As we previously mentioned, September is a very busy harvest month, and in addition to being National Apple Month, it is also National Potato Month. And here’s a fun linguistics fact for you: The French word for apple is pomme. The French word for potato is pomme de terre, or apple of the earth.
Potatoes are a New World crop, with the species originating in what is modern-day Peru. They were domesticated more than 7,000 years ago, but potatoes were only introduced to Europe in the late 1500s by the Spanish. Today, potatoes are the fourth largest food crop globally, behind corn, wheat and rice. Like apples, careful breeding directed by farmers has led to more than 5,000 different cultivars of potatoes.
Unlike the apple – and like the tomato – potatoes are nightshades, and leafy and fruiting parts of the plants contain the toxin solanine, which is dangerous for humans. If the green sections of the plants (including skins) are exposed to light, they can accumulate enough toxins to affect people’s health. That’s why we store them in bags, in cupboards and in cellars.
Potatoes are perennial plants, and their tubers – the parts we bake, mash, fry and eat – are placed into groups based on common characteristics, such as color (russet, red, white, yellow and purple). For cooking purposes, though, they can be differentiated based on their waxiness. Floury or mealy baking potatoes have more starch than waxy boiling potatoes. However, a potato is ultimately about 79% water, and it is a good source of vitamins B6 and C.
New tubers are grown from seed potatoes, planted in harrowed or plowed rows and provided lots of water. They can also be grown from the eyes from another potato. Since new tubers may start growing near the soil surface, which can cause that green skin/solanine problem, growers can cover the growing area with extra dirt (hilling up the plants) or by using mulches, straw or plastic sheeting. Potatoes are sensitive to heavy frosts, which can damage them in the ground, which is probably why September is the ideal month to harvest them.
Once you’ve dug up your potatoes, you want to store them is a dark, well-ventilated, cool spot. For long-term storage, you’ll want somewhere close to 39º. For shorter term storage, temps up to 50º are okay. Under ideal circumstances, they can be stored for nearly a year.
Other than eating in all their delicious forms, potatoes are also used to make alcohol (vodka, poitín and akvavit); they can be used as animal feed; and potato starch is used by chefs as a thickener and binder for soups and sauces. You can even mail someone a potato with a personalized message via Potato Parcel.
Alright, one more comparison: If harvested and stored correctly, potatoes and apples can both last you through the long winter months, and be used in many different recipes. If potatoes aren’t part of your garden yet, you may want to consider them.
