Hail the Mighty Potato

We tend to take the humble potato for granted, we see it as a mere side act to the far more important star of the show – a delicious meat or Halaal fish dish from our favourite Johannesburg and Cape Town meat wholesalers. But the potato is so much more than just that, so much more in fact that the United Nations declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato (IYP). It might be 11 years down the line, but the treasured potato remains ‘a celebration of one of humanity’s most important and universally loved staple foods … a vital part of the global food system [which] plays an ever greater role in strengthening world food security and alleviating poverty’.

Courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ end-of-year review on the IYP, here are a few very interesting facts about the world’s favourite tuber:

  • It is the world’s number one non-grain food commodity, with production reaching a record 325 million tonnes in 2007 [estimated at 389 million tonnes in 2017]. It is so rich in starch that it ranks as the world’s fourth most important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. 
  • The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop – up to 85% of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.
  • Potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, making them a good source of energy.  They have the highest protein content in the family of root and tuber crops; are also very rich in vitamin C and contain a fifth of the recommended daily value of potassium.
  • The potato has been consumed in the Andes for about 8 000 years. Brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century, it quickly spread across the globe. South Africa Dutch seafarers heading for East Asia probably brought the potato to South Africa in the 1600s.
  • South Africa’s potato output has grown strongly over the past 15 years, from 1.2 million tonnes in 1990 to a record 1.97 million tonnes in 2007 [estimated at 2.45 million tonnes in 2017]. And the annual potato consumption is around 30 kg per person.
  • Although the potato cultivated worldwide belongs to just one botanical species, Solanum tuberosum, the tubers come in thousands of varieties with great differences in size, shape, colour, texture, cooking characteristics and taste. 

N1 might have the best quality meat Cape Town and Johannesburg has to offer, but they are also leading suppliers of a wide range of frozen potato products, from French fries to hash browns, rostis, mashed potato and croquettes – whatever your potato-loving heart might desire. There’s an old Irish saying that goes ‘If beef’s the king of meat, potato’s the queen of the garden world’ – so for all your king and queen needs, be sure to call N1 today!