Potato, Potahto – I’ll take you 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. The potato is the most widely grown tuber 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 a potato can be prepared seem endless. I’ve narrowed it down to my three favorites; mashed, baked and fried. As in french fried, I’m a fan of the golden arches.
My favorite form of potato, and my favorite food of all time, would have to be mashed potatoes. To make good mashed potatoes, you should use fresh potatoes, never frozen. Since potatoes are grown in the ground, they need to be washed 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 too 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 correct 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 something about the variety of condiments and the way they can transform the flavor every time you eat one that Americans love. In the land of choice, it’s no wonder we like to choose our food, too. Since Americans eat potatoes in at least one in three meals a day, I guess even I have to learn to mix them up a bit. The baked potato is pretty self explanatory, all it takes is a few holes with a fork and it pops into the oven.
When you pull 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 form, we like them smooth, curly, wrinkled and waffled. Whatever your preference, there is 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 an American city without being able to find French fries anywhere.
It’s amazing to think that something that tastes so good comes from something that is so good for us. Potatoes are rich in vitamin C and potassium, not to mention that they are an excellent source of fiber. America somehow found a way to make junk food from a vegetable. It’s no wonder America’s favorite vegetable is the potato, no matter how you slice it.