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 3: it's another reason the potatoes are so incredible as staple 234 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 3: crops because that very reason. Then they are just really 235 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 3: resilient and if you store them in a cool, dry place, 236 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 3: they can last months. 237 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: Part of why I am here now recording this podcast 238 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,559 Speaker 1: with us is to the fact that during the Great Depression, 239 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: some of my family members survived entirely because they were 240 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: able to dig up old potatoes from the frozen ground. 241 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: So thank you, potato, thank you for making it the 242 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: world round. You've migrated noble potato instead of humble. You've 243 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: migrated and stepped with humanity. You know, we are aware 244 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 1: that human populations arrived at the South American continent. Current 245 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: history says around seven thousand years ago. 246 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 3: Yes, seven thousand or eight thousand, depending on this. 247 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, what's between friends. Yeah, so this is where we 248 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: begin to see. If you fast forward seven thousand years, 249 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: you begin to see wild potato plants sprouting up around 250 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: Lake Titi Kaka Lake Uh huh just so and no 251 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 1: Bevis Beavis, I think, yeah, and it's funny. I recently 252 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: rewatched that Saturday Night Live sketch, you know, the one 253 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: on top with Ryan. 254 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, he's actually like the what of beavs but real people? 255 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was it was fascinating. And the uh, the 256 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: the interesting thing for so many archaeologists here is that 257 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: you can find, as you were saying earlier, No, you 258 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: can find remains of potato cultivation from around four thousand BCE. 259 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: You can see examples of potatoes getting praised in local 260 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: art of the time in Nasca and Chimu pottery. 261 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, Naska famous for those lines. 262 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, I still wonder whether they built an early version 263 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: of a hot air balloon. How else do you see 264 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: the whole thing? 265 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 3: And that's the deal. If anyone's not familiar, then Nasca 266 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 3: lines are a popular pet subject of conspiracy buffs and 267 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,320 Speaker 3: we've certainly talked about it on the podcast. And it 268 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 3: is sort of like what a giant array of lines 269 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 3: that can really like create like some sort of pattern 270 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 3: that can really only be seen from way high up. 271 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, you'll see a big steak or you'll see 272 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: a big dude doing something and you have to wonder, 273 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 1: how how do they do? That is the question. So 274 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: the cool thing, the very clever thing about these farmers 275 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: in the Andes is that they understood you could grow 276 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: potatoes not just at higher altitudes, but you could grow 277 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: them more successfully at higher altitudes. 278 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 3: That's right. The Cusco Valley was just such a place 279 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 3: with you know that existed at pretty high altitudes. It 280 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:01,600 Speaker 3: became occupied by the Incas in around fourteen hundred as 281 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 3: a result of the collapse of the Huari civilization and 282 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 3: the state of Tiajuanaku. I'm doing my best here. I 283 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,359 Speaker 3: think that was fine in the years one thousand to 284 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:12,880 Speaker 3: twelve thousand. We're talking BCE here. 285 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: So this is at this time the largest settlement, the 286 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: settlement that is expanding at the highest rate in what 287 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: we call the Americas North and South. These folks are 288 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: becoming advanced in agricultural approaches that descend to them from 289 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: their ancestors, and because they know how to interact with 290 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: the soil, how to speak with the lands, they see 291 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: a tremendous boost in the production of not only the 292 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: noble potato, but also maze. 293 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 3: You know corn. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And not only were 294 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,199 Speaker 3: they hugely successful in cultivating all of these things, they 295 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 3: also figured out some pretty awesome science y ways of 296 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 3: preserving them that we more or less still use versions 297 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 3: of to this day, the idea of freeze drying, which 298 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 3: really blew my mind when I read this. They created 299 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 3: a potato product. And by the way, this stuff's coming 300 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 3: from another incredible organization, the Irish Potato Federation. This is 301 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:21,159 Speaker 3: a federation like a star trek. They created this potato 302 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,440 Speaker 3: product called chuniol, which was one of their main food 303 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 3: items because it just traveled so well. It involved a 304 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 3: process wherein raw potatoes would be frozen and then thawed 305 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,440 Speaker 3: outdoors over and over again before the farmer squeezed the 306 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 3: remaining moisture out of them, creating this like astronaut ice cream. 307 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: Yeah potato, yeah, yeah, yeah, man, you nailed it. Get 308 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,920 Speaker 1: out of my head because that's the best example. 