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.

The alphabetical list of all the potato-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 873 recipes in total:

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Potato and Spinach Gnocchi      Origin: Italy	Potée bretonne aux saucisses et poisson (Breton stew with sausages and fish)      Origin: France	Roast Goose Stuffed with Mashed Potato      Origin: Fusion
Potato Buns      Origin: Ireland	Poten Dato (Potato Sponge Cake)      Origin: Welsh	Roast Grouse      Origin: Scotland
Potato Cakes with Mango Sauce      Origin: Ireland	Potes Cennin (Leek Pottage)      Origin: Welsh	Roast Lamb Chump with Garlic      Origin: Britain
Potato Casserole      Origin: Ireland	Potes Cennin a Thatws (Leek and Potato Soup)      Origin: Welsh	Roast Potato Gnocchi      Origin: British
Potato Chops      Origin: India	Potjeikos      Origin: Southern Africa	Roast Salmon Chowder      Origin: Britain
Potato Cream Cake      Origin: Britain	Poulet aux Arachides de Niger (Chicken with Peanuts, Niger Style)      Origin: Niger	Rocoto Rellenos (Stuffed Rocoto Chillies)      Origin: Peru
Potato Farls      Origin: Ireland	Poulet Colombo      Origin: French Guiana	Rosti      Origin: Austria
Potato Gnocchi      Origin: Italy	Poulet Meshi (Tunisian Roast Chicken)      Origin: Tunisia	Rumbledethumps      Origin: Scotland
Potato Jowdle      Origin: England	Poutine      Origin: Canada	Ræst fisk med mos (Fermented Fish with Mash)      Origin: Greenland
Potato Kugel      Origin: Russia	Poutine      Origin: Saint Pierre	Saag Aloo (Stir-fried Potatoes with Spinach)      Origin: India
Potato Muffins      Origin: Ireland	Prassyn as Skeddan (Priddhas an' herrin')      Origin: Manx	Saag Aloo (Stir-fried Potatoes with Rapeseed Greens)      Origin: India
Potato Omelette      Origin: England	Pressure Cooker Chana Aloo Curry (Pressure Cooker Chickpea Curry)      Origin: Britain	Saak-er Ghanto      Origin: Bangladesh
Potato Pancakes with Dulse      Origin: Ireland	Pressure Cooker Kareraisu (Pressure Cooker Japanese Curry)      Origin: Japan	Sabz Jaipuri (Vegetable Jaipuri Curry)      Origin: India
Potato Pizza      Origin: Britain	Pressure Cooker Massaman Beef Curry      Origin: Britain	Saint Lucia Chicken Curry      Origin: Saint Lucia
Potato Pizza Base      Origin: Italy	Pressure Cooker Pesce al Cartoccio (Pressure Cooker Fish in Parcels)      Origin: Italy	Saint Martin Poulet de Colombo      Origin: Sint Maarten
Potato Pizza with Tomatoes, Aubergines and Basil      Origin: Ireland	Pressure Cooker Quick Lentil Soup      Origin: Britain	Saint Martin Poulet de Colombo      Origin: Saint-Martin
Potato Rye Bread      Origin: Ireland	Pumpkin Chowder      Origin: American	Salada di Batata (Potato Salad)      Origin: Aruba
Potato Salad with Herb Sauce      Origin: Ireland	Purslane and Potato Salad      Origin: Britain	Salata od hobotnice na Prigorski (Prigorski-style octopus salad)      Origin: Croatia
Potato Salad with Thyme, Watercress and Lovage      Origin: Britain	Pwdin Moron (Welsh Carrot Pudding)      Origin: Welsh	Salmagundi      Origin: Britain
Potato Scones with Herbs      Origin: Ireland	Rösti      Origin: Switzerland	Salmagundi with Herby Rack of Lamb      Origin: Britain
Potato Shortcrust Pastry      Origin: British	Ragout Breton à la saucisse (Breton Stew with sausage)      Origin: France	Salmon and Dulse Fishcakes      Origin: Scotland
Potato Soup with Black Pudding      Origin: Britain	Railway Lamb Curry      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Salmon Kalia in Panch Phoron Sauce      Origin: India
Potato Starch Flour Bread      Origin: Italy	Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry)      Origin: Bangladesh	Salt Cod and Potatoes      Origin: Bermuda
Potato Vegetable Kugel      Origin: Jewish	Raw Fry      Origin: England	Salt Cod Fish Cakes      Origin: Bahamas
Potato Wedges with Curry Sauce      Origin: Britain	Real Irish Stew      Origin: Ireland	Samp      Origin: eSwatini
Potato Zrazy      Origin: Belarus	Red Curry Cambogee with Meat      Origin: Cambodia	Sardines à la bretonne (Breton-style sardines)      Origin: France
Potato, Fennel and Apple Gratin      Origin: Britain	Red Orach Soup      Origin: Britain	Sarma (Meat-stuffed Cabbage Leaves)      Origin: Kosovo
Potato, Smoked Salmon and Dill Galette      Origin: Ireland	Restaurant-style Dum Aloo      Origin: India	Sarson Aloo      Origin: Fusion
Potato, Smoked Trout and Dill Salad      Origin: Ireland	Rhubarb and Common Hogweed Seed Chutney      Origin: Britain	Saté ku batata (Satay with Potatoes)      Origin: Bonaire
Potato, Tomato and Basil Soup      Origin: Ireland	Rice Flour Bread      Origin: Canada	Sauce Rouille (Rouille Sauce)      Origin: France
Potato-topped Pizza Squares      Origin: Ireland	Rich Minestrone Soup      Origin: British	Sauci Yohss (Gambian Mussel Meats in Tomato Sauce with Potatoes)      Origin: Gambia
Potatoes with Almonds and Cream      Origin: British	Rivmaiz Cepti Kartupeli (Breaded Roast Potatoes)      Origin: Latvia	Sausage Roly-poly      Origin: England
Potatoes with Mushrooms      Origin: Ireland	Riz des Iles (Island Rice)      Origin: Comoros
Potatoes with Pine Nuts      Origin: Ireland	Roast Golden Plover      Origin: Scotland

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