1
A potato is about 80% water and 20% solid.
That’s a lot of water!
2
Henry Spalding first planted potatoes in Idaho in 1836
Henry spalding was a prominent Presbyterian missionary in the U.S Pacific Northwest (1803-1874)
3
“French Fries” were introduced to America when Thomas Jefferson served them at a Whitehouse dinner.
He also popularised Ice Cream, Mac & Cheese, Champagne, and Parmesan Cheese!
4
Potatoes are a powerful aphrodisiac, says a physician in Ireland.
The erotic reputation of the humble spud was given weight by the observation that after it became a major food crop in Ireland, the population grew rapidly as a result of more food becoming available to the population.
5
The average American eats 140 pounds of potatoes per year. Germans eat more than 200 pounds per year.
Germany is also a major potato processor and exporter, with over 6.5 million tonnes of potatoes processed in 2005 alone.
6
Potatoes are the world’s fourth food staple – after wheat, corn and rice.
It’s no secret that potatoes are popular! According to a guideline released in 2016 by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture indicates that by 2020 China will have 6.66 million hectares on which to grow potatoes. Thus, cementing potatoes as the fourth food staple.
7
Potatoes are grown in more than 125 countries.
Potatoes sure are popular, huh?
8
Every year enough potatoes are grown worldwide to cover four-lane motorway circling the world six times.
Imagine how many cars you could fit on that motorway!
9
China is the world’s largest potato producer.
over 95million tonnes of potatoes are produced by China (that’s the weight of almost 270 Empire State Buildings)
10
Potatoes were the first vegetable grown in space.
In 1995 the University of Wisconsin-Madison and NASA partnered up to help grow our favourite vegetable in space!