309 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 3: This is so tasty and lately, dude, I don't know 310 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 3: if you've seen that. They're like freeze dried skittles. You 311 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 3: can get freeze dried snacks are back in a big way, 312 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 3: especially at places like Trader Joe's Artemis too. Yeah, good time. 313 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 3: Oh I love a free stride stack because they're so 314 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 3: crunchy and there's a little something, a little uncanny valley 315 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,440 Speaker 3: about them, but in a good way, you know. 316 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, and also Max will keep it in. But I 317 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: accidentally had a Freudian slip and said shark out instead 318 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: of shout out to Artemis two. That is a joke 319 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: about their problems with bathrooms at the spacecraft. 320 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 3: They got that sharded. 321 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, perfect dude to shout out to you guys. 322 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: This is a perfect comparison astronaut food because far before 323 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: the invention of what we call supermarkets, we have a 324 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 1: shelf stable food stuff. This is your insurance for any 325 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: failed harvest, right, and it doesn't necessarily kind of like tofu. 326 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: It doesn't necessarily have a big, bold, forward flavor on 327 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:03,040 Speaker 1: its own, but it does have a lot of nutritional value, 328 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,159 Speaker 1: and so you could cook it, perhaps in a very 329 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 1: spicy stew. You could make something similar to dumplings in 330 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 1: Central Italy. This is before, by the way, Europe finds 331 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:17,440 Speaker 1: out about the potato. 332 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,680 Speaker 3: Well, that's the thing. We're going to get to that 333 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 3: real soon. But since you mentioned the nutritious value of 334 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 3: the nutrient rich nature of the potato, I just thought 335 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 3: we'd rattle off a few of those stats. It contains 336 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 3: more pat potassium than a banana, about thirty percent of 337 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,879 Speaker 3: one's daily allotment of vitamin C and vitamin B six. 338 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 1: Always eat the skin, folks, that's right, that's right, Ben, 339 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,199 Speaker 1: That's exactly right. 340 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 3: Because that is what is contained in the skin. Is 341 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 3: those nutrients are very rich in the skin, and they 342 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,920 Speaker 3: also provide about three grams of protein and two to 343 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 3: four grams of fiber, also mostly in the skin, and 344 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 3: they can act as an incredible source of energy and 345 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 3: nutrients and ones. And I know we're sort of in 346 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 3: an era where potatoes are getting slammed a little bit 347 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 3: for being like too starchy or carby or whatever. But 348 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 3: let's just remember that, like the civilizations have risen and 349 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 3: fallen based on the ability to cultivate. This noble tuber and. 350 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,439 Speaker 2: As jump in here real quick, I was actually watching 351 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 2: something recently talking about like how if you're trying to 352 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,680 Speaker 2: lose weight, potatoes are actually a very good food to 353 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 2: eat because they're super stationable. You can mean a lot 354 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:30,200 Speaker 2: of them, you can feel very full, but not actually 355 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 2: just a lot of calories. 356 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, they'll fill you up. Another cheat code would 357 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:40,040 Speaker 1: be a lot of green vegetables, leafy greens, and of 358 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:45,440 Speaker 1: course celery because it's mainly water, right, it's mainly crunchy 359 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: water with an opinion about itself. Great, let's keep that. 360 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,680 Speaker 1: Noel riddle us this. We're talking a lot about the 361 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: fundamental role the potato plate and these ancient meso American empires. 362 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: But how did potatoes make it to the wider world 363 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 1: for sure? 364 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:05,640 Speaker 3: Well, it has a lot to do with the fact 365 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 3: that once again they traveled well, you know, they really did. 366 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:14,120 Speaker 3: Those freeze dried I believe it is what they were called. 367 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,199 Speaker 3: They were actually used to feed the Incan armies if 368 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 3: it already has such shelf stability as we know, like 369 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,679 Speaker 3: it takes quite a while for a potato to truly 370 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 3: go bad, and even if it goes bad, you can 371 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,399 Speaker 3: kind of just cut the bad part off of it 372 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 3: and plenty of it will be still fine. I know 373 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 3: that's gross. I wouldn't do that unless they were in 374 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 3: a pinch. 375 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,439 Speaker 1: Look, I know you well, we do the same thing 376 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,200 Speaker 1: with some types of cheese. I'm just laughing, Nol, because 377 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: I'm imagining you and I separately looking at some potatoes 378 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: in the pantry with a lot of eyes and saying, 379 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:48,159 Speaker 1: I can fix her. 380 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 3: I can fix it. It's fine. But they they literally 381 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:58,440 Speaker 3: traveled well, in ships, Spanish ships from you know, imperialist 382 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 3: Spaniards who raped and pillaged and did horrible things to 383 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,240 Speaker 3: the Incas and their culture. We're not here to litigate 384 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 3: all that. We've done it plenty. But in fifteen thirty two, 385 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 3: the Spanish invaded the Incan Empire and brought an end 386 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 3: to all of that incredible culture, and with it they 387 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 3: brought back a lot of plunder as well as certain 388 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 3: types of crops that they had not seen before, and 389 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 3: the potato was one of them. They brought these tubers 390 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 3: back across the Atlantic, as well as things like avocados. 