The Irish Potatoes - Kota Gray

Colombian Exchange Food Dish Critique

The Irish Potatoes

Kota Gray

A simple and enjoyable dish "The Irish Potatoes" is composed of mostly potatoes, onions, herbs like parsley and paprika. It is a rather heavy dish and is cooked with additional butter and cream While not the most healthy dish it is easy to reproduce and is a hearty meal for anyone looking for something a bit thick and very filling.

Both potatoes and paprika originate from South/Latin America. Potatoes were native to the Andes in South America and paprika is made from bell peppers which originate from Central America. Both of these thusly came from the New World over to the Old World where many Europeans became fond of these foods.

The potato had a massive effect on widescale on the Old World, particularly in Europe. It rapidly became a staple food due to its high production and its density of calories as well as minerals. This not only made it a great crop to eat for sustenance, but also easy to mass produce for commercial uses. Many families across Europe were often able to eat because they grew potatoes. As a result of being able to eat and produce more than they need, people were able to do things other than farm for food such as working in factories, specializing in manufacturing roles, and other such jobs. This greatly expanded the economy by taking the people trying to feed themselves alone to feeding many others easily. Culturally it became a staple food for anyone looking for a hearty meal such as those in Ireland while alternatively becoming a core ingredient for the production of Vodka in eastern Europe. Potato juice as I call it, had however never took a hold in Western Europe as their given affinity for alcohol fell in line to grain based drinks and wines.

Paprika on the opposite hand is a spice made from bell peppers. It became widely used as a seasoning in Europe and the Middle East. It was particularly favored in the Mediterranean countries. As a commodity and a spice it was traded with high at their time of discovery, and while many were brought over from the New World farms began to crop up in places like Spain and Hungary where they slowly became commonplace in their dishes and cuisines for their red coloring or hot and spicy flavoring. As time went on however its values notably decreased through mass production in multiple areas around the globe, although its popularity flourished as it spread across the globe.