Potatoes are thought to have originated in the Andean highlands of South America (Figure 2.1), and for thousands of years they have been used to maintain and support the growth and health of large numbers of humans. Salaman (1949) asserts that, through discovery of the potato, the ensuing cultivation of frost-hardy types, and the development of methods of preserving tubers, man was able to live at greater altitudes and thus gain mastery of the continent of South America. The dependence of the Irish and Scots on potatoes as their principal source of nourishment and the resulting famine in 1846–47, when the potato crop failed due to blight, are well documented (Woodham-Smith, 1962; Salaman, 1949). Anthropologist Fürer-Haimendorf (1964) has argued that the introduction of the potato into the Sherpa Khumbu region of Nepal stimulated population growth and provided the agricultural surplus necessary for the rise of the elaborate Buddhist civilization in the northern part of the country.

However, although the potato has been shown to be a source of good-quality protein, to have a favourable ratio of protein calories to total calories and to be an important source of vitamins and minerals, its overall value in the diet nowadays is generally greatly underestimated. This chapter demonstrates the value of potato, particularly for consumers in developing countries, where diets are principally made up of basic regional foods. Data are from nutrition studies, interpretations of experimental results and discussion of the nutritional quality of the potato relative to known requirements or recommended levels of nutrient intake, drawn from WHO (1985), FAO/WHO (Passmore et al., 1974) and from the US National Research Council (1980).