The Legend of Potato that you don't know

As we all know, potato is an indispensable food in our life, and now it is about to become the fourth staple food on the Chinese table. In history, Tudou has made a lot of achievements and become the first choice for food in some special industries. Have you heard all these legendary stories about potatoes?

In this issue, we have collected and sorted out some legendary stories about small potatoes. Through these stories, we can once again get to know potatoes and enter the world of potatoes. -- Editor

[legend one]

"Super dry food" on the battlefield?

During World War II, relying on its strong economic and scientific and technological strength, the United States invested a lot of manpower, material resources and energy to develop and produce and provide nutritious, easy-to-carry and storable "super food" for its troops. These super battlefield food, like the fuel of vehicles and the ammunition of weapons, provide a guarantee for American soldiers to maintain good combat effectiveness.

At that time, what American soldiers could not eat on the battlefield was a kind of military compressed biscuits and "SPAM" lunch meat, both of which were mainly made of "whole potato powder."

Luncheon meat is a lump made of a small amount of pork mixed with a large amount of whole potato powder, followed by oil and salt. This kind of meat was packed in tin cans and gradually became popular all over the world. 99% of the ingredients in military compressed biscuits are whole potato powder, and the rest are binders and seasonings.

In 1937, the "canned luncheon meat" rich in whole potato powder produced by Mel Foods of the United States for the first time successfully became the main source of protein in allied food in World War II. In 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, in order to prepare portable and nutritious super dry food for hundreds of thousands of American troops who went to the front, the US logistics support department selected SPAM luncheon meat and military compression biscuits that were small and easy to carry.

It turned out that luncheon meat and compressed biscuits as soldiers' staple food was a very wise decision. Their main ingredient is potato powder, which contains almost all the nutrients in grain, vegetables and fruits, as well as oil and fat. The then Allied Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower once said: "in the past four years, it was luncheon meat and compressed biscuits that helped us win the war!"

After World War II, the preparation and recipes of US military food have changed a lot. Luncheon meat and "military compressed biscuits" are also gradually transformed into ready-to-eat rations MRE. During the Vietnam War, the US military also added stewed chicken and pork roast potatoes to its field food. During the Gulf War and the Iraq War, the main food of the US military was ready-made cooked food. The food is a soft-packaged food with small size, light weight and good taste. Cooked food includes: cream chicken nuggets, potato chips with ham, stewed steak with potatoes, corned beef mashed potatoes and so on. Therefore, it can be found that Xiao Tudou always plays an important role in the battlefield.

[legend II]

Essential food for astronauts in space?

During a half-year space trip that began in June 2011, Sergei Volkov, an astronaut from Russia, a "roast beef with potatoes", became a "space farmer" to grow potatoes (potatoes) on the space station, the Chinanews.com reported, citing the Daily Mail of the UK. The pilot project is to explore food self-sufficiency in future space exploration.

Potatoes are an essential staple and dish in the astronaut's diet. It not only appears in the form of mashed potatoes, but also traditional delicacies such as "roast beef with potatoes" are also essential.

Why did you choose potatoes? This is not only to take care of the eating habits of astronauts in western countries, but also to take into account the health of astronauts and ensure that they receive the most comprehensive and balanced nutrition.

On the one hand, potato is almost the most adaptable food crop in the world, and it is suitable for planting almost anywhere in the world, especially in remote, cold, harsh and arid areas. It is also suitable for space beyond the earth.

On the other hand, potato has high nutritional value and comprehensive nutrition. In addition to carbohydrates, it also contains a lot of protein, minerals and lysine, tryptophan and rich vitamins and trace elements lacking in general food crops, in which vitamin C is 10 times that of apples and potassium is 4 times that of bananas. It is the only fully nutritious food in the world: it has all the nutrients of grain, vegetables and fruits, low fat and low calories, especially the strong antioxidants such as anthocyanins and polyphenols in purple potatoes, which are comparable to blueberries.

As a result, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization calls it the "king of nutritional value" and "buried treasure". Scientists have shown that potatoes are excellent food for the future. at present, astronauts' space food includes potatoes, and potatoes are the most ideal crop on the way to other planets in the future.

[legend III]

Potatoes are as important as love?

The Potato Museum in Munich is one of three potato museums in Germany. There are thousands of kinds of potatoes from all over the world. The museum also uses oil paintings, sculptures and other art forms to tell people about the history and culture of potatoes.

It is said that potatoes were not popular when they first arrived in Europe. The Germans' change of attitude towards potatoes has something to do with Friedrich the Great, king of Prussia. In the middle of the 18th century, plagues and natural disasters hit Germany, resulting in no harvest of agriculture and many people starved to death. During the crisis, Friedrich the Great thought of a good kind of potato that is easy to live. He first gave Tudou a royal reputation and made all the female members of the royal family wear potato flowers. Then he asked the soldiers to plant a large patch of potatoes, and when the potatoes grew, they sent the best troops to guard them, and then withdrew them in the evening. As a result, curious farmers went to the fields late at night to steal potatoes. In this way, the cultivation of potatoes became popular. Until now, potatoes are always placed in front of the tomb of Friedrich the Great in the carefree Palace of Potsdam, Germany.

For Germans, potatoes are more of a "lifesaver" in the crisis. There have been many famines in German history, but thanks to "three potatoes a day", the Germans survived the crisis again and again. Since 1929, Germany has suffered from the world economic crisis, many families can only afford to buy potatoes, but also as a dish and staple food, so they call it the "second bread". So far, Germans still eat potatoes at least two meals a day.

There are all kinds of potato food in German supermarkets, and many new potato things have emerged: potato hotels, which provide potato-related tourism services; potato monuments, on which all historical figures who have contributed to the potato cause are engraved; the potato library, from the history of potatoes, anecdotes to the academic research of potatoes can be found. In Lower Saxony, young men and women give each other a potato when they are madly in love, because to the locals, "love is as precious as potatoes."

Germans love potatoes, but also because they contain "thrift", "simple" and other "potato spirit", just like the German nation. No wonder European neighbors simply call Germany a "potato country".