Potatoes

Potatoes

　　Potatoes, also known as "tudou" or "yangyu," have been cultivated in Zhaotong City since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Since their introduction, potatoes have not only "helped sustain the population during years of famine" but also transformed once dense forests and barren lands into agricultural farmland. By 1990, the total potato planting area in the region had reached 1.2 million mu, yielding the equivalent of 188.63 million kilograms of staple grain. Potatoes are rich in protein, fat, vitamin C, B1, B2, as well as minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. In both urban and rural areas of the region, they serve as both a staple food and a vegetable. Common potato-based dishes include shredded potatoes, sliced potatoes, and potato starch. Fried potato chips are crispy yet tender, flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth, while being rich in vitamin C and minerals like iron and zinc, which help prevent anemia and promote children’s intellectual development. Potato starch, also known as "yangyu yao," is used as a seasoning. In the food industry, potatoes can also be processed into products such as glucose, candied fruit, and syrup. In concentrated potato-growing areas like Qiaojia County’s Qiaomai Di, large-scale production of potato powder has already been established. The region’s potato production is still largely at the primary product stage. To gradually develop the necessary technology and equipment and expand deep processing, Zhaotong No. 1 Food Factory recently partnered with Zhongdian County Forestry Bureau to establish the "Yunnan Starch Food Factory." Using starchy crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, and konjac as raw materials, the factory processes 100 tons per day and produces 3,000 tons of refined powder annually. This not only provides a solution for potato storage but, more importantly, develops new products for Zhaotong and opens up a new path for rural economic development. (Zhaotong)