L'avènement de la pomme de terre

Béatrice Fink : The coming of the potato. This article traces the inroads of the potato in 18th-century French cuisine by examining relevant culinary and para-culinary texts, both on the factual level (development of potato recipes and processing, technological innovations) and on the level of textual sign (the potato as intersection of social, economic, scientific and gustatory discourses). Its use as an ersatz low-cost commodity in the latter part of the century can be explained by shortages and high price of wheat. The potato's promotion as a socially acceptable and humanitarian food is largely due to the efforts of pioneers such as Parmentier. Whether in the form of bread or of a subtly seasoned dish, it represents one of the French enlightenment's more noble conquests.Fink Béatrice. L'avènement de la pomme de terre. In: Dix-huitième Siècle, n°15, 1983. Aliments et cuisine. pp. 19-32