391 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 3: They're probably we were a little more popular real quick, 392 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 3: and corn, as you mentioned, ben and tomatoes. Historians call 393 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,960 Speaker 3: this the Great Colombian Exchange, which we have certainly talked 394 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 3: about as well on ridiculous history and stuff they don't 395 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 3: want you to know. And so for the first time 396 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,080 Speaker 3: the potato made its way outside of what was you know, 397 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 3: we would now refer to as the Americas. These Spaniards, 398 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 3: by the way, are of course conquistators. They were conkers, 399 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 3: and they brought back all of these spoils to present 400 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 3: to their overlords and to show that they had done 401 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 3: a good job at conquistadori. 402 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: And we've got to tell you the truth here, folks. 403 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: At first, Europe overall was pretty skeptical, partially because they 404 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 1: were super xenophobic. 405 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 3: Right, and uh with tomatoes right, talked about. 406 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: This, yes, because they're getting these unfamiliar things right, and 407 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: people are saying no, seriously, we survived for months across 408 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean eating this weird stuff, right. And the 409 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:45,440 Speaker 1: issue is that night shade is recognizable to Europeans. But 410 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: get this, folks, not just tomatoes but also eggplant, peppers 411 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 1: and potatoes are botanically related to night shade, and nightshade 412 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: at this time had a bad rep. It was associated 413 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 1: with disease, it was associated with witchcraft, it was poisoning, 414 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: poison and social stigma in general. 415 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 3: So Jimis was referred to as deadly night shade. 416 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,719 Speaker 1: Right. It was a hard cell. And also they had 417 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 1: to figure out how to cultivate it, you know, like, 418 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,400 Speaker 1: how do we take this thing that was most popular 419 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 1: in the highlands of the Andes and most successful in 420 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:31,920 Speaker 1: those very high altitude regions. How do we convince the 421 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: noble potato to take root in Europe half a world away. 422 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 3: It's a good question, Ben, because, as we mentioned, the 423 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 3: potato is pretty resilient, but it also likes certain types 424 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 3: of altitudes and climates, right, high ones specifically in terms 425 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 3: of altitude, and also it being a shade, a shady plant. 426 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 3: It also kind of liked cooler weather. So European long 427 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,680 Speaker 3: days kind of freaked the potato plant out a little 428 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:08,200 Speaker 3: bit and they didn't grow very well during the warmer months. Instead, 429 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,720 Speaker 3: they would grow a bit better in the autumn, which 430 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 3: was of course too close to the early days of 431 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 3: winter for them to survive. So they were really on 432 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:16,879 Speaker 3: a very good cycle. 433 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and we're getting a lot of this from our 434 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:25,360 Speaker 1: friends across the pond, our British cousins at the BBC 435 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 1: shout out to Diego Arguadas orties how the humble potato 436 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: changed the world. So at first, like you were saying, Noel, 437 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: this thing is a stranger in a strange land, right, 438 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:44,560 Speaker 1: But luckily we did find a better place for the potato. 439 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: That would be Ireland. Ireland has better conditions for the 440 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 1: tuber because this is a cool but frost free autumn. 441 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,920 Speaker 1: This gives our potato crop enough time to mature after 442 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,880 Speaker 1: its introduction from Spain in the fifteen eighties. And now 443 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: we see another thing that farmers are brilliant at. They 444 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 1: are they're practicing vegetable eugetics, right, They're selecting the tubers 445 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: the potato crops that work best in this time, and 446 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:24,560 Speaker 1: so they start selecting for potatoes that work better earlier 447 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: in the summer, and now the potato becomes irreplaceable. It's 448 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,880 Speaker 1: also less work than grain, to be quite honest, right, 449 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,399 Speaker 1: put it in the ground, set it and forget it. 450 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, and I mean, I don't know that they'd figure 451 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 3: this out quite yet. But as we know today, you 452 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 3: can do a lot of the same things with potatoes 453 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 3: that you can do with grain. You can make potato flour, 454 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 3: or you can ferment potatoes to make alcohol. You can 455 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 3: you know, make vodka, potato vodka in various other ferments. 456 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:54,000 Speaker 1: You're welcome Russia. 