Potato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Potato |
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| The inside and outside of a potato | |
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Solanum
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A potato is a cool root vegetable! Its scientific name is Solanum tuberosum. It's a plant with big leaves. The part we eat is a special underground stem called a tuber.
Potatoes are packed with starch and other carbohydrates, giving you energy. They usually have light-brown or yellowish skin. Inside, they are white or yellow. If a potato gets too much light, it can turn green. This green part is poisonous, so it's best to cut it off or throw it away.
Contents
The History of Potatoes
Where Did Potatoes Come From?
Potatoes first grew in the high, cool mountains of the Andes in Peru. People started growing them for food over 7,000 years ago! That's a really long time.
When Spanish conquistadores came to South America in the 1500s, they brought potatoes back to Europe.
How Potatoes Spread Around the World
It took almost 200 years for potatoes to become a popular crop in Europe. In the 1780s, farmers in Ireland began growing them a lot. Potatoes grew well even in poor soil. They also have many vitamins that people need to stay healthy.
The Irish people became very reliant on potatoes for food. Sadly, when the potato crop failed in 1845, there was a terrible famine. Many people starved because they had no food.
Today, potato plants grow in many parts of the world. Captain William Bligh planted potatoes in Tasmania, Australia, in 1792. Now, potatoes are the biggest vegetable crop in Australia.
Different Kinds of Potatoes
There are many types of potatoes! Here are a few you might know:
- Yukon Gold – This type was created in Canada.
- Norgleam
- Bismark
- Coliban
- Russet
- Pontiac
- Sequoia
- Desiree – This one has creamy flesh and red skin.
- Bintje
Scientists in Germany have even used genetic engineering to make a potato called Amflora. This potato is grown to make starch for factories, not just for eating.
Cooking Potatoes
Potatoes are almost always eaten after they are cooked. People cook potatoes in many ways. You can boil them, bake them, roast them, or fry them.
French fries (or "chips" in some places) are potatoes cut into long pieces. They are fried until they are soft and golden. Potato chips, often called crisps, are potatoes cut into very thin, round slices. These are fried until they are super crunchy.
How We Use Potatoes
Potatoes are used in so many yummy ways! You can eat them with the skin on or peeled. They can be whole or cut up, with spices or plain. The main thing is to cook them so the starch inside gets soft. Most potato dishes are served hot. But some, like potato salad and potato chips, are eaten cold.
Here are some common potato dishes:
- Mashed potatoes: Boiled potatoes that are mashed with milk or butter.
- Whole baked potatoes: Cooked in the oven until soft inside.
- Boiled or steamed potatoes: Simple and healthy.
- French-fried potatoes: Crispy and delicious.
- Roasted potatoes: Cut into cubes and cooked in the oven.
- Hash browns: Grated potatoes fried until crispy.
- Potato pancakes: Grated potatoes formed into flat cakes and fried.
You can even cook potatoes quickly in a microwave oven. They keep almost all their healthy stuff this way! Potatoes are also often added to stews.
Other Uses for Potatoes
Potatoes aren't just for eating! They have other cool uses too:
- Drinks: Potatoes are used to make alcoholic drinks like vodka.
- Animal Food: Farmers use potatoes that are too small or not perfect for people as fodder (food) for livestock like cows.
- Starch: Potato starch is used in the food industry to make soups and sauces thicker. It's also used in factories to make paper and other products.
- Plastics: Companies are looking into using waste potatoes to make polylactic acid. This can be used for biodegradable (earth-friendly) plastic packaging.
- Research: Scientists use potatoes in plant research. They are a good "model tissue" for experiments because they are easy to study.
Potatoes Around the World
Potatoes are a big part of meals in many countries!
Latin America
In Peru, there are about 3,000 different kinds of potatoes! So, it's no surprise that Peruvian cuisine uses potatoes a lot. Dishes like Papa a la huancaína and Carapulcra use potatoes. Papa rellena is a dish with mashed potato stuffed with meat. Lomo saltado is a stir-fry that often includes French fries.
