Americans love their potatoes.
In fact, it was the most purchased vegetable in the U.S. in 2023, according to the International Fresh Produce Association. More than half (63%) of those potato sales are from food manufacturers for further processing, such as for French fries and chips.
There are over 4,000 potato varieties, with Russet, Yukon Gold and Red among the most common.
The potato itself, while starchy, is healthy until you start frying it in oil and adding salt or loading it with sour cream or butter, of course.
Their fiber content, potassium levels, Vitamin C and minerals such as iron, magnesium and manganese make them nutrient dense.
They are also low in fat and calories and are part of the starchy subgroup of vegetables, along with plantains, yams, corn and parsnips.
Though their starchiness and high glycemic index effects blood sugar levels, they can still be part of a diabetic-friendly diet, depending on how many grams of carbs you are restricted to, so be mindful of portion sizes.
Potatoes are native to South America.
Spanish conquistadors came across potatoes in Peru and brought them back to Europe in 1536.
It didn’t make its way to North America until the 1620s, when the governor of the Bahamas sent a box of gifts to the governor of the colony of Virginia, with potatoes being among the items.
However, they did not become popular until Thomas Jefferson started serving potatoes to guests at the White House, after he was introduced to them in France while serving as the Ambassador to France in the late 1700s.
Speaking of France … do you know the history of French fries?
France’s neighbor, Belgium, claim to have invented fries.
As the story goes, in a small village in Belgium in the winter of 1680, when the local river froze and they couldn’t catch fish to fry, they used long segments of potatoes and fried them instead.
However, food historians dispute this, saying oil was too scarce and that they wouldn’t have fried potatoes with it.
They also question if potatoes were grown in that region at that time.
Another story goes on to say that a Paris-trained chef traveled around Belgium, selling slices of fried potatoes at first, which he called Paris-style fried potatoes, and then eventually cut them into stick shapes so they would cook faster.
Today, both Belgium and France call them “pommes frites,” or fried potatoes.
In the U.S., we call them French fries, possibly because of the cooking term, “Frenching,” a Julienne style of cooking, or possibly because U.S. soldiers during World War I discovered them in French-speaking Belgium and just assumed it was French.
Whatever the origins of the name or the food itself, you can find them everywhere, whether it’s at a sports bar, fast food restaurant, from the frozen aisle, or you make them yourself in the air fryer to go with your hamburger.
Shari Bresin is the Family & Consumer Science Agent for the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Pasco County, An Equal Opportunity Institution.