457 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. It's pretty incredible all of the things that 458 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 3: you can do with the potato. You can, you know, 459 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 3: shoot it out of a cannon. Apparently people like to 460 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 3: do that potato guns. Don't try that at home, apparently 461 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 3: quite dangerous. Okay, who are we to judge? Now, you know, 462 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 3: live your life, but just don't hurt anybody. So by 463 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 3: the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the potato had truly become 464 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 3: integral to many European diets, particularly in Ireland. As we mentioned, 465 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 3: we're gonna jump around in history a little bit because 466 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 3: there's something really horrible that's going to happen, as we 467 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 3: probably all know in Ireland, the Great Irish Potato Famine. 468 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 3: But we're going to devote much more of an episode 469 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 3: to that. It is worthy of its own path, if 470 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,200 Speaker 3: not a giant chunk of an episode, So we're gonna 471 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,239 Speaker 3: save that for part two. Parts of Russia also were 472 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 3: relying on potatoes. European colonial trade networks carried them beyond 473 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,960 Speaker 3: Europe to Africa and Asia and parts of Oceania, where 474 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 3: they would then be integrated into new culinary traditions and 475 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 3: agricultural systems. So the potato really started to create a 476 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 3: bit of a population boom, which is kind of kind 477 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 3: of wild to get. It is because like people were starving, 478 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 3: food was scarce, and this really was like a pretty 479 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 3: significant boost to people's ability to nourish themselves and they're 480 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 3: you know offspring. 481 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's got a high yield, it's as we said, 482 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: quite nutritious, especially if if you're not fancy and you 483 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: eat the skin the way we do today. It's calorie dense. 484 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: It's also a very tolerating type of plant, so it's 485 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 1: similar to anybody growing in herb garden. You may know 486 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: that mint is a real go getter. It's actually kind 487 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: of hard to kill mint, and it's actually kind of 488 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,760 Speaker 1: hard to kill a potato. So it makes sense that 489 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: this specific type of food stuff could transmit across cultures 490 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: and across regions across the planet. It also solves for 491 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: a a very difficult problem that a lot of civilizations 492 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: and empires face, which is how do we feed everybody cheaply? 493 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 3: Right? 494 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 1: If food is expensive in terms of time or in 495 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 1: terms of labor, then the population of a given civilization 496 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: or empire will meet a hard glass ceiling. It's very 497 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: difficult to break. However, the fact that this has utility 498 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:32,800 Speaker 1: does not really explain how the potato reached ubiquity. And 499 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: for that, for the widespread popularity of the potato in 500 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: European climes and later thanks to colonialism the world. No, 501 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 1: I believe we have to thank the French. French mel 502 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: we love the French. 503 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 3: Indeed, Ben I have really lately been enjoying videos by 504 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 3: this incredible Englishman who studied in the French tradition of cuisine. 505 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 3: His name is Marco Pierre White and he is he 506 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 3: had like three Michelin stars, like I think in this 507 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 3: in the maybe the eighties, and he kind of gave 508 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 3: up the restaurant tour life to just sort of be 509 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 3: like Cane from Kung Fu, but like the culinary version. 510 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 3: He just sort of like trapeses around the woods of 511 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 3: the countryside of England and hunts wild game. And lately 512 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 3: he's been doing these Maestro series of videos on BBC. 513 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 3: He has the most zen, absolutely philosophical, so he says 514 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,480 Speaker 3: something like turn three stars in Michelin, you don't have 515 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,680 Speaker 3: to be a great cook, you just have to know 516 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 3: how the system works. It's like that kind of stuff. 517 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 3: But he also says like I don't love to cook, 518 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 3: I love to feed people. It's just like these incredible 519 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,040 Speaker 3: little moments and you can just watch, like, you know, 520 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 3: compilations of this dude just talking about French cuisine until 521 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:56,480 Speaker 3: the cows come home, and there's a ton of it 522 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 3: out there and it'll help you fall asleep. So I 523 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 3: highly recommend it. But he is the one who's truly 524 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:05,479 Speaker 3: gotten me in the zone of how important potatoes are. 525 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 3: And we're to French cuisine. We obviously know about French 526 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 3: fries of course, which I think there's even some debate 527 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:16,280 Speaker 3: as to whether in Belgium. Yes, thank you very much, Pumfleet. 528 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 3: But we do know that the potato ended up occupying 529 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 3: an incredibly important place in French culinary tradition, which is 530 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 3: obviously very fancy. It's not, you know, the people's potato anymore, 531 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 3: but it comes from a background of being the people's potato. 