We Still Eat This All The Time - Scallop Potatoes

What happens during famine. The Great Famine plagued Europe in 1845, and as a result some 2 million people left Ireland searching for a new home. They couldn’t grow food. In Potato Famine Feast, we celebrate the potato.

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[calebcothron]

Resident plant pathologist here: Potato blight is neither a fungus nor a bacteria. The pathogen itself is phytophthora infestans which is what is known as an oomycete. Very similar in structure and function to a fungus but biochemically a bit more similar to an algae. Phytophthoras do persist in the soil and can survive for years until soil conditions and a suitable host come around. Its a pretty tough pest to deal with.

[NeshaeSerpentine]

When we were homeless one of the most useful things we were given was a huge jar of instant mashed potatoes. It wasn't much, but all we needed was some water and we could put food in our stomachs and the jar made it last a long time so it was a relief for a chunk of time.

[findlayyoung]

Potatoes weren't the cash crop in Ireland. The cash crop was wheat, most of which was exported to Britain. Potatoes were what was grown on the smallholdings, to feed the family

[ashleighlecount]

It is interesting to learn that they had scallop potatoes back then, and we have scalloped potatoes now, but they are two different things.

[fartzinwind]

Been watching this channel a long time. The first few times he was a solo host it was clear he wasn't as comfortable with it, still figuring out his approach. I'm not sure at what point that shifted, but I was thinking during this video that he's really adapt at it now and with his own and his solo videos seem very natural.

[ericbarlow]

My grandmother had interesting ways to cook potatoes. She would peel and dice them. Put them in a pot with salt, butter and water to cover. Cook them almost as a soup and serve. She would then make mashed potatoes from those leftovers. Because they had a broth you could stretch your milk. She would also add flour onions and an egg to mashed potatoes and make latkes with them. Potatoes are versatile in leftovers to help keep you from getting bored eating the same things over and over.

[Xukti]

Sadly with the way English administration treated the Irish, potato really was the only choice for most. Top that with the British government using Malthusian theories on calamities being a natural element of human development as excuses to not help them during the famine.

[BroasterSix]

I really feel identified when you said “if you have ever been in a situation where things are a little tight “

[dwaynewladyka]

Now, people can easily take farmers for granted. If crops fail, that affects us all. I'm originally from a very large farm in Alberta, so I know how important farmers are. I like gardening, and one year I had blight on tomatoes I was growing. Different things can affect how well crops turn out. That, in turn, influences how we eat. Cheers!

[jamesellsworth]

As a youngster, I picked my share of turned-up potatoes off the ground to earn some spare change. My uncles were developing a very large agri-business and one of them told me a good bit about potato nutrition. This was at a time when 'experts' were saying potatoes were 'bad' due to their carbohydrate content. Those experts ignored all of the minerals and whatever were along for the ride. I'm baking skin-on potatoes for dinner tonight!

[notapplicable]

I harvested 1000lbs. of russets from the garden last year, and they are still holding nicely in the root cellar. Winters are long where I live, and potatoes warm the soul. My cows love them, too.

[Daveed]

My family has been here in rural Vermont for generations, every farm (including ours) had a potato patch that was far away from any settlements, usual off in the woods. The idea was to escape the blight by isolation.

[Hato]

My big treat as a kid was when my father was reheating mashed potatoes on frying pan. He always made big pancake out of it, make both sides brown. And I scrape scrispy parts for myself.

[fernbedek]

The Hunger in Ireland was mostly manufactured, but there was a genuine food shortage in a number of other areas, such as Prussia.

[Taydrz]

Missed opportunity to say Potatoes, boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew...

[elricthebald]

To spice up you mash even more add some garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Very simple and easy and not something they would not have access to. But it makes a BIG difference!
You could even add ... nutmeg.

[johnnybigbones]

The famine was caused by the economic system in place where Catholic Irish were forced tenants of mostly Protestant Anglo-Irish Landlords. Under that system, any money made from labouring on the large farms growing other crops like grain was taken to pay the rent, and the tenant farmers had to grow their own food to feed their families on the tiny patches of land allotted to them, which meant only the most calorie efficient food would meet the needs of their families. This meant using the Lumper variety of potato that had huge productivity in Irish soils, and most Irish peasants lived on a diet of almost entirely Lumper potatoes and buttermilk.

This led to disaster because the genetic uniformity of the Lumper meant it was especially vulnerable to the rapid spread of blight. The potato crop failed, but Ireland was still exporting food to Britain, so the famine, like all famines, existed partially because of an upset in the environment but mostly because of the economic and political systems in place.

The famine was a total demographic catastrophe for Ireland, resulting in a massive loss of population due to starvation and mostly emigration. Irish language speakers were especially targeted and pushed to emigrate, which nearly killed the language off. The population dropped from 8 million to 2.4 million at it's lowest point, and to this day Ireland is one of the only countries in the world where the population now is less than the population in 1840.

This was entirely because the political administration of Ireland from the UK was incompetent. It fed pro-independence sentiment and is probably why Ireland is no longer part of the UK today.

[marsupialdungbucket]

0:18 Or, as in Ireland, it is the only crop that their landlord allows them to grow. And then the landlords continued to export the remaining potatoes to England during the Great Hunger/Potato Famine because profit was more important than lives.

[lilykatmoon]

I have Irish Catholic ancestors who came to America because of the potato famine. In Ireland, at least, it was the Catholics who were the worse affected because they almost entirely relied on the potato for food while the Protestants had more food and a variety of crops. It’s really sad. I love potatoes and figure it’s in my Irish, Scandinavian, and German heritage, lol. There’s no way to cook a potato that I won’t like. Wonderful video!

[happygardener]

Left over Mashed potatoes can also become so many other dishes: potato soup, latkes, fish patties and so much more.
I only peel my potatoes if they are old (shriveled), or starting to go a little green (pared down to clean center), as the skin has a lot of nutrients. Shredded carrots, minced broccoli florets, minced and sautéed onions, parsnips or rutabaga if affordable, shredded cheese... Yes all high end but so much nicer to look at and taste.