🥔 Potato
Solanum tuberosum
What it is
A starchy vegetable that grows underground as a lumpy tuber on the plant's roots.
How it looks
Round or oval with brown, red, or yellow skin and soft white or yellow flesh inside.
Taste
Mild and a little earthy when cooked, turning soft and fluffy or crispy depending on how you make it.
Why it is healthy
A good source of energy from starch, plus vitamin C and potassium, especially with the skin on.
How to eat it
Always eat potatoes cooked: boiled, baked, mashed, or roasted; never eat them raw or green.
How it grows
Grown from pieces of potato with buds called eyes; new potatoes form on roots under the soil.
In season
Available all year, with the main harvest in late summer and fall.
History
First grown thousands of years ago high in the Andes mountains of South America.
Fun fact
In 1995 the potato became the first vegetable ever grown in space aboard a space shuttle.
Try this
Leave the skin on when you can; it holds extra vitamins and fiber.