Red potatoes

The potato originally comes from the Andes mountains (Peru) in south-western South America, where it has been used for around 8,000 years. Introduced to Europe towards the end of the 16th century after the Spanish conquistadors' discovery of the Americas, it quickly spread around the world and, in 2015, was grown in more than 150 countries at practically every inhabited latitude.

Depending on how it is cooked, it can be an important source of carbohydrates, mainly in the form of starch, as well as protein and vitamins. Its nutritional qualities and ease of cultivation have made it one of humanity's staple foods: it is among the most widely eaten vegetables, starchy foods and fruits, and the world's leading non-cereal food crop. Grown and eaten locally, and relatively little traded on the world market, it is recommended by the UN as a way to achieve food security. It is also the most productive food crop, producing more dry matter per hectare than cereals, with 85% of the dry matter produced by the plant being edible for humans, compared with around 50% for cereals