You say potato, I say potahto.

Morning Glory

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Potato (including sweet potato) is the current ingredient for The CookingBites Recipe Challenge. Here are a few potato facts...

Potatoes and sweet potatoes are both called “potatoes”. They both originated in Central and South America and have since spread throughout the world. Yet, botanically, potatoes and sweet potatoes are completely unrelated.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are in the Solanaceae family, related to tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant along with deadly nightshade. Plants in this family produce solanine, which is poisonous. So don’t eat the leaves or stems of any plant in this group. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are in the Convolvulaceae family with flowering morning glory vines. To me, this is interesting because despite my screen name I really don't like sweet potatoes! It seems, you can also eat the leaves of sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are a little lower in calories and carbs than potatoes. But they are much higher in sugar content. So the jury is out as to which are better for you.

There are about 4,000 known varieties of potatoes (with about 3,000 in the Andes alone) and about 5,000 varieties of sweet potatoes grown worldwide. If you are lucky, in the UK you may find five or six different types of potatoes - a tiny fraction of the varieties.

What kind of potatoes do you prefer? What type are available where you live? And most importantly - please submit your recipes featuring potatoes as an ingredient to The CookingBites Recipe Challenge!

Sources: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/regular-vs-sweet-potatoes; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato;
http://www.history-magazine.com/potato.html
 
There's closer to 7,000 varieties of potato, with close on 4,000 cultivated worldwide.

If you can only find five or six varities, things have gone backwards. Stall in the local indoor market had over two dozen under its old owner. Tesco Express can do seven.
 
Stall in the local indoor market had over two dozen under its old owner.

Where is this stall? - I want to go there! That is amazing if they can provide 24 different varieties. :)

Re the supermarket, I'm talking about named varieties here (they will be different in other countries), such as Desiree, Jersey Royal, Charlotte, King Edward etc. not the ubiquitous 'small baby potatoes' or 'baking potatoes'.
 
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Where is this stall? - I want to go there! That is amazing if they can provide 24 different varieties. :)

Re the supermarket, I'm talking about named varieties here (hey will be different in other countries), such as Desiree, Jersey Royal, Charlotte, King Edward etc. not the ubiquitous 'small baby potatoes' or 'baking potatoes'.
"Under The Clock".
Cypriot Reds, King Edwards, Queens, Roosters, Golden Wonder, Banner(check County Clare), Records, Rocket. They're off the top of my head.
 
"Under The Clock"
halifax-last-tango-holiday-cottage-13-600x400.jpg
 
There's no "h" in either spelling of potato.
 
There's closer to 7,000 varieties of potato, with close on 4,000 cultivated worldwide.

If you can only find five or six varities, things have gone backwards. Stall in the local indoor market had over two dozen under its old owner. Tesco Express can do seven.
Did you use all 24 varieties on a regular basis ? And if you did do you know anyone else that did so ?
 
Did you use all 24 varieties on a regular basis ? And if you did do you know anyone else that did so ?
I used to grow 8 or 9 different varieties of potatoes and loved the variety of tastes and colours and textures that I had available. Now it is much harder to get different spuds. This year whilst I was able to grow some, I was restricted to only 1 variety due to the cost amongst other things. There's no such major plant companies here in Australia. No Amazon, no Thompson and Morgan (who I used to get the heritage variety pack from) and quite a few others. We get Sutton's and one other seed company but the seed packets are so expensive here it is daft... :(
 
I used to grow 8 or 9 different varieties of potatoes and loved the variety of tastes and colours and textures that I had available. Now it is much harder to get different spuds. This year whilst I was able to grow some, I was restricted to only 1 variety due to the cost amongst other things. There's no such major plant companies here in Australia. No Amazon, no Thompson and Morgan (who I used to get the heritage variety pack from) and quite a few others. We get Sutton's and one other seed company but the seed packets are so expensive here it is daft... :(
Any farms growing them nearby?

I've brought a few pounds* back from Ireland, more than once or twice. You'd be suprised at the amount left in empty machines.

*Bear in mind though I've taken a tractor wheel(rear), various parts of tractors, a blacksmiths leg vice, and other small items at various times over there.
 
Any farms growing them nearby?

I've brought a few pounds* back from Ireland, more than once or twice. You'd be suprised at the amount left in empty machines.

*Bear in mind though I've taken a tractor wheel(rear), various parts of tractors, a blacksmiths leg vice, and other small items at various times over there.
No, the land is vineyards of agricultural around here, not crops. Cattle and sheep only. Poor soil, higher altitude, cost climate, not crops unless for sheep or castle only. But we do have a herd of highland coos locally!
 
If you#re interested in growing your own....
I already have, but was restricted to a single variety because of costs. In Aus you need to be very careful with the post or courier industry. The Post service don't deliver to our letterbox (4km from our home) unless it will fit into it. Little does and we can't change it. The courier industry don't deliver to us, but leave parcels at the local rural supplies shop. Neither party contact you to say your parcel has arrived (and trust me, Royal Mail is fantastic compared to the aussie postal service which costs three or four times as much as take three or four times as long to arrive, often more). And your parcel from the couriers get left some 12km away from home. Anything that doesn't fit into our letter box does get a note left (unless it is international in which case it is hit and miss) and you then have to visit the post office (M-F 9:30am to 5pm only) some 14km away. It is often cheaper to pay the extra to buy something 'locally' and deliver it to your own home yourself!
 
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