532 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 3: So the potato is brought to France from Peru before 533 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 3: the French Revolution, and at first they just weren't accepted 534 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 3: at all. And this kind of mirrors what was going 535 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 3: on in most of Europe. The people would were so 536 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 3: suspicious of them they barely would give them to their pigs, 537 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 3: to their livestock to eat. They were that suspicious of them, 538 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:54,760 Speaker 3: and that was because they found them to be hideous, 539 00:32:55,120 --> 00:33:01,880 Speaker 3: misshapen abominations, because of their kind of lumpy, sort of 540 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 3: misshapen look they look at. They associated them with leprosy. 541 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 3: They associated them with the kind of tumors and cysts 542 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 3: bubos that would form on the skin of folks afflicted 543 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 3: with that condition, which was a big problem at the 544 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 3: time because it was contagious. People would get sent off 545 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 3: to these colonies to live out their lives away from 546 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 3: you know, the general population. It was a scary time. 547 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:28,800 Speaker 1: How do you say the devil's apple in French? 548 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 3: It's a good question, Ben, Let's see, let's it would 549 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:34,280 Speaker 3: be pm do diablo. 550 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 1: Ah makes sense, Yes, pom di diabla. So apple is 551 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: pum that makes sense. So palmle is like fried apple 552 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 1: kind of yeah, because you know, it. 553 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 3: Is funny because an apple and a potato are both 554 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,240 Speaker 3: this white, kind of crunchy thing on the inside. And 555 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 3: a big problem too, was when folks in Europe initially 556 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 3: got their hands on the potato, they would just take 557 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,320 Speaker 3: a big old chalk out of it without boiling it, 558 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:01,600 Speaker 3: mashing it or sticking it in a stew. And let 559 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,400 Speaker 3: me tell you, as I'm sure you know, Ben, that's gross. 560 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:05,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. 561 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, it doesn't taste good. It needs seasoning. 562 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,960 Speaker 1: It needs It's kind of like how we always laughed 563 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:21,200 Speaker 1: for years about prisoners in early America complaining about having 564 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: the lobster all the time. It was all due to 565 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,640 Speaker 1: the preparation. They didn't take the shell out. They weren't 566 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:29,520 Speaker 1: thinking of the shell. The potato needs a little bit 567 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: of TLC. Right, it's hardy. It's hardy when it grows, 568 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 1: so it can grow on its own throughout the wide world. 569 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:38,880 Speaker 1: But you got to give it a little bit of 570 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,240 Speaker 1: love if you want it to be delectable. 571 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 3: And that's another thing that Marco Pierre White says. He 572 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 3: says that all things when it comes to cooking time, 573 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 3: and if it doesn't take time, if it doesn't take 574 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:52,879 Speaker 3: effort and love, then you're not doing it right. 575 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: So will introduce us to this French pharmacist, this champion of. 576 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:12,839 Speaker 3: The potato, Antoine Augustine de Parmentierre. He was, as you said, 577 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,560 Speaker 3: ben a pharmacist in Paris who was so fond of 578 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 3: the potato and saw so much promise in it and 579 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 3: usefulness in it to utility, much like George Washington Carver 580 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:25,600 Speaker 3: and the peanut, that he was on a mission because 581 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,120 Speaker 3: at this point, besides just the general suspicions surrounding the 582 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 3: potato and people thinking it was gross and misshapen, you 583 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 3: point it out and calling it the devil's apple, because 584 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,960 Speaker 3: of belief that it maybe was used by witches and 585 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,719 Speaker 3: some sort of black magic rituals. It was actually forbidden 586 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,880 Speaker 3: to cultivate the potato in France because there was a 587 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:47,720 Speaker 3: belief that it would poison the soil. 588 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:52,759 Speaker 1: Yeah, poison the soil, poison the livestock, the cattle or 589 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: the sheep or the pigs that might eat it. So 590 00:35:55,160 --> 00:36:00,800 Speaker 1: our buddy Antoine manages to convince the Paris Facult of Medicine, 591 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:06,080 Speaker 1: as we were saying, to devilify the potato and say, 592 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:09,960 Speaker 1: in seventeen seventy two, grow it if you want, eat 593 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: it if you can. However, this high faluting policy change 594 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:20,640 Speaker 1: does not convince the public. People are still saying, I 595 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:22,920 Speaker 1: might be starving. Because there was a lot of famine 596 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:26,320 Speaker 1: in France at this point, leading to some great unrest. 597 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,600 Speaker 1: There were a lot of people who would desperately be hungry, 598 00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:33,440 Speaker 1: they had not eaten for days. They would be offered 599 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:37,399 Speaker 1: a potato and they would say, forget you. I still 600 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:40,960 Speaker 1: have standards. So, just like our story about the guy 601 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,759 Speaker 1: in the United States with the tomato, our champion of 602 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:49,440 Speaker 1: the potato, Antoine has to start doing some Breneese level 603 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 1: pr and he tries to popularize the potato through marketing stunts. 