Andean Potatoes in the News

The Lake Titicaca region of the Andes is well known as the birthplace of the potato. Potatoes have been cultivated in this regions for thousands of years, and the area is home to thousands of potato varieties. Recently, coinciding with the Peru's National Potato Day (May 30), the company Fritolay introduced a new line of chips called Papas Andinas, made from these famous Andean potatoes. As reported here on the website of International Potato Center, the company aims to help the small farmer as well as help preserve potato biodiversity in the region. You can watch their interesting commercial for the new potato chips here, in which a grandfather explains to his granddaughter in Quechua, a traditional Andean language, how the potato has sustained her ancestors for thousands of years. Later in the commercial, the modern business man from Lima comes to collaborate with these local farmers and help expand their market. These chips are being only sold in South America for now, but with the growing global market and free trade agreements, maybe we can look forward to buying them in the US sometime soon.

More about Andean Potatoes and Potato Recipes...

• Peru Celebrates Potato Diversity
  
• Potato Wars
  
• More Potato Recipes