Thank the U of G for those great mashed potatoes

The humble potato has a fascinating history, and Guelph played a part in it.

There are 5,000 varieties of the tuber, and it is the world’s fourth-largest food crop after corn, wheat and rice. Spanish conquistadors found the Incas of South America cultivating potatoes, and they sent some back to Spain.

The potato would prove to be more valuable than all the gold and silver the Spaniards looted from the Inca empire. It would be grown as a dietary staple from Ireland all the way to China.

Places like Prince Edward Island and Idaho became famous for their potatoes. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sang “You like potato and I like po-tah-to,” and Stompin’ Tom Connors wrote a song about Bud the Spud. A kids’ toy called Mr. Potato Head began as an actual potato before it went plastic.

When we were children, we decided who would be “It” by saying “One potato, two potato, three potato, four …”

We can have our potatoes mashed, boiled, fried, scalloped, baked or roasted. We serve potatoes in soups, stews and salads. We eat them as French fries, better known as chips if they come with fish. Those chips aren’t to be mistaken for the potato chips that come in a crinkly bag and are eaten as a snack food which the British call crisps.

Clearly, the plain ol’ tater has become a cultural icon.

Guelph entered the story thanks to the work of a scientist named Garnet "Gary" Richard Johnston. Like the Spanish conquistadors, he found
gold – but of a different kind.