Chuño is a special freeze-dried potato product. It's made by Quechua and Aymara communities in Peru and Bolivia. In Chile's Chiloé Archipelago, potatoes are key to dishes like milcaos and chapaleles. In Ecuador, locro de papas is a thick soup made with potato, squash, and cheese.
Europe
In the UK, potatoes are a main part of the famous fish and chips. Roast potatoes are often served with a Sunday dinner. Mashed potatoes are in dishes like shepherd's pie and bubble and squeak.
Colcannon is a traditional Irish food with mashed potato, cabbage, and onion. Boxty pancakes are eaten across Ireland and are made with grated potatoes.
Bryndzové halušky is the national dish of Slovakia. It's a type of dumpling made from grated potatoes. In Germany and Northern and Eastern Europe, newly harvested potatoes are a special treat. They are boiled and served with dill and herring. German fries and various potato salads are popular in German cuisine.
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Cepelinai is the national dish of Lithuania. These are dumplings made from raw potatoes, often stuffed with meat. In Belgium, sliced potatoes are fried to make frieten, which are the original French fried potatoes. Stamppot is a Dutch meal with mashed potatoes mixed with vegetables.
In France, Hachis Parmentier is a famous potato dish. It's named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who helped make potatoes popular in France. Gratin dauphinois is baked sliced potatoes with cream.
In Italy, especially in the Friuli region, potatoes are used to make gnocchi, a type of pasta. Canarian wrinkly potatoes are a traditional dish from the Canary Islands. Tortilla de patatas (potato omelette) and patatas bravas (fried potatoes in spicy sauce) are common in Spain.
North America
In the US, potatoes are one of the most eaten crops. French fries and hash browns are common in fast-food restaurants. A popular dish is a baked potato with cheddar cheese or sour cream. Salt potatoes are small new potatoes boiled in salty water. Latkes (fried potato pancakes) are eaten by American Jews during Hanukkah.
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A traditional dish from New Brunswick, Canada, is poutine râpée. It's a ball of grated and mashed potato, sometimes filled with pork. Poutine (different from poutine râpée) is a popular Canadian dish from Quebec. It has French fries, fresh cheese curds, and hot gravy.
South Asia
In South Asia, potatoes are a very popular food. In India, some favorite potato dishes are aloo ki sabzi, batata vada, and samosa. A samosa is spicy mashed potato mixed with vegetables, wrapped in dough, and fried. Aloo chaat is deep-fried potatoes served with chutney. In Northern India, alu dum (spicy potato curry) and alu paratha (stuffed flatbread) are popular.
Masala dosa from South India is a thin pancake rolled over spicy mashed potato. Vada pav is a popular fast food in Mumbai, India. Aloo posto (a curry with potatoes and poppy seeds) is very popular in East India. The Aloo gosht, a potato and meat curry, is popular in Pakistan.
East Asia
In East Asia, especially Southeast Asia, rice is the main food. But potatoes are also used, especially in China and Japan. In northern China, where rice doesn't grow easily, a popular dish is 青椒土豆丝 (qīng jiāo tǔ dòu sī). It's made with green pepper, vinegar, and thin slices of potato. You might also see roasted potatoes sold by the roadside in winter. Potatoes are sometimes used in Korean and Thai foods too.
See also
Eva Ekeblad 
In Spanish: Solanum tuberosum para niños
Images for kids
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Flowers of a potato plant
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Potato plants
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Potatoes growing in an Oklahoma garden
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Russet potatoes with sprouts
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Potato cells under a microscope, showing high starch content
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Potatoes with different colors
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Global production of potatoes in 2008
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Potatoes from North India
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'Early Rose' potato with sprouts
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Potato fruit, which is not edible
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A machine planting potatoes
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A potato field in Fort Fairfield, Maine
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A modern potato harvester
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The Potato Eaters by Van Gogh, 1885
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The Potato Harvest by Jean-François Millet, 1855
