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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Teisennau Eog Dyfrdwy (Dee Salmon Fish Cakes)      Origin: Welsh	Turmeric and Cumin Mash      Origin: Fusion	Wild Greens Gnocci in Tomato Sauce      Origin: Britain
Teisennau Tatws (Welsh Potato Cakes)      Origin: Welsh	Turnip Pasty      Origin: England	Wild Mustard Greens with Ham Hocks      Origin: American
Tfina Camounia (Potatoes and Bean Stew)      Origin: Tunisia	Turnip Top Soup      Origin: Britain	Wild Rice Soup      Origin: Britain
Tharoi Thongba (Water Snail Curry)      Origin: India	Ugandan Curried Potatoes      Origin: Uganda	Willowherb Bubble and Squeak      Origin: Britain
The Broon's Clapshot      Origin: Scotland	Umngqusho (Samp and Beans with Potatoes)      Origin: South Africa	Winter Minestrone Soup      Origin: Fusion
The Ultimate Chips      Origin: Britain	Upma      Origin: Britain	Wy Cymreig (Welsh Egg)      Origin: Welsh
Thiou Curry au Boeuf (Senegalese Beef Curry)      Origin: Senegal	Urulaikilangu Varuval (Potato Chip Curry)      Origin: India	Wyau Cymreig (Welsh Eggs)      Origin: Welsh
Thukaree Riha (Maldives Vegetable Curry)      Origin: Maldives	Vareninkas      Origin: Russia	Wyau Hwyaden, Dull Ynys Môn (Anglesey-style Duck Eggs)      Origin: Welsh
Thyme-scented Lamb with Almond Skordalia      Origin: Australia	Vegetable Alecha      Origin: Ethiopia	Wyau Ynys Môn (Anglesey Eggs)      Origin: Welsh
Tomatillo and Beef Curry      Origin: Fusion	Vegetable Bhaji      Origin: Britain	Xarba Arbija (Libyan Soup)      Origin: Libya
Tomato and Egg Curry      Origin: India	Vegetable Curry II      Origin: Britain	Yataklete Kilkil (Spiced Vegetables)      Origin: Ethiopia
Tomato Keema (Tomato and Beef Curry)      Origin: Pakistan	Vegetable Curry III      Origin: Britain	Yataklete Kilkili (Ethiopian Ginger Vegetables)      Origin: Ethiopia
Torten Oen a Thatws (Welsh Lamb and Potato Torte)      Origin: Welsh	Vegetable Korma      Origin: Britain	Yen Thongba (Manipuri Chicken Curry)      Origin: India
Tortilla (Classic Spanish Tortilla)      Origin: Spain	Vegetable Potjie      Origin: Botswana	Yetakelt W'et (Spiced Vegetable Stew)      Origin: Djibouti
Tortilla Española      Origin: Costa Rica	Vegetable Seekh Kebab      Origin: India	Ysgwydd Cig Oen Cymreig wedi ei bobi'n araf â chyri (Slow-cooked curried shoulder of Welsh Lamb)      Origin: Welsh
Tourchi Batata (Potato Salad with Cumin)      Origin: Tunisia	Vegetable Tagine      Origin: North Africa	Ysgwydd Oen Mewn Dull Gwledig (Rustic Lamb Shoulder Roast)      Origin: Welsh
Traditional Cornish Pasty      Origin: Cornwall	Vegetable-brined Turkey      Origin: Britain	Zürcher Eintopf (Zürich Style Hotpot)      Origin: Switzerland
Traditional Irish Boxty      Origin: Ireland	Venison, Potato and Mushroom Stew      Origin: Britain	Zagrebački krumpir (Zagreb Potatoes)      Origin: Croatia
Traditional Vegetable Bake      Origin: Ireland	Viskop Kerrie Sop (Curried Snoek Soup)      Origin: South Africa	Zakysanou Smetanou Polévka z Krkonoš (Sour Cream Soup from the Giant Mountains)      Origin: Czech
Trinxat (Cabbage and Potato Cake)      Origin: Andorra	Viskop Sop (Fish-head Soup)      Origin: South Africa	Zanzibar Pilau      Origin: Tanzania
Tripe Soup      Origin: Britain	Warm Potato and Mushroom Salad      Origin: Ireland	Zelnik (Macedoniqn Spinach Pie)      Origin: North Macedonia
Turkey Cakes      Origin: Britain	Watercress and Spinach Soup      Origin: British	Zupa Pomidorowa (Polish Tomato Soup)      Origin: Poland
Turkey Curry Samosas      Origin: Britain	Watercress Soup      Origin: Britain	Zurek (Polish Easter Soup)      Origin: Poland
Turkey Leftovers Curry      Origin: Britain	White Nile Fish      Origin: South Sudan
Turkey Leftovers Hotpot      Origin: Britain	Wild Garlic and Nettle Soup      Origin: Britain

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