'Potato king' myth in Germany's popular Sanssouci Palace debunked

The Star

3 days ago

Generations of Germans believe Frederick the Great brought the beloved potato to Germany.
The legend is this: King Frederick II of Prussia wanted his subjects to eat potatoes, introduced to Europe in the 16th century from South America. But the people of Prussia, which later became part of a united Germany, wouldn't touch the tuber.
So the 18th-century monarch resorted to trickery. He placed royal guards and soldiers along the edge of his palace garden – thus creating the illusion that potatoes were a rare and valuable crop reserved for the royal family and its aristocratic friends. But the guards withdrew from their posts each night, creating an opportunity for enterprising locals to sneak in and 'steal' the spuds.
Thus began Germany's love affair with the humble kartoffel and Frederick's rebranding as Der Kartoffelkonig or the potato king.
Except it's all fake. Bogus. Phony. Or Falsch, as the Germans would say.
And debunking it is a royal pain for Jurgen Luh, historian of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation, even when history has receipts. Archives of royal menus show the king instead had a penchant for Italian food and French wine.
'He never ate it,' Luh said. 'Any potato. Not boiled, not fried.'
A statue of King Frederick II of Prussia at the palace.
What's true
The unexciting truth is that the potato has been cultivated in Germany's Bavarian state since 1647, Luh said.
Frederick's great-grandfather, Elector Frederick William, introduced it to the Brandenburg area of Prussia in the 1650s, but only because he liked the aesthetics of the plant's leafy greens.
By the time Frederick the Great took the throne in 1740, the potato was grown in gardens throughout Prussia but not on a large scale. The king did actually issue royal decrees promoting the farming and production of potatoes, but his people ignored them.
Potatoes did not become widespread in Prussia, in central and eastern Europe, until after the Napoleonic wars ended in 1815, after Frederick II's death in 1786.
The guarded garden story, Luh said, is nonsense. And Frederick was more of a wannabe potato king than an actual one.
But the fable has deep roots, and the myth makes money.
To this day, visitors to Frederick's summer home of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, outside Berlin, leave raw potatoes and paper crowns on the king's grave.
The palace's gift shops sell potato merchandise, from postcards and children's books to a €35 (RM174) apron proclaiming the wearer as a Kartoffelkonig.
Luh used to correct tour guides and visitors to the palace, but he's largely given up. Besides, he said, at least it means people are coming to Sanssouci and experiencing its rich history.
'The fact is that the legend has beaten the truth and the legend is just too beautiful,' he added.
Luh has been educating tourists and even tour guides about the real history of potatoes in Germany.
It's cultural
Whatever its roots, the potato is undeniably part of the German cultural identity. At Biohof Schoneiche, an organic farm outside Berlin, workers will harvest roughly 2,500 metric tonnes of potatoes come the annual September harvest.
'In most parts of the world, potatoes are considered a vegetable. In Germany it's a staple food,' general manager Axel Boehme said. 'People cannot imagine having a meal without potatoes.'
Regional recipes, passed down from every oma (grandmother) to each new generation, debate the merits of a vinegar- or mayo-based kartoffelsalat (potato salad).
From boiled (salzkartoffeln) or pan-fried (bratkartoffeln) to dumplings and pancakes (kartoffelklosse and kartoffelpuffer), the versatile vegetable is intertwined with the country's emotional heritage.
Anke Schoenfelder, project manager for German potato marketing company Kartoffel-Marketing, says her favourite tuber tradition is rooted in making 'Kartoffel-Karotten-Gugelhupf' (potato and carrot Bundt cake, recipe on the right) for family gatherings.
'Taste is memory, right? And when this is related to your family, this is even more part of your identity,' she said.
The palace was once the summer home of King Frederick II of Prussia.
Plus, Schoenfelder added, the potato can be used as a beauty product – the juice can be good for your skin, she says – or a household cleaner, for stubborn stains on the bottom of your oven.
For now, Der Kartoffelkonig's legend lives on. As Luh was speaking to reporters in front of the king's grave, two tourists placed their offerings of potatoes on the tomb. One even took a selfie as she did so.
'I always think I should go here in the evening when I have no potatoes at home,' the historian joked.
'I could take them away and have a good meal afterwards.' – AP
The potato and carrot Bundt cake or kartoffel karotten gugelhupf is often served during Easter in Germany. — Kartoffel-Marketing/die-kartoffel.de/AP
Potato and carrot Bundt cake recipe
One 10-cup Bundt pan
Time: 90 minutes
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
250g high-starch potato (such as Russet and Maris Piper)
250g carrots
50ml carrot juice
50ml sunflower oil
4 eggs (medium-sized, room temperature)
200g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
125g almonds, ground
125g all-purpose flour
melted butter to grease the mould
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. Let them cool slightly, peel them, and then press them through a potato ricer into a bowl.
Wash and peel the carrots and grate them finely with the potatoes, using a vegetable grater or a mandolin.
Generously grease the Bundt pan with oil or butter. Coat the pan with some breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 200°C on the fan setting.
Add carrot juice, sunflower oil, eggs, vanilla sugar, sugar, flour, baking powder and ground almonds to the mashed potatoes and grated carrots and mix with a hand mixer for about four minutes until a dough forms.
Pour the potato-carrot cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes until cooked through (if necessary, cover the pan with aluminium foil after half an hour to prevent the cake from burning).
Let the cake cool completely (you can also do this on a balcony or terrace) before decorating it with icing. This is important, because otherwise the icing will seep into the cake.
In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and a little lemon juice until thickened.
Pour the icing over the cooled cake and decorate with your preferred toppings like chocolate chips, for example. Let it rest a bit to allow the icing to set.