604 00:36:56,239 --> 00:36:58,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, he's growing the potato in his own personal fields 605 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 3: and does this sort of psyop I guess you could 606 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 3: call it where he hires guards to stand watch over 607 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,200 Speaker 3: his potato feel in the hopes that people would notice 608 00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:14,560 Speaker 3: and be like, what are they like? You always like 609 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,960 Speaker 3: to say, Ben that Tom Waite's song, what's the building 610 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 3: in there? Yeah, that's nothing more, nothing better than a 611 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:25,399 Speaker 3: guard or a fence to make people curious about what's 612 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,000 Speaker 3: going on on the other side. And hey, if the potatoes, 613 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 3: oh the potatoes, you say, well, if they're so horrible 614 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,839 Speaker 3: as we've thought as is, you know, popularly believes, why 615 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:37,040 Speaker 3: has he got to hire these guards? What's so special 616 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:38,600 Speaker 3: about these potatoes? 617 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:43,560 Speaker 1: It's so brilliant, especially because a twade tells his guards 618 00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:47,279 Speaker 1: in secret, okay, let's the word get out, that they 619 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:51,880 Speaker 1: are guarding this high value garden of potatoes, And in 620 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:56,759 Speaker 1: private he tells his hired mercenaries his guards. He says, look, 621 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:01,279 Speaker 1: if literally anybody comes up to you and they offer 622 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:05,320 Speaker 1: you literally anything, I need you to act like a 623 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:09,359 Speaker 1: crooked cop and tell them you're going to let them 624 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:14,400 Speaker 1: steal some potatoes. And you tell them not to tell anybody, 625 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:18,319 Speaker 1: and they're like, but obviously, sir, they're gonna blab on us. 626 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:22,720 Speaker 1: And he goes, I know, perfect for d chess, this guy, Oh. 627 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 3: Gosh, five D. Maybe that's what our president's plan apparently. 628 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:28,759 Speaker 3: Or is it Checkers or is it Dominos? 629 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:33,759 Speaker 1: It always comes back around. This guy's play works right, 630 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:37,879 Speaker 1: as we know, thanks to cookingwoclass dot com. He gets 631 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:42,440 Speaker 1: an award in seventeen seventy two, the same year he 632 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:47,080 Speaker 1: writes the reputation of the potato. He gets this award 633 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:53,960 Speaker 1: for making them palatable to the rest of France in 634 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:57,480 Speaker 1: case of a bad harvest. But Noel, as you point out, 635 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:02,520 Speaker 1: it's not until seventeen eighty five that Louis the fifteenth, 636 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:07,880 Speaker 1: at a dinner hosted by Antoine, declares, one day France 637 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: will thank you for discovering get this the bread of 638 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:13,200 Speaker 1: the poor people. 639 00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:16,480 Speaker 3: Oh dear, oh dear, how that age? 640 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,040 Speaker 1: I don't know. He was trumpet all over the place. 641 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, we're not gonna dig dig deep into the French 642 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:27,399 Speaker 3: revolution right now. But needless to say, full toned, deaf, 643 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 3: bull tone deaf didn't go well. Marie Answin, I didn't 644 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:32,960 Speaker 3: say let the meat cake. But the vibes were there. 645 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:37,080 Speaker 3: The vibes were there. And the funny thing about it 646 00:39:37,239 --> 00:39:41,040 Speaker 3: is this was also the king. Louis the fourteenth and 647 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,840 Speaker 3: Mary Antoinette are the ones who really popularized the potato 648 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:49,200 Speaker 3: to the bougie class. You know, they would wear these 649 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:52,440 Speaker 3: purple potato flowers are actually quite beautiful. They grow out 650 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,600 Speaker 3: of the top parts, the above ground parts of potato. 651 00:39:55,719 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 3: He would wear them as the pels, and she would 652 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:01,040 Speaker 3: like have them woven into her fanc he hats. And 653 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:03,279 Speaker 3: in eighteen eighty six they financed a plot of land 654 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:06,600 Speaker 3: to grow potatoes in Seblan, which was on the western 655 00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:10,200 Speaker 3: edge of Paris. But to the French Revolution side of things, 656 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:15,759 Speaker 3: it did ultimately become the official food stuff of the 657 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:20,799 Speaker 3: French Revolution while also becoming this hot, hot cuisine thing. 658 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:23,600 Speaker 3: It's such an intest it just really speaks to its versatility. 659 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,680 Speaker 3: It went from the devil's apple to the apples of 660 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:31,319 Speaker 3: the earth or palm detail, which is what potatoes are 661 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:35,719 Speaker 3: referred to as a cornerstone of French cuisine. They were 662 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:41,520 Speaker 3: transformed from this famine food and very suspect even before that, 663 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:47,640 Speaker 3: to a comfort food staple. That is largely due to 664 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:51,719 Speaker 3: the efforts of Antoine Augustin Parmentier. And he finally even 665 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,360 Speaker 3: got his potato flowers in the form of several potato 666 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:58,840 Speaker 3: dishes that bear his name, forever solidifying his place in 667 00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:02,480 Speaker 3: the history of humble and what did you say, ben Noble? 668 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,600 Speaker 3: Noble and also fancy potato. 669 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:11,480 Speaker 1: And we have to mention a weird circuitous path toward 670 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:15,440 Speaker 1: potato popularity in what is called the United States today, 671 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:19,360 Speaker 1: because this guy is such a champion of the potato 672 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:25,200 Speaker 1: and such a great pr dude that he is appealing 673 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:31,840 Speaker 1: to the American cousins as well. We know Jefferson, right, Franklin, 674 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,120 Speaker 1: We know that Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson went to like. 675 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,880 Speaker 1: This guy didn't just do one potato fun time dinner. 