🥔🥔It’s Potato Lovers Month🥔🥔

Most of us eat potatoes in some form or another, either fried, chipped, roasted, mashed, boiled or baked  So this is the month to look at the versatility of the potato.

The month was started in 1987 when Governor Booth Gardner wanted to help highlight their versatility and importance to our diet. 

Whilst they are an important part of our diet, thanks to the essential nutrients and being low in fat and calories, they are high in carbohydrates and should be eaten in moderation. 

The health benefits are that they are rich in vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Potatoes were a life-saving food source in early times because vitamin C prevented scurvy. Another major nutrient in potatoes is potassium, an electrolyte which aids in the workings of our heart, muscles, and nervous system.’

There is a lot you can do with potatoes. They can be eaten with or without skins on, but are better for you with the skins on.  They can be made into all of what I mentioned above, together with potato bread, potato cake, crisps, wedges, and potato skins, to name a few. 
There are many varieties of potatoes, and generally, they are grown for a specific purpose. Some will chip and roast better than others, some will take boiling better, etc. The best are small new ones straight from the garden. 
Generally, the different varieties are available at various times of the year. Some of the varieties you won't see in the shops, but they are available for home growing, either in a large tub or in the garden.
We grow a variety called Pink Fir Apple, which is a main crop, harvested later in the year, but is lovely boiled or with salads. There are also sweet potatoes, which are lovely chipped or added to mash, but they do need peeling.

Potato bread

Sweet potatoes

Pink Fir Apple and some are more weird than these!

To celebrate this month you could try some different varieties and recipes, swap recipes with friends, or go visit a local farm and actually see how the potatoes are grown, and support your local farmer who puts a lot of work into growing them.

Whatever you do enjoy it, post all things potatoes-related, and let us know if you do anything different with potatoes.
Recipes are always welcome!

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