Fooxury

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Potato lovers claim that, despite being mocked by some diets, potatoes are a really beneficial vegetable. Here’s all the information you require.

1. The ghost of Robert Atkins, the dietitian who died in April of this year due to his refusal to consume carbohydrates, still haunts potato growers.

2. The British Potato Council, the public relations arm of the UK potato industry, is starting a campaign called Fab, not Fad to emphasize the health advantages of the vegetable that many of the newest diets mock.

3. Proponents of potatoes point out that they are practically fat- and cholesterol-free, low in sodium, and can supply 144% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin B6 and 86% of the RDA of vitamin B1 in a medium jacket potato (though you can add all three if you cook and serve them properly).

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4. Recent campaigns have included the more trade-focused Fight against Blight program, which maps the most recent cases and asks volunteer scouts to text details of potential infections. National Chip Week is another example of a recent campaign.

5. You may also use the beautiful website of the council to seek out the closest fish and chip store by entering your postcode. However, as with the chips themselves, it’s advisable to approach the results cautiously, as a search on Guardian Unlimited’s central London code revealed the existence of chippies as far afield as Shrewsbury and Edinburgh.

6. Most people in Europe and the Americas consume potatoes, an edible tuber of the nightshade family that South American pre-Columbian humans first cultivated. Indeed, one of the most common methods to accomplish this is with chips, also known as pommes frites in France and freedom fries in the US.

7. When cooked, potatoes come in two main varieties: the firmer, low-starch, waxy types (like Charlotte or Red Desiree), which are excellent for boiling, pan-frying, and use in stews, gratins, and potato salad; and the floury or mealy, high-starch types (like King Edward or Maris Piper), fluffy inside and good for mashing, roasting, and deep-frying.

8. Although adaptable, Ireland’s nearly complete reliance on potatoes caused the country’s population to collapse in the 1840s, when a blight decimated the harvest and sparked the Irish potato famine (though the British government’s meager food assistance also made matters worse). An estimated 500,000 people perished, and in the years that followed, millions more left the country.

9. In addition to being consumed, potatoes may also be drunk (as vodka) and were utilized by the Incas for timekeeping and medical purposes.

10. The British Potato Council has sadly not yet created an Atkins-busting potato ice cream to help you stay cool over the summer, which is unfortunate for any readers who are overheated. Though it’s not a potato, this sweet potato ice cream recipe could inspire some thought.