I can see why potatoes became so popular!

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Some vegetables from the ‘New World’ have become so ubiquitous that it’s hard to imagine life without them – tomatoes and potatoes in particular. And it’s easy to forget that for most of our history we didn’t have these foods. I’ve certainly seen ‘Mediaeval banquets’ that included baked potatoes! But if you think back to the 15th century and earlier, we didn’t have potatoes in Europe. So what did people eat instead? Well they ate bread of course, made from wheat as well as rye and barley. They also ate some root vegetables, although again not the ones most popular today – carrots and parsnips were introduced to Britain from mainland Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Jerusalem artichokes also came from the Americas in the 16th century. Turnips have been eaten for centuries though. But some of the vegetables popular in those days have been all but forgotten, and one of those is skirret, which I had never heard of until a friend who is really into historical re-enactments gave me some to plant, a couple of years ago. Well I dutifully planted it and left it to get on with things. It grew OK and had lacy white flowers rather like cow parsley. It died down in the winter and grew back again in spring. So now when I was tidying up the veg patch I decided to dig it up and see what had happened. Here’s what I found. Not exactly much to keep us going through a long winter. Not to mention the fiddlyness of preparing them. I can certainly see why potatoes took over! They are supposed to be tasty though. I have yet to try any but I’ll have to report back on that! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2024.