National Potato Day is today, an August 19 holiday. This a day to celebrate and enjoy a few potatoes. The versatile spud can be enjoyed in some way for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack. While it can be eaten raw, it is usually cooked, boiled, baked, mashed, or fried. It is used in countless recipes. What really makes the potato stand out, is the many things you can put on or in it, as demonstrated by the loaded baked potato. Regardless of how you cook it, or what you put on it, Americans can’t seem to get enough of the starchy spud. And, we just love to cook with potatoes, as they are very ap-peeling!
Potatoes are one of the largest vegetable crops in the world. They were first cultivated in Peru, around 5,000- 7,000 BC. Pardon the broad estimate, but records were sparse back then, often written on the inside wall of a cave. While most potatoes grow to about the size of your fist or less, the largest potato ever grown, weighed in at 18 pounds, 4 ounces. Now, that’s a whole lot of French fries!
In celebration of National Potato Day, make certain to include potatoes at every meal today, and for snacks, too!
Did You Know? Potatoes were not at the first Thanksgiving. They are native to South America. Potatoes were first domesticated high in the Andes mountains near Lake Titicaca in Peru.
Happy National Potato Day!