Friday 26 August 2011

One potato, two potatoes**


If I'm honest, I had no idea what this card was showing until I read the back:
Señor pelando papas, Cuzco (Perú).  Then I had to go to Google Translate to discover that means "Man peeling potatoes in Cuzco, Peru".  The few words of Spanish I know don't stretch to peeling potatoes.

It may seem a little strange that a man peeling potatoes would be the subject of a postcard but potatoes are enormously important in Peru.  They were first grown in southern Peru 7,000 - 10,000 years ago and there are now 5000+ different varieties worldwide.  Of these varieties, 3,000 are found in Peru and nearby Andean countries.  Potatoes, the third most important crop in the world, after rice and wheat, could be considered the first modern convenience food. 

The International Potato Centre is located in Lima, Peru and there they hold the largest collection of potato varieties in the world.  They have a page of facts and figures worth reading.

**When I was a child we used the rhyme
One potato, two potato
Three potato, four,
Five potato, six potato,
Seven potato, more.
as a way of choosing who was "IT".

A post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

9 comments:

  1. I never realized how important the potato really was.

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  2. Its an evocative card, I can imagine the mountain air. The old capital of the Incas where perhaps they sat peeling potatoes as well.

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  3. I've never made it to Peru but I love their ceviche and pisco sours. I even like their use of beef and chicken hearts for appetizers.

    One of my most longed for trips - to Machu Pichu will not happen in this lifetime, sad to say.

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  4. Thsnks for that link. Very interesting. And to think that we only get about 5 different types of potatoes here.

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  5. Interesting card and post, Sheila! :)
    Unfortunately, more and more people switch from potato to "pot", as convenience "food".:)

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  6. Potatoes are a main staple for many countries. It is one of natures finest lifeline for mankind~
    Thanks for the very interesting food for thought~

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  7. Interesting story behind the card. In our part of the world, the staple food is rice. :)

    Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

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  8. I, too, had no clue what the old man was doing but thanks for the info. Despite having a husband who eats potatoes almost everyday, I'm still a rice-person, lol.


    Postcards Crossing

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  9. A pretty interesting card as it depicts a local staple. Thanks for showing. Sometimes it's the things that seem unimportant which stand out later on!

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