Introduced from South America by the Spanish in the early 16th Century, the potato was regarded with suspicion in much of Europe. It was banned by the French parliament in 1748 because it was believed to spread several diseases, including leprosy.
While serving as an army pharmacist for France in the Seven Years' War (1756–63), Antoine–Augustin Parmentier was captured by the Prussians. He was fed only potatoes, but to his surprise he suffered no ill effects.
On his release, Parmentier began promoting the consumption of potatoes as they were filling and easy to grow. He suggested them as an alternative to grain in time of famine, saying they could be used like flour for baking. He carried out various potato–based publicity stunts, and hosted dinner parties for the likes of Benjamin Franklin which were full of potato dishes.
Parmentier presented King Louis XVI and Marie–Antoinette with bouquets of potato blossoms, which the latter wore on her hat. He put armed guards on his potato patch, to make them seem like precious produce and encourage people to steal them.
In 1772 his efforts were rewarded when the potato was declared edible by the Paris Faculty of Medicine. Parmentier was congratulated by the King, who declared: "France will not forget that you found food for the poor." Many potato–based dishes came to be named after him, notably hachis parmentier – similar to a cottage or shepherd's pie. By 1840, France was growing 117 million hectolitres of potatoes each year. (Don't ask me why the French measure potatoes by volume rather than weight, because I don't know.)
© Haydn Thompson 2018