Old Bill Spud
Yet another food industry mascot whose creepiness prevented a longer career. From The Chicago Packer - Apr 10, 1937.
Comments
Grandpa always said that here wasn't anyway to ruin a potato. Sadly he's passed so I can't show him how wrong he was.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/09/14 at 11:28 AM
Looks like a cross between an old man and Michigan J. Frog.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 03/09/14 at 11:46 AM
Sadly, his point is still valid, and the slander against the great spud continues in fashionable diets to this day. There's nothing unhealthy or fattening in a good potato cooked well. (Waxy potatos cut into cubes do well in a curry!)
Posted by Richard Bos on 03/10/14 at 08:44 AM
Could that be Mr. Potato Head's old Irish uncle?
Posted by KDP on 03/10/14 at 09:14 AM
@ Expat47
"Grandpa always said that here wasn't anyway to ruin a potato."
Give'em to the British, they can screw up anything edible.
The first potatoes served to the royal court nearly killed the royal court!
1589 - Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), British explorer and historian known for his expeditions to the Americas, first brought the potato to Ireland and planted them at his Irish estate at Myrtle Grove, Youghal, near Cork, Ireland. Legend has it that he made a gift of the potato plant to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The local gentry were invited to a royal banquet featuring the potato in every course. Unfortunately, the cooks were uneducated in the matter of potatoes, tossed out the lumpy-looking tubers and brought to the royal table a dish of boiled stems and leaves (which are poisonous), which promptly made everyone deathly ill. The potatoes were then banned from court.
Quoted from http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PotatoHistory.htm
"Grandpa always said that here wasn't anyway to ruin a potato."
Give'em to the British, they can screw up anything edible.
The first potatoes served to the royal court nearly killed the royal court!
1589 - Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), British explorer and historian known for his expeditions to the Americas, first brought the potato to Ireland and planted them at his Irish estate at Myrtle Grove, Youghal, near Cork, Ireland. Legend has it that he made a gift of the potato plant to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The local gentry were invited to a royal banquet featuring the potato in every course. Unfortunately, the cooks were uneducated in the matter of potatoes, tossed out the lumpy-looking tubers and brought to the royal table a dish of boiled stems and leaves (which are poisonous), which promptly made everyone deathly ill. The potatoes were then banned from court.
Quoted from http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PotatoHistory.htm
Posted by Captain DaFt on 03/10/14 at 07:21 PM
IIRC the potato is, in fact, a member of the nightshade family and if your story is true then why isn't it the official plant of the US?
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/11/14 at 01:17 AM
Expat: Yes, and it's closely related to tomatos and aubergines. Both of those also have poisonous leaves, though not as strongly as potatos, AFAIK. Even with tomatos you would have to eat quite a lot of the greens to die, but you'd certainly get sick. IIRC the potato berry is highly poisonous, but I'm not about to try and check.
As for the story, it sounds apocryphal as it stands, but I don't doubt that similar things did happen in the early days of the potato's adoption in Europe, and not just in England, either.
And as for the English ruining a potato... not on top of a shepherd's pie, they don't. Good stuff, that. And be honest: their chips are nearly as good as Belgian frites, and a damned sight better than McDreck's "French Fries". If you want to see the English ruin a vegetable, you only have to turn to the Brussel sprout, but they do know how to make a spud taste good.
As for the story, it sounds apocryphal as it stands, but I don't doubt that similar things did happen in the early days of the potato's adoption in Europe, and not just in England, either.
And as for the English ruining a potato... not on top of a shepherd's pie, they don't. Good stuff, that. And be honest: their chips are nearly as good as Belgian frites, and a damned sight better than McDreck's "French Fries". If you want to see the English ruin a vegetable, you only have to turn to the Brussel sprout, but they do know how to make a spud taste good.
Posted by Richard Bos on 03/11/14 at 08:03 AM
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