676 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,680 Speaker 1: He did multiple potato centric dinners. He invited folks like 677 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: the famous libertine Benjamin Franklin, who has never been convicted 678 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:51,719 Speaker 1: of being a serial killer, and Thomas Jefferson, who will 679 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,960 Speaker 1: never answer for his slavery crimes. He had these guys 680 00:41:56,040 --> 00:42:00,600 Speaker 1: over at dinners centering the potato and chopped it up 681 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,000 Speaker 1: in all these different ways. I don't want to sound 682 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,279 Speaker 1: too Bubba Gump, but you could do so much with 683 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:07,640 Speaker 1: the potato. As we're about to get to, he had 684 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:12,600 Speaker 1: a twenty course meal for these guys, a feast with potatoes. 685 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:17,880 Speaker 1: His fancy work on potato Parmentier's found its way to 686 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:23,080 Speaker 1: Jefferson's famous Library of Monticello, and this is probably where 687 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:27,759 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson becomes inspired to bring what we call the 688 00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:31,520 Speaker 1: French fry to the United States and serve it at 689 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:32,160 Speaker 1: the White House. 690 00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:36,440 Speaker 3: This guy's killing it, and I always forget what a 691 00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:41,719 Speaker 3: Franco file. Both Jefferson and especially Franklin were so Yes, 692 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,719 Speaker 3: Parmensier is also the reason that we love potatoes so 693 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:49,040 Speaker 3: well over here in the US. So we didn't want 694 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 3: to close out without mentioning a handful of some delicious 695 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:58,480 Speaker 3: and varied, fancy French potato dishes, the first two of 696 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:02,440 Speaker 3: which bear the name of our hero, mister Parmentier. This 697 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:06,160 Speaker 3: one is called potage Parmentier. I thought we could round 698 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,960 Speaker 3: robin this one, Ben. This is a classic rustic French 699 00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:11,840 Speaker 3: potato and leak soup. Oh boy, do I love a 700 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,319 Speaker 3: potato and leak soup with a little cream, traditionally made 701 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,320 Speaker 3: by simmering the potatoes, leaks and onions and stock before 702 00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,880 Speaker 3: pureing into a smooth and comforting soup, often enriched with 703 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:23,560 Speaker 3: a bit of butter or cream. 704 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:29,560 Speaker 1: And then our second champion here is Palm Palmonier. These 705 00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:33,040 Speaker 1: are picture your classic dice potatoes your roast them. You 706 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:37,280 Speaker 1: pan fry them home style with garlic and herbs, typically 707 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:40,560 Speaker 1: going to be rosemary or thyme to fry, yeah, until 708 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:44,839 Speaker 1: they're crispy on the outside, they're soft inside and you'll 709 00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:49,399 Speaker 1: usually look, these might not be great for you every 710 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:52,200 Speaker 1: day all the time, but it's not Christmas. If it's 711 00:43:52,239 --> 00:43:54,239 Speaker 1: every day, you want to put these in a high 712 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:59,600 Speaker 1: heat with oil and butter. But weight, folks, it gets fancier. Yep. 713 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,400 Speaker 3: We got one more before, I think, the one that 714 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,400 Speaker 3: is both of our favorites. This one is called Palm 715 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:08,200 Speaker 3: Detail foul Sea, which already sounds about as fancy as 716 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:08,960 Speaker 3: potatoes get. 717 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:11,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. 718 00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:14,200 Speaker 3: It's a traditional potato based dish from France, of course, 719 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:16,600 Speaker 3: and there are a lot of different regional versions, but 720 00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:22,759 Speaker 3: it's typically made from a combination of potatoes, bacon, onions, garlic, parsley, eggs, milk, oil, butter, salt, 721 00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:25,120 Speaker 3: and pepper. The tops are cut off of the potatoes 722 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:26,960 Speaker 3: and the flesh is then dug out with a spoon, 723 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:31,920 Speaker 3: creating like a potato skin thing, which is then stuffed 724 00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:34,880 Speaker 3: with a mixture of onions, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, bacon, 725 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:37,560 Speaker 3: flour and milk. Once stuffed, the lids are put back 726 00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:40,640 Speaker 3: on the potato. This is like a like a potato, 727 00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:43,120 Speaker 3: like a stuffed potato, but a very fancier version of it. 728 00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:45,399 Speaker 3: They're then browned in a mixture of olive oil butter 729 00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:49,680 Speaker 3: over high heat Palm deterre far seas are then sprinkled 730 00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:51,520 Speaker 3: with salt and baked in the oven at low heat 731 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:54,279 Speaker 3: until everything is fully cooked and tender. It's kind of 732 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:56,839 Speaker 3: like a twice baked potato. It's a little cup. It's 733 00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:58,880 Speaker 3: a little cup, kind of like a twice baked potato. 734 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:01,160 Speaker 3: But Ben, I leave this one to you. I think 735 00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:03,279 Speaker 3: we're both big fans of this dish. 736 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:07,919 Speaker 1: Oh this one might not be my number one noll, 737 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:11,960 Speaker 1: but it is very close. This one is potato duffin. Well, 738 00:45:12,480 --> 00:45:17,040 Speaker 1: this is where you thinly slice your potatoes. Yeah, yeah, 739 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:21,560 Speaker 1: very thin like Mandolin style or you know o CD style. 