Wild potato species can be found from the southern United States to southern Chile. Genetic studies show that the cultivated potato has a single origin, in the area of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia. Potatoes were domesticated there about 7,000–10,000 years ago from a species in the S. brevicaule complex. Many varieties of the potato are cultivated in the Andes region of South America, where the species is indigenous.

The Spanish introduced potatoes to Europe in the second half of the 16th century from the Americas. They are a staple food in many parts of the world and an integral part of much of the world's food supply. Following millennia of selective breeding, there are now over 5,000 different varieties of potatoes. The potato remains an essential crop in Europe, especially Northern and Eastern Europe, where per capita production is still the highest in the world, while the most rapid expansion in production during the 21st century was in southern and eastern Asia, with China and India leading the world production as of 2023.

Like the tomato and the nightshades, the potato is in the genus Solanum; the aerial parts of the potato contain the toxin solanine. Normal potato tubers that have been grown and stored properly produce glycoalkaloids in negligible amounts, but if sprouts and potato skins are exposed to light, tubers can become toxic.

The English word "potato" comes from Spanish patata, in turn from Taíno batata, which means "sweet potato", not the plant now known as simply "potato".

The name "spud" for a potato is from the 15th century spudde, a short and stout knife or dagger, probably related to Danish spyd, "spear". Through semantic change, the general sense of short and thick was transferred to the tuber from around 1840.

At least seven languages: Afrikaans, Dutch, Low Saxon, French, (West) Frisian, Hebrew, Persian and some variants of German, use a term for "potato" that means "earth apple" or "ground apple", from an earlier sense of both pome and apple, referring in general to a (apple-shaped) fruit or vegetable.



There are two major subspecies of S. tuberosum. The Andean potato, S. tuberosum andigena, is adapted to the short-day conditions prevalent in the mountainous equatorial and tropical regions where it originated. The Chilean potato S. tuberosum tuberosum, native to the Chiloé Archipelago, is in contrast adapted to the long-day conditions prevalent in the higher latitude region of southern Chile.

Following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the Spanish introduced the potato to Europe in the second half of the 16th century as part of the Columbian exchange. The staple was subsequently conveyed by European mariners (possibly including the Russian-American Company) to territories and ports throughout the world, especially their colonies. European and colonial farmers were slow to adopt farming potatoes. However, after 1750, they became an important food staple and field crop and played a major role in the European 19th century population boom. According to conservative estimates, the introduction of the potato was responsible for a quarter of the growth in Old World population and urbanization between 1700 and 1900. However, lack of genetic diversity, due to the very limited number of varieties initially introduced, left the crop vulnerable to disease. In 1845, a plant disease known as late blight, caused by the fungus-like oomycete Phytophthora infestans, spread rapidly through the poorer communities of western Ireland as well as parts of the Scottish Highlands, resulting in the crop failures that led to the Great Irish Famine.

It had been thought that most potato cultivars derived from a single origin in southern Peru and extreme Northwestern Bolivia, from a species in the S. brevicaule complex. DNA analysis however shows that more than 99% of all current varieties of potatoes are direct descendants of a subspecies that once grew in the lowlands of south-central Chile.

There are some 5,000 potato varieties worldwide, 3,000 of them in the Andes alone — mainly in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia. Over 100 cultivars might be found in a single valley, and a dozen or more might be maintained by a single agricultural household. The European Cultivated Potato Database is an online collaborative database of potato variety descriptions updated and maintained by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency within the framework of the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks—which is run by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. Around 80 varieties are commercially available in the UK.

For culinary purposes, varieties are often differentiated by their waxiness: floury or mealy baking potatoes have more starch (20–22%) than waxy boiling potatoes (16–18%). The distinction may also arise from variation in the comparative ratio of two different potato starch compounds: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose, a long-chain molecule, diffuses from the starch granule when cooked in water, and lends itself to dishes where the potato is mashed. Varieties that contain a slightly higher amylopectin content, which is a highly branched molecule, help the potato retain its shape after being boiled in water. Potatoes that are good for making potato chips or potato crisps are sometimes called "chipping potatoes", which means they meet the basic requirements of similar varietal characteristics, being firm, fairly clean, and fairly well-shaped.

