Google honours Eva Ekeblad – the pioneering scientist who made alcohol from potatoes

A Swedish scientist who discovered how to make alcohol from potatoes has been honoured with a Google doodle.

Eva Ekeblad, a countess and agronomist, extracted starch from potatoes and, through the process of distillation, created vodka.

“The Swedish scientist brought potatoes, then a greenhouse curiosity, to the people,” Google wrote.

“Her discovery helped reduce famine in years to come.”

Ekeblad also became the first woman elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1748.

“The next woman recognised in those ranks would come 203 years later,” Google added.

Austrian nuclear physicist Lise Meitner was the next female scientist to join the academy – in 1951.