740 00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:22,799 Speaker 3: Has those on the man. 741 00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:27,560 Speaker 1: Get your chain mailed Michael Jackson glove for that one. 742 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,320 Speaker 3: As Marco says, just use your palm. Don't use your fingers, 743 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:32,120 Speaker 3: Just use the palm. 744 00:45:32,239 --> 00:45:34,920 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah yeah, make a make a blood pact with 745 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 1: that knife. So you infuse this cream with garlic. You 746 00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:42,560 Speaker 1: often want a nice grew yeah, cheese or a multiple cheese, 747 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:46,320 Speaker 1: and then you layer them, you bake them until tender 748 00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:50,719 Speaker 1: and you see snip with thyme, nutmeg, garlic, cream gonuts, 749 00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,120 Speaker 1: speak your truth. This is pretty cool. I've actually thrown 750 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:56,800 Speaker 1: some sage in those with great results. 751 00:45:57,239 --> 00:46:00,560 Speaker 3: Wonderful, wonderful. The nutmeg really is the kick gin makes 752 00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:02,959 Speaker 3: it special. But yeah, the thinner the better. And there's 753 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:04,920 Speaker 3: lots of different ways to do it, layering it in 754 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:08,320 Speaker 3: different ways. Some people don't use cheese, some people just 755 00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:10,239 Speaker 3: add the cheese at the end. But the kicker is 756 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:11,839 Speaker 3: that after you've baked it and you got it all 757 00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:14,920 Speaker 3: infused with the cream and the garlet, you then broiler 758 00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:18,360 Speaker 3: oil uncovered and you get that Chris, it's like a casserole, 759 00:46:19,239 --> 00:46:21,719 Speaker 3: a hash brown casserole, but with this creamy. My mom 760 00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:24,320 Speaker 3: used to make it and it's really truly one of 761 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:26,280 Speaker 3: my favorites. And it's a pain in the butt because 762 00:46:26,320 --> 00:46:29,080 Speaker 3: you do it takes love, it takes care, and it 763 00:46:29,239 --> 00:46:29,839 Speaker 3: takes time. 764 00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:33,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, now here's something I'm going to cook for you 765 00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:37,359 Speaker 1: guys when when we all get together for a pot luck, 766 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:43,160 Speaker 1: Palm full vaults or fon potatoes. You've seen these at steakhouses. 767 00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:46,000 Speaker 3: It's similar to this, but they're individual la. 768 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:49,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, right, yeah, They're similar to our potato cup. 769 00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:53,200 Speaker 1: They're similar to the kind of scalloping thing we're talking about. 770 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:55,799 Speaker 1: But what I like to do is you cut them. 771 00:46:56,719 --> 00:46:59,879 Speaker 1: You cut the top and bottom off, right, you brown them. 772 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,920 Speaker 1: Got to simmer them in a nice you know, you 773 00:47:03,080 --> 00:47:06,560 Speaker 1: go chicken stock and go beefstock, and you brown the 774 00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:10,520 Speaker 1: ends with the butter. I'm so excited to cook for 775 00:47:10,560 --> 00:47:13,760 Speaker 1: you guys, and Noel, thank you so much for cooking 776 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:18,000 Speaker 1: for us with what we are calling ridiculous history of 777 00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:20,520 Speaker 1: the potato. One potato, two potato. 778 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:23,520 Speaker 3: Yeah this one was one potato and two potato. We 779 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:26,000 Speaker 3: will have for you on our next episode where we're 780 00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:29,440 Speaker 3: going to dig into some of the more I don't know, 781 00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:34,240 Speaker 3: sociological sociological aspects of the potato, like the potato famine 782 00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:37,319 Speaker 3: and the French Revolution, and then kind of bring into 783 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:39,719 Speaker 3: the modern day. And one thing I was thinking about, Ben, 784 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:43,640 Speaker 3: when you were talking about how it's been a constant 785 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:46,200 Speaker 3: struggle of civilization to figure out how to feed everybody. 786 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:48,839 Speaker 3: It's not one we fully figured out yet, despite all 787 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:52,279 Speaker 3: of our best intentions and advancements. So We're going to 788 00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:56,200 Speaker 3: get into that as well. But man, what a fun talk. 789 00:47:56,440 --> 00:47:57,640 Speaker 3: This is great and we. 790 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:01,200 Speaker 1: Hope you enjoyed it as well. Fellow Ridiculous Historians, big 791 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:05,759 Speaker 1: big thanks to our super producer, mister Max the Condition Williams. 792 00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:09,920 Speaker 1: Big thanks to my faithful co host and research associate 793 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:13,440 Speaker 1: for this series mister Noel Brown Nol. Who else do 794 00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:14,239 Speaker 1: we need to thank you? 795 00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:16,720 Speaker 3: Well, he's Jeff Gotz and Chris frasciotis here in spirit 796 00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:19,720 Speaker 3: of course, Jonathan Strickland, the Quister, A j Bahamas Jacobs 797 00:48:20,080 --> 00:48:21,160 Speaker 3: the Puzzler. 798 00:48:21,239 --> 00:48:24,759 Speaker 1: Big big thanks to doctor Rachel Big Spinach Lance, as 799 00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:27,920 Speaker 1: well as the rude dudes at Pridiculous Crime. If you 800 00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:29,480 Speaker 1: dig us, you will. 801 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:30,600 Speaker 3: If you dig us like. 802 00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:33,520 Speaker 1: A potato, keep it in next then you will love 803 00:48:33,960 --> 00:48:37,200 Speaker 1: them at one more time, folks. For Noel, thank you 804 00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:37,680 Speaker 1: so much. 805 00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:37,920 Speaker 3: Man. 806 00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:42,120 Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to the next chapter in our exploration 807 00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:43,480 Speaker 1: Off the Potato. 808 00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:46,040 Speaker 3: And with you as well, my friend. We'll see you 809 00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:55,640 Speaker 3: next time, Folks. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 810 00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:58,880 Speaker 3: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 811 00:48:58,920 --> 00:48:59,640 Speaker 3: favorite shows.