Potatoes: Once an Unpopular Vegetable
Potatoes Come to Europe
Thousands of years ago, potatoes were first grown by people in the Andes mountains ____.
When Spanish people took over this region in the ____ century, they first learned about potatoes.
They brought them to Europe because they were a good food ____.
____, potatoes were not welcomed at first.
People did ____ try to grow and eat them because they looked strange.
They also ____ potatoes brought diseases, so they gave them to pigs.
The Potato King
A great ____ shortage happened in Prussia in 1744.
____ did not have enough food to eat.
Frederick the ____ wanted his people to grow and eat potatoes.
He planted a large field of potatoes, but ____ was interested.
The king did not give up, and he came up with an ____.
He named ____ a royal vegetable and ordered his soldiers to guard the potato field.
This made people curious, and some even tried to ____ potatoes at night.
Soon, ____ and more people started to grow and eat potatoes.
Potato Flowers, a Royal Fashion
When potatoes were ____ introduced in France, French people did not like them as well.
Because France ____ had food shortages, one government official told King Louis XVI about the successful case in Prussia.
He advised the king to wear ____ flowers on his jacket.
The king took his advice, and the queen also ____ some in her hair.
____ started to follow this royal fashion.
As a result, people began to like potatoes and started to grow and eat ____.
Thanks to such efforts, ____ were finally accepted in Europe and began to spread worldwide.
They have now become ____ of the most popular vegetables in the world.