potato week
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Potato Week: facts and figures
Did you know it's Potato Week this week? In celebration
we're looking at all things potato and offering some facts
that you probably didn't know about this staple
vegetable.
On average, each citizen eats 33kg of potatoes each year.
Australians eat 60kg per person each year, and the
Americans eat 63kg, both of which are in stark contrast to
the Irish consumption which is a whopping 85kg per
person.
A quarter of potatoes grown in Britain are turned into chips each year – that’s around 1.5 million
tonnes, or nearly the same weight as 125,000 full double decker buses.
Good news for lovers of mashed potato: we could
survive on a diet of just potatoes with milk or butter
added as this would provide us with the necessary
nutrients we need to live. The milk or butter contain
Vitamins A and D, the only nutrients missing from
the potato.
In Europe and America it was believed that you
would be cured of warts if you rubbed the affected
area with a raw potato.
Origins of the nickname “spud” instead of potato
relates to the instrument used to dig them from the ground…the spade!
During the eighteenth century, potatoes were viewed as a dessert rather than a side dish. They were
typically served hot and salted, in a napkin.
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The world’s largest potato crisp was produced in 1990 by the Pringle’s company in Jackson, TN,
measuring 23” x 14.5”.
The world’s biggest home grown potato, weighing a
hefty 3.76kg, was produced by English farmer Peter
Glazebrook in 2010.
Peter Dowdeswell of England holds the record for
eating the most quickly-eaten potatoes. Peter
consumed 3lbs of potatoes in 1 minute 22 seconds,
and he achieved it in 1978.
The largest serving of baked potatoes or 'papas
arrugadas' is 1,116kg, achieved by El Mirador, in Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria, on 28 May 2011.
By Jenny Williams