Potatoes

One of several potato bins at a grocery store in Sweden

Delicious ("Solid?") potato salad we made a few nights ago

Swedes have got a thing for the potato and I'm glad they do since the tasty tuber is solidly in my top five desert island foods. Seeing and eating so many potatoes got me thinking (and Googling) about its origins, popularity, and influences on culture.

In no specific order, a few interesting things about potatoes...

• There are 4,140 cultivated varieties of potatoes in the world, according to the European Cultivated Potato Database (there must be a database for everything).
• The potato has been consumed in the Andes for about 8,000 years but only eaten elsewhere since the Spanish brought them to Europe in the 16th century.
• McDonald's buys more than 3 billion pounds of potatoes annually across the globe. As such, it strongly influences which varieties are grown. In 2008, Mickey D's favorite, the Russet Burbank, accounted for 57% of potatoes grown in Idaho and 41% across the eight biggest potato-producing states in the U.S.
• Americans on average eat about 119lbs of potatoes annually. That's nothing compared to the top lover of potatoes, the Belarusians, who devour about 400lbs a year.
• The UN designated 2008 as the International Year of the Potato.
• Potatoes are poisonous. They contain toxic compounds which can affect the nervous system, causing weakness and confusion. These compounds are, in general, concentrated in the leaves, stems, sprouts, and fruits; however, there have been no reported deaths by potato in the U.S. in the last 50 years.
• In Britain, the potato promoted economic development during the Industrial Revolution. Potatoes became popular in the north of England, where coal was readily available, so a potato-driven population boom provided ample workers for the new factories. Marxist Friedrich Engels declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its "historically revolutionary role."
• An interesting article from Gourmet about Peru's Potato Park, a 22,000-acre potato preserve where more than 1,300 varieties are grown for both their cultural significance and their practical uses. Visitors can sign up for one-, three-, and five-day tours.
• The potato comes from the family Solanaceae informally known as nightshade, that also includes chili pepper, tomato, eggplant, and tobacco.

To end on a strange note, the Ross Sisters singing a bizarre song called Solid Potato Salad, while doing an even more bizarre dance...