Potato, Potahto – I’ll take them both!
To create a culinary American staple, the plant it comes from has to come from close to home. For this reason, it is not surprising that the potato from which French fries are made was first created by our neighbors in South America. The Irish potato was first created in the Andes Mountains to be more specific. The Irish potato is the most common potato in America. Also known as the “white” potato, the Irish potato is very different from the sweet potato.
I love potatoes in all their forms, however, I am going to tell you all about our Irish friend. Potato is the most widely grown root crop in the world, ranking only fourth as the largest food crop. The potato can be bought fresh, frozen or instant, but I prefer fresh. The ways in which a potato can be prepared seem endless. I have narrowed it down to my three favourites; mashed, baked and fried. As in French fried, I’m a fan of golden arches.
My favorite form of potato, and my favorite food of all time, would have to be mashed potatoes. To make a good mashed potato, you must use fresh potatoes, never frozen. Since potatoes are grown in the ground, it is necessary to wash them before cooking. You can choose to keep the skin on or use a peeler to remove the skin before cutting them up and placing them in a pot of boiling water. Timing is key to good mashed potatoes, you can’t leave them in the water for long or not long enough.
If you leave them too long, they will be very sticky and may even stick to the palate. However, if you take them out of the water too soon, you will have unappetizing chunks in your potatoes. When left for the right amount of time and cooked to the perfect temperature, your mashed potatoes will be creamy and delicious.
Although mashed potatoes are my personal favorite, baked potatoes are the most popular form in America. There’s just something about the variety of seasonings and the way it can transform the flavor every time you eat one that Americans love. In the land of choice, it’s no surprise that we also like to choose our food. Given that Americans eat potatoes for at least one out of three meals a day, I guess even I have to learn to mix it up a bit. The baked potato is self-explanatory, all it takes is a few holes with a fork and it pops in the oven.
When you take it out of the oven, you can choose butter, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, or anything you can think of to add to it. As an American, you’ll consume over 126 pounds of potatoes a year, so that might as well make it interesting.
No doubt about it. America loves French fries. We love them plain, seasoned, and cheesy. We take them in any shape, we like them straight, curly, wrinkled and embossed. Whatever your preference, there’s a potato chip for you. Fried and crispy, we even vary them with the seasonings we dip them in. I challenge any American to drive through a city in the United States without being able to find French fries somewhere.
It’s amazing to think that something that tastes so good comes from something that is so good for us. Potatoes are high in vitamin C and potassium, not to mention an excellent source of fiber. America somehow found a way to make junk food out of a vegetable. There’s no question why America’s favorite vegetable is the potato, no matter how you slice it.