Immature potatoes may be sold fresh from the field as "creamer" or "new" potatoes and are particularly valued for their taste. They are typically small in size and tender, with a loose skin, and flesh containing a lower level of starch than other potatoes. In the United States they are generally either a Yukon Gold potato or a red potato, called gold creamers or red creamers respectively. In the UK, the Jersey Royal is a famous type of new potato.

Potato dishes vary around the world. Peruvian cuisine naturally contains the potato as a primary ingredient in many dishes, as around 3,000 varieties of the tuber are grown there. Chuño is a freeze-dried potato product traditionally made by Quechua and Aymara communities of Peru and Bolivia. In the UK, potatoes form part of the traditional dish fish and chips. Roast potatoes are commonly served as part of a Sunday roast dinner and mashed potatoes form a major component of several other traditional dishes, such as shepherd's pie, bubble and squeak, and bangers and mash. New potatoes may be cooked with mint and are often served with butter. In Germany, Northern Europe (Finland, Latvia and especially Scandinavian countries), Eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) and Poland, newly harvested, early ripening varieties are considered a special delicacy. Boiled whole and served un-peeled with dill, these "new potatoes" are traditionally consumed with Baltic herring. Puddings made from grated potatoes (kugel, kugelis, and potato babka) are popular items of Ashkenazi, Lithuanian, and Belarusian cuisine. Cepelinai, the national dish of Lithuania, are dumplings made from boiled grated potatoes, usually stuffed with minced meat. In Italy, in the Friuli region, potatoes serve to make a type of pasta called gnocchi. Potato is used in northern China where rice is not easily grown, a popular dish being 青椒土豆丝 (qīng jiāo tǔ dòu sī), made with green pepper, vinegar and thin slices of potato. In the winter, roadside sellers in northern China sell roasted potatoes.

For other starchy staples see the entries on potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, taro/eddoes/cocoyam, tannia, cassava, green banana/plantain and breadfruit.

The alphabetical list of all the potato-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 1191 recipes in total:

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Garbansos con salchichas (Chickpeas with Sausages)      Origin: Colombia	Ground Provisions      Origin: Sint Eustatius	Hot Dutch Potato Salad      Origin: Netherlands
Garden Vegetable Soup      Origin: Britain	Guam Chicken Curry      Origin: Guam	Houses of Parliament Soup      Origin: British
Gardener's Chicken      Origin: Ireland	Guatita (Ecuadorian Tripe Stew)      Origin: Ecuador	Huntsman's Pie      Origin: Scotland
Garlic and Olive Oil Mash      Origin: Ireland	Guinea Fowl Pudding      Origin: Scotland	Hægeldaðir lambalæri (Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks)      Origin: Iceland
Garlic Potatoes      Origin: Ireland	Guisado del Inca (Inca Stew)      Origin: Peru	Iakwe Stew (Marshallese Chicken Stew)      Origin: Marshall Islands
Gebraaide Hoender (Spiced Roast Chicken)      Origin: South Africa	Guisado Perviuano de la Calabaza (Peruvian Pumpkin Stew)      Origin: Peru	Ibirayi Bisize (Rwandan Fried Potatoes)      Origin: Rwanda
Gentse Waterzooi      Origin: Belgium	Gujarati-style Chicken Curry      Origin: India	Idrijski žlikrofi (Slovenian Potato-filled Dumplings)      Origin: Slovenia
Georgian Potato Soup      Origin: Georgia	Gundruk (Nepali Fermented Leafy Greens)      Origin: Nepal	Im Ofen gebackener RÖsti-Kuchen (Oven-baked Rösti Cake)      Origin: Switzerland
Gerudderten (Boiled Potatoes with Bacon and Sour Milk)      Origin: Luxembourg	Gunpowder Mash Stuffed Potato Skins      Origin: British	Impala      Origin: eSwatini
Gesmoorde Vis (Salt Cod and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce)      Origin: South Africa	Gunpowder Potato Puffs      Origin: Fusion	Indian-spiced Leftover Christmas Roast Veg      Origin: Britain
Gheema      Origin: Britain	Guyanese Chicken Curry      Origin: Guyana	Indian-style pancakes with spiced Jersey Royals      Origin: Fusion
Gheema Curry      Origin: South Africa	Gwledd y Cybydd (The Miser's Feast)      Origin: Welsh	Indian-style Spicy Baby Potatoes      Origin: Britain
Githeri      Origin: Kenya	Haddock Supper      Origin: Ireland	Individual Baked Rösti      Origin: Britain
Gnocchi al Vaticano      Origin: Vatican City	Haenau Cig Oen gyda Pannas a Chennin (Slices of Lamb with Parsnips and Leeks)      Origin: Welsh	Irio      Origin: Kenya
Gnocchi alla Puttanesca al Forno (Puttanesca Baked Gnocchi)      Origin: Italy	Haggis and Pork Sausages with Mash and Red Wine Onion Gravy      Origin: Scotland	Irish Champ      Origin: Northern Ireland
Gnocchi Basilico con Salsa al Pomodoro e Rucola (Basil Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce and Wild Rocket)      Origin: Italy	Haggis Kheema with Tattie Rotis      Origin: Fusion	Irish Coddled Pork with Cider      Origin: Ireland
Goat Curry with Potatoes      Origin: Pakistan	Haiken (Chicken and Prawn Egg Rolls)      Origin: Mauritius	Irish Corned Beef Hash      Origin: Ireland
Goatherd's Pastry Pie      Origin: British	Halawa Yaqtin (Pumpkin Halwa)      Origin: Middle East	Irish Farm Broth      Origin: Ireland
Good Friday Fish Pie      Origin: Britain	Ham and Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes      Origin: Ireland	Irish Fish Cakes      Origin: Ireland
Good King Henry Aloo      Origin: Fusion	Hareless Potpies      Origin: Britain	Irish Fisherman's Stew      Origin: Ireland
Goulash      Origin: Hungary	Harvest Soup      Origin: American	Irish Hot Pot      Origin: Ireland
Gratin Dauphinoise      Origin: France	Hash Browns      Origin: American	Irish Lamb and Potato Curry      Origin: Ireland
Gratin de fruits de mer (Seafood Gratin)      Origin: Monaco	Hashed Potatoes      Origin: Ireland	Irish Lamb Stew      Origin: Ireland
Gratin de Morue (Salt Cod Gratin)      Origin: Mauritius	Hasselback Potatoes      Origin: Britain	Irish Lamb Stew      Origin: Ireland
Gratin Tatws a Bara Lawr (Potato and Laverbread Gratin)      Origin: Welsh	Hazel Pollen Noodles      Origin: Fusion	Irish Potato and Parsley Soup      Origin: Ireland
Graubünden (Barley Soup)      Origin: Switzerland	Hebridean Dulse Broth      Origin: Scotland	Irish Potato Cake      Origin: Ireland
Green Bean and Potato Casserole      Origin: American	Herbed Potato Pastry      Origin: British	Irish Potato Pancakes      Origin: Ireland
Green Bean Bredie      Origin: South Africa	Herby Fish Burgers      Origin: Britain	Irish Potato Soup      Origin: Ireland
Green Tomato Soup      Origin: Britain	Herring Pie      Origin: Britain	Irish Potato Wedges      Origin: Ireland
Grenadian Chicken Curry      Origin: Grenada	Highveld Lamb Curry      Origin: South Africa	Irish Stew      Origin: Ireland
Grilled Potato Slices      Origin: Ireland	Hogweed Bubble and Squeak      Origin: Britain	Irish Stock      Origin: Ireland
Gromperekichelder (Potato Fritters)      Origin: Luxembourg	Home-made Crisps      Origin: Britain	Irish Vegetable Soup      Origin: Ireland
Gromperekniddelen (Luxembourger Potato Dumplings)      Origin: Luxembourg	Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls      Origin: Hong Kong
Gromperenzopp (Potato Soup)      Origin: Luxembourg	Hop Shoots with Fried Potatoes      Origin: Britain

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