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 1215 recipes in total:

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Shchi (Russian Cabbage Soup)      Origin: Russia	Soubise Sauce      Origin: Britain	Stoved Chicken      Origin: Scotland
Shepherd's Pie      Origin: Britain	Soufflé Potatoes with Carrot and Asparagus      Origin: Ireland	Stovies      Origin: Scotland
Shrimp and Corn Chowder      Origin: American	Soup à la Flamande II      Origin: British	Stovies II      Origin: Scotland
Shtitha Batata (Potato Stew)      Origin: Algeria	Soup Joumou (Haitian Squash Soup)      Origin: Haiti	Straw Fries      Origin: Britain
Shuba (Herring and Beet Salad)      Origin: Moldova	Soupe au Pistou Monegasque (Monegasque Soup with Pistou)      Origin: Monaco	Stuffat Tal-Fenek (Rabbit Stew)      Origin: Malta
Shukto      Origin: Bangladesh	Soupe aux pois et la viande (Pea Soup and Meat)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Stuffed Aubergines      Origin: Anglo-Indian
Shurpa      Origin: Uzbekistan	Soupe de mouton (Mutton soup)      Origin: Saint-Martin	Stwns (Mash)      Origin: Welsh
Siberian Borscht      Origin: Siberia	Soupe Djiboutienne (Djibouti Soup)      Origin: Djibouti	Stwns Rwdins (Swede Mash)      Origin: Welsh
Sill Potatis (Pickled Herring with Boiled Potatoes and Sour Cream)      Origin: Sweden	Soupou Konkoé (Smoked Fish Soup)      Origin: Guinea	Suaasat      Origin: Greenland
Silpancho      Origin: Bolivia	Soupou Tehou (Beef Soup)      Origin: Guinea	Summer Lamb Casserole      Origin: Britain
Sing Mapan Singju (Ginger Flower and Water Dropwort Singju)      Origin: India	South African Potato Salad      Origin: South Africa	Summer Soup      Origin: British
Siwin wedi'i serio gyda Stwns Bara Lawr, Samffir, Sbigoglys a Phys (Seared Sea Trout with Laver Mash, Samphire, Spinach and Peas)      Origin: Welsh	South African Roast Potatoes with Biltong      Origin: South Africa	Sun-dried Tomato Bread      Origin: Ireland
Sklandrausis (Vegetable Tarts)      Origin: Latvia	South African Vegetable Biryani      Origin: South Africa	Suomalaisruisleipa (Finnish Rye Bread)      Origin: Finland
Sladký Lokše (Sweet Slovak Potato Pancakes)      Origin: Slovakia	Spanish Fries      Origin: Spain	Super-speedy Microwave Lamb Curry      Origin: Britain
Slow Cooker Aloo Gobi      Origin: Britain	Special Chicken Bengal      Origin: Britain	Suqaar (Somali Beef Stew)      Origin: Somalia
Slow Cooker Duck and Potato Massaman Curry      Origin: Britain	Speckkartoffel (Potatoes With Bacon)      Origin: Germany	Şurpa (Shurpa)      Origin: Turkmenistan
Smočani kačamak (Fatty porridge)      Origin: Montenegro	Spiced Mackerel with Horseradish Potato Salad      Origin: Britain	Svinekødsuppe (Skerpikjøt Soup)      Origin: Denmark
Smoked Fish Fisherman's Pie      Origin: England	Spicy Potatoes      Origin: Ireland	Swahili Aubergine Curry      Origin: East Africa
Smoked Haddock and Champ Cakes      Origin: Northern Ireland	Spinach and Potato Croquettes      Origin: Ireland	Swiss Soup      Origin: Britain
Smoked Haddock Chowder      Origin: Ireland	Spinach and Yoghurt Soup      Origin: Britain	Swordfish Steaks with Chermoula      Origin: South Africa
Smoked haddock with Potato Mash      Origin: Ireland	Springbok Potjekos      Origin: South Africa	Swper 'Sgadan (Welsh Herring Supper)      Origin: Welsh
Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Potato Farls      Origin: Scotland	Srpska Corba ot Graha (Serbian Bean Stew)      Origin: Serbia	Tajin Sibnekh (Chicken and Egg Tagine)      Origin: Tunisia
Smoored Fish with Tomatoes      Origin: South Africa	St Helena Curry and Rice      Origin: St Helena	Tajine Maadnous (Tunisian Tajine with Eggs, Parsley and Chicken)      Origin: Tunisia
Smoorsnoek with Cabbage      Origin: South Africa	St Helena Fishcakes      Origin: St Helena	Tamales de pollo salvadoreños (Salvadoran Chicken Tamales)      Origin: El Salvador
Snyboontjies Bredie (Green Bean Bredie)      Origin: South Africa	Staff Chicken Curry      Origin: Britain	Tamarillo and Beef Curry      Origin: Fusion
Sonoran Picadillo      Origin: Mexico	Stamppot (Potato-kale Mash with Sausage)      Origin: Netherlands	Tamil Nadu Sambar Curry      Origin: India
Sopa de Arroz (Rice Soup)      Origin: Peru	Steak and Ale Pie      Origin: Britain	Tanrogans and Cheese Sauce      Origin: Manx
Sopa de Boldroegas (Portuguese Common Purslane Soup)      Origin: Portugal	Steak Frites (Steak and Chips)      Origin: France	Tanzanian Meat Curry      Origin: Tanzania
Sopa de Feijao Verde (String Bean Soup)      Origin: Mozambique	Stegt Flæsk (Danish Roast Pork with Potatoes and Parsley Sauce)      Origin: Denmark	Tanzanian Meat Stew      Origin: Tanzania
Sopa de Pescado Salvadoreña (Salvadorean Fish Head Soup)      Origin: El Salvador	Stew Soup I      Origin: British	Tapas de Hongos y Patatas      Origin: Britain
Sopi di Pampuna (Pumpkin Soup)      Origin: Aruba	Stew Soup II      Origin: British	Tarhonyaleves (Pastina Pasta Soup)      Origin: Hungary
Sopi di Piská (Fish Soup)      Origin: Aruba	Stew Soup of Salt Meat      Origin: British	Tariwala Murgh (Home-style Chicken Curry)      Origin: India
Sopi di Piská (Fish Soup)      Origin: Bonaire	Stiw Cig Oen Cymreig (Welsh Lamb Stew)      Origin: Welsh
Sopi di Piská (Fish Soup)      Origin: Curacao	Stiw Eidion Cymreig (Welsh Beef Stew)      Origin: Welsh

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