Today, August 19th, is National Potato Day! What better way to celebrate than to talk about all things potato! Whether baked, fried, or mashed, potatoes are a staple in many households.
What kind of potatoes do you buy most often and what’s your favorite way to prepare them? Let me know in the comment section below!
Tater Facts
Check out these “a-peeling” potato fun facts and tips from idahopotatomuseum.com:
– Potatoes are grown in all 50 U.S. states and in about 125 countries throughout the world.
– The sweet potato belongs in the same family as morning glories, while the white potato belongs to the same group as tomatoes, tobacco, chili pepper, eggplant and the petunia.
– The potato is about 80% water and 20% solids.
– An 8-ounce baked or boiled potato has only about 100 calories.
– The average American eats about 124 pounds of potatoes per year, while Germans eat about twice as much.
– In 1974, an Englishman named Eric Jenkins grew 370 pounds of potatoes from one plant.
– Thomas Jefferson gets the credit for introducing “french fries” to America when he served them at a White House dinner.
– In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually, feeding future space colonies.
Tater Tips
How to Select Potatoes – Select loose potatoes that are well formed, smooth, firm, with eyes, and no discoloration, cracks, bruises or soft spots.
How to Store Potatoes – Don’t wash your potato before storing. Washing speeds decay. Potatoes can be safely stored in a dry, dark place for three months at 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tater Data
Here’s a mash up of NCP panel member data about potato purchases:
NCP panel members reported 381,000 barcode scans for potatoes in the past 12 months!
The most popular fresh vegetables (UPC barcoded) purchased by panel members in the past 12 months were:
Potatoes
Lettuce
Mushroom
Carrots
Onions
In what months did panel members spend the most dollars on potatoes in the past 12 months?
1. November
2. March
3. April
4. December
5. January
(On a side note, panel members spent the least on potatoes in August.)
The states where the most dollars on average were reported by panel members for potato purchases in the past 12 months were:
1. Rhode Island
2. Maine
3. Vermont
4. Massachusetts
5. Pennsylvania
Interesting, right? NCP panel members represent consumers all across the country by sharing their shopping experiences and opinions. If you’re not a panel member and interested in joining NCP to share your shopping experiences, earn great rewards, and influence what you see on store shelves, click here or go to the Join NCP section of the blog!
Panel Members: Please report all of your potato purchases, with and without barcodes. Use the Non-Barcoded Items list in the NCMobile app for your non-barcoded (loose) potato purchases (or refer to the Barcode Reference Booklet if you use NCP’s handheld scanner).
Just for fun: What do you call a potato at a football game? A spec-tater!
Enjoy the weekend!
Regards,
Taylor
My very favorite potato is the sweet potato! I like to bake it (nuk or oven) then add butter, cracked black pepper…and lemon juice, very simple! It is the best ever! If you haven’t tried it I highly recommend it, my entire family loves them this way!!! 😉
Loved the tater facts – and maybe I read them at the potato museum in Blackfoot, Idaho.
I really love my Yukon gold potatoes!!
I already liked them anyway but when I developed a condition called gastroparesis, I discovered that Yukon golds are one of a few things I can eat and my stomach can process.
When my condition flares up I can’t keep anything down, even water. The first time I experienced this condition it went on for months. I was so dehydrated and malnourished that my hair was falling out and I lost 75# lying in bed, too weak to even get to the bathroom without help. Doctors ran all kinds of tests and finally figured out what it was – but no explanation why.
I began, like one does with allergies, trying one food at a time to find out what I could keep down – to everyone’s surprise including the nutritionist, Yukon gold potatoes was at the top of the list!
I love potatoes also but I have MS and I find that I can’t eat them like I use to because it gives me chronic diarrhea along with other foods that I eat. But I have to give thanks because I realize that it could be worse. So keep the Faith it will get better for us. One day we will be able to enjoy all the food we use to enjoy once again without any problems at all..
Red potatoes are my favorite. Diverse, cook quickly, blend creamy.
Also enjoyed your ‘tater facts’.
I buy russet potatoes the most and my family like baking or mashing them
So interesting
Thank you
I buy russet potatoes and make potato wedges in the air fryer. Easy, quick and healthy.
I love potatoes also but I have MS and I find that I can’t eat them like I use to because it gives me chronic diarrhea along with other foods that I eat. But I have to give thanks because I realize that it could be worse. So keep the Faith it will get better for us. One day we will be able to enjoy all the food we use to enjoy once again without any problems at all..
The. Best potato salad
https://www.foodiecrush.com/how-to-make-the-best-potato-salad/
Growing potatoes at home this year for the first time ever. Will find out soon how many potatoes I’ve got.
The above ground portion of the plants are all over the place so hopefully that is a good indication that there will be a lot to harvest
I like russet potatoe fries but made in the air fryer
My favorite way to make potatoes is to peel and slice potatoes and fry with onions. If there are any leftovers, I will scramble eggs into the potatoes for breakfast the next day.
I washed my potatoes good and put them in my stews and roast potatoes and carrots celery and onion in my instant pot. Also I leave the skin on because it’s very nutritious. Just watch them cut them up with skin on anyway you make them. Even mashed potatoes.
Very interesting. Thanks