In the real world, everyone loves potatoes too. They originated in what is now Peru, were domesticated by Native Americans about 10,000 years ago, and are now the world’s fourth-largest food crop after corn, wheat, and rice – eaten in almost every culture around the globe.
Potato plants can either be grown from seeds or from other potatoes. They grow about 60cm tall, and produce lovely white, pink, red, blue, or purple flowers, depending on the variety. After they’ve flowered, they produce fruits that look a bit like cherry tomatoes, each of which contains about 300 seeds. But these fruits are poisonous and so instead we eat the tuber – a part of the root where the plant stores nutrients for the winter.
Today, the biggest potato-producing countries in the world are China, India, and Russia, but the countries of northern and eastern Europe actually produce more potatoes per person than anywhere else on the planet. We northern Europeans eat them fried, deep-fried, baked, mashed, roasted, scalloped, diced, sliced, boiled, grated, microwaved, steamed, and even in salads. They’re amazing!
That’s why potatoes, in my humble opinion, are the greatest gift anyone could give to anyone this festive season. Happy holidays!
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