by Lenna Gonya

Created on: April 11, 2010

The potato is one of the most important vegetables in the world. We bake, broil, fry, boil, and mash it, and there are over 4000 varieties to choose from.

As familiar as we are with the potato, there are some facts that we may not be aware of.

1. The potato is 80% water and 20% solids. It contains vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, antithetic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and fiber.

2. The average American eats almost 138 pounds of potatoes every year. They are the world’s fourth largest food crop, ranking just beneath rice, wheat and maize.

3. Potatoes originated in the Andes, and in many parts of South America, they still grow wild. The potatoes that we normally use, today however, are descendants from those grown in Chili. Overall China and India today harvest nearly a third of the world’s potatoes.

4. The potato is a member of the nightshade family, which includes mandrake, belladonna, Jimson weed, nicotiana , or tobacco, petunia, and chili pepper. Most of these, when used in the proper amounts and for specific conditions can be beneficial, but they can also be toxic and deadly.

5. Although potatoes were introduced into England and Ireland in the 16th century, the Irish wanted nothing to do with them. They were associated with the family of plants that they belonged too, and were considered to be possibly poisonous. Also, they weren’t mentioned in the Bible as an actual edible foodstuff. It took the King to finally convince his subjects to eat potatoes by eating them himself at Royal functions.

6. The first French fries were served in America over 200 years ago when Thomas Jefferson served them at a White House dinner.

7. The largest potato grown was produced by an Englishman in 1795. It was 18 pounds, four ounces.

8. Potatoes have been used to treat facial blemishes by rubbing them on the infected area, and used to treat frost bite. Potato water is used for arthritis and rheumatism by rubbing it on the painful area.

9. During the Klondike gold rush, potatoes were so valuable because of their vitamin C and their other nutrients, and as an important food, that they were traded for gold.

10. Potato chips were once known as “Saratoga Crunch Chips”, when in 1853, Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his fried potatoes were too thick, and in his enthusiasm to make them thinner, his chef created the potato chip.






http://www.wisconsinpotatoes.com/AboutPotatoes/FunFa cts.html

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