The internet is filled with fascinating facts about everything from current events to basket weaving history and facts about potatoes. As we conduct research for our daily material on food trucks, food carts, and street food, we come across several points that we were previously unaware of. Potatoes are the world’s most significant non-cereal crop, and the fourth most important crop overall. Corn, wheat, and rice are the only more essential crops. Potato products are the second most popular food in the United States, behind only dairy products.
35 Fascinating Facts about Potatoes
1. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s biggest potato weighed 18 pounds, 4 ounces. At McDonald’s, that’s enough for 73 servings of medium fries.
2. Thomas Jefferson is said to have served the “French fry” for the first food in the United States during a presidential supper.
3. Between 3000 and 2000 BC, the potato was initially cultivated in the southern Peruvian area.
4. Potatoes are still an important crop in Europe, where output per capita is still the greatest in the world.
5. Every year, the average American consumes 140 pounds of potatoes. Germans are among the world’s greatest potato eaters, consuming more than 200 pounds each year.
6. Potatoes are one of the most eco-friendly veggies. They’re easy to grow and, unlike many other vegetables, don’t need a lot of fertiliser or chemical additives to thrive.
7. Potatoes may also be used to make alcoholic drinks like vodka, pitchmen, and akvavit.
8. The potato was initially brought to Europe by Spain in 1536, and the Spaniards believe that Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada was the first to do so. Potatoes were formerly rejected in Europe due to the clergy claims that they were not mentioned in the Bible and others’ fears that they may induce illnesses.
9. Potatoes have the tendency to become green. Yes, photosynthesis occurs in potatoes, just as it does in other plants. Keep your roots in a dry, dark spot away from annoying sunbeams if you want to avoid a green-skin tuber.
10. Potato chips as we know them now were created by accident.
11. Keep in mind that if it hadn’t been for chef George Crum’s passive-aggressive act in 1853, potato chips could never have been developed.
12. Potatoes have 20% solids and 80% water!
13. In 1778, a short battle erupted over potatoes. Prissioa and Australia were the opposing powers, both attempting to starve each other by taking their food.
14. Spain was the first European country to embrace the potato in its cuisine. They quickly established potato as an essential military and naval ration for preventing scurvy.
15. There are over 100 edible potato cultivars now available.
16. One baked potato provides 21% of the necessary daily vitamin B6 intake. Vitamin C (40%) is 40%, potassium (20%) is 20%, and fiber (12%) is 12%.
17. The vitamin C content of a potato is higher than that of an orange, the potassium content is higher than that of a banana, and the fibre content is higher than that of an apple.
18. Potatoes may provide two to four times the amount of food as grain crops on the same acre. Potatoes need up to seven times more water than cereals and generate more food per unit of water than any other significant crop. They’re made in over a hundred nations throughout the world.
19. Temperatures over 4°C (39°F) are maintained in potato storage facilities because potato starch converts to sugar and changes the flavour below this temperature.
20. Potatoes come in various hues, including brown, yellow, red, and pink, among others.
21. The sweet potato is related to morning glories, but the white potato is related to tomatoes, tobacco, chile pepper, eggplant, and petunia.
22. Royal fashion used to be all about potato flowers. When Marie Antoinette marched across the French countryside with potato flowers in her hair, potatoes became fashionable.
23. Potatoes are related to tobacco and the deadly nightshade, which most people are oblivious of. It turns out that the Solanaceae family is quite diverse, encompassing a wide range of plants that we would not expect to be related.
24. Potatoes may be preserved for up to a year under the appropriate circumstances. However, they will not survive as long at home. To preserve potatoes for such an extended period of time, you’ll need high-tech equipment and a commercial warehouse.
25. Despite health concerns, potato chips are one of the world’s most popular snack foods, with billions of packets consumed each year.
26. Boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, French fries, and hash browns are all popular methods to prepare and serve potatoes.
27. Despite being a late grower in the potato farming industry, Idaho became known as the Potato State for an astonishing reason. They barely began farming potatoes in 1836, but after the russet, Idaho’s most renowned potato variety, was grown in 1872, the state was in for a historic ride.
28. Potato tubers are members of the nightshade family. Their starchy edible tubers are the primary cause of their widespread cultivation, production, and consumption.
29. Potatoes are high in vitamin B6, potassium, and other nutrients. Potatoes, often known as near-perfect foods, are 99.9% fat-free and high in vitamins B6, C, E, and K, as well as minerals like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorous.
30. Alcoholic drinks are made from potatoes. Potatoes are not only wonderful to eat, but they are also good to drink. They might also be used to make alcoholic drinks such as Vodka, Akvavit, or PoitÃn.
31. Potatoes were valued more than gold. There was a time when potatoes were sold for gold. The Alaskan Klondike gold rush potato had a high value in the 1890s owing to its necessary Vitamin C concentration.
32. When your small potatoes begin to shrivel and wrinkle, this indicates that they have lost more of their nutrition. In other words, it’s no longer appetizing, therefore you’ll need to adjust your ideas or your dish won’t taste anything like you anticipate it to.
33. You should not wash your potatoes before preserving them since it will just expedite their decomposition. Save the washing till shortly before cooking.
34. You can survive on potatoes. Literally, according to experts, you could survive entirely on potatoes. Simply combine it with a generous portion of milk or butter, and you’ll get almost all of the nutrients that a human body requires to exist.
35. This incredible crop might easily be a food celebrity. Its duty was expanded to include masterpieces by world-renowned painters. Words and pictures about potatoes may be found in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Van Gogh’s Potato Eaters, and James Joyce’s Ulysses.
These facts are an excellent way to educate people about the crop’s origins, contributions to history, society, the economy, and various human advantages. Keep as much of this in mind the next time you get a chance to eat these potatoes!