5 Fun Facts About Potatoes
Fresh off the heels of an immersive potato experience, I rounded up 5 fun facts about potatoes that may encourage you to keep, or add more of, this nutrient dense vegetable on your plate!
This blog post is sponsored by Potatoes USA.
One of the best parts of my job as a media dietitian is when I get to go on immersive experiences or farm tours where I get to learn a little bit more about where our food comes from.
Recently, I got to go on one of my favorite experiences to date- potatoes! I mean, cmon, who doesn’t love potatoes? While we certainly ate our fill of these tasty tubers, I also learned a lot of fun facts that I didn’t know and that you may find interesting as well!
What are potatoes?
Great question! I’m glad you asked.
Potatoes are a vegetable and are classified as a “starchy vegetable” within the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Potatoes are tubers, which are simply enlarged parts of a plant's root or stem where the plant stores nutrients and energy.
While there are 7 broad categories of potatoes, there are over 200 different varieties which vary in flavor, texture, and color. Beyond that, potatoes come in a variety of forms like fresh, frozen, canned, and dehydrated to ensure there is a potato type for every need.
With their versatility, accessibility, and affordability, potatoes are also a staple ingredient found in homes across the world and can be used in a variety of ways to nourish you and your family.
5 fun facts about potatoes
As I mentioned, I am fresh off of an immersive potato experience where we got to learn about (and eat a lot of) our favorite spuds! This potato experience was so educational and there were a few fun facts that I didn’t know about potatoes, potato nutritional and potato farming that I want to share with you:
1) They are grown from a sprouting potato piece
In the United States, potatoes are grown from certified seed potatoes which have been developed by world class potato breeding programs. While you may be tempted to envision an actual seed when you hear “seed potato”, a seed potato is actually just a specific potato tuber that has been grown for its sprouting buds.
These seed potatoes are then distributed to the farmers who plant the seed potatoes and wait for them to grow into the potato crop that will fill our farmers markets and grocery stores with these tasty vegetables.
Fun fact- you may have even accidentally grown a “potato seed” if you kept your potatoes for a little too long on the countertop and noticed they had started sprouting. Potatoes will begin to sprout if they have enough heat, enough light, and enough humidity.
This is why it is recommended to store your potatoes in a cool, dry place (like a kitchen cabinet). This will help keep your potatoes from sprouting, but you should always use them in a timely manner as well.
Potato Nachos.
2) Potatoes are a nutrient powerhouse
While some may be tempted to describe potatoes as “just the carbohydrate,” of the plate, potatoes are actually a nutrient dense vegetable that provides you with energy, potassium, vitamin C, and other important nutrients. Let’s take a look at some of them:
While potatoes do contain carbohydrates, those carbohydrates are essential energy for your body and are also packaged up with other important nutrients like 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, 27 mg/30% DV vitamin C, and 620 mg/15% potassium.
3) Potatoes nutrition is not just in the skin
Were you raised with the belief that all of the potato's nutrients were in the skin? This is a myth! While some of the valuable nutrients in potatoes are in the skin (and thus, removed when you remove the skin), there are many nutrients that are solely found in the flesh!
The skin contains over 50% of the fiber content in a potato, but the majority of the potato’s valuable vitamin C and potassium is found in the flesh. If you’re worried about missing out on nutrients, eat the whole potato!
4) Potatoes are a source of resistant starch
While 2024 may still be the year of fiber, the topic of “resistant starch” has started to trend online with many health and wellness influencers sharing its important role in health.
Similar to fiber, resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that is not digested in the small intestine but goes on to ferment in the large intestine and feed the good gut bacteria.
Resistant starch can be found in a variety of foods but it can also be found in raw potatoes as well as potatoes that have been cooked and cooled. Cooling the potatoes creates a new resistant starch that is not broken down by reheating.
5) The potato industry has almost zero waste.
Potato farmers take great care of producing potatoes in a way that is mindful of the environment, natural resources, and still provides an affordable and accessible food to consumers across the world.
One of the most important parts of sustainability is to work towards ensuring that what farmers grow is actually used up, and not just thrown away. In the United States, it’s estimated that we waste about 40% of the food that is produced every year.
Potatoes, not so much, because every potato has a home in the eyes of potato growers and processors. While some are used as fresh potatoes, others that are just as nutritious but maybe not as pretty are the perfect candidates for chopped, canned, and dehydrated products.
Beyond that, any leftover potatoes make for excellent cow feed and can be used to nourish the animals that nourish the people.
The Takeaway
So as you can see, potatoes are friend and not foe. Potatoes are a nutrient dense vegetable that provide important nutrients to the diet in a delicious and sustainable way.
With an affordable price tag, shelf stability, and recipe versatility, potatoes are a vegetable that is beloved by people and families all across the world.
Liked this blog? You may also like:
Disclaimer: please note that I am a registered dietitian but I am not YOUR registered dietitian. This information is meant to be educational and should not be used as personalized medical or nutrition advice. This blog may contain affiliate links and any purchase made through my links gives me a small commission and supports Lauren Twigge Nutrition. 
Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a registered dietitian and my goal is to give you tips and tricks to make healthy eating fun, easy, and even delicious!