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2008 = International Year of the Potato

Submitted by anna on Mon, 2008-05-19 08:58
potato OK, so another post about food from me...but this time at least I'm not just thinking about my own belly. You've probably heard / read about the increases in the price of rice - just this weekend there was a story about the shortages in Australia (as a result of years of drought) that is likely to affect New Zealand rice prices. Not to mention the effect of the Australian shortage on world prices of this staple food item. The UK's curry industry is even apparently in crisis due to rice prices and visa issues for chefs. So when I heard about the UN declaring 2008 the Year of the Potato, I thought it was time for me too to sing the praises of this humble vegetable. Potatoes can be grown with less water than that used to grow rice and "the potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop ". Yay for the potato! And with winter in NZ well on the way, what could be nicer than a baked potato on a cold night (with a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt).
#1Submitted by don (not verified) on Mon, 2008-05-19 09:05.

Made me think of this nice

Made me think of this nice chart of consumer spending. See the rice there in yellow? Have NZ egg prices gone up by that much?

#2Submitted by MikeA (not verified) on Mon, 2008-05-19 22:09.

I don't think NZ egg prices

I don't think NZ egg prices have gone up that much here, I wonder if the rather extreme rise is down to free-range options gaining market share in the US?

I dislike baked potatoes after too many dried as a kid. I love 'em mashed, boiled, roasted and in soup. IMO a good minestrone with potatoes, kumara and carrots in a thin(ish) broth is hard to beat through winter.

#3Submitted by anna (not verified) on Mon, 2008-05-19 23:45.

I love the way loads of

I love the way loads of places in the UK have baked potato as a standard cafe / pub fare menu item. And who remembers that baked potato cart in Dunedin, down by the museum - is it still there??

I also forgot to add that potatoes count towards the five + a day fruit and vege goal. And they are NZ's number one vegetable with 97% of NZers eating them!

#4Submitted by Peter Nicholas (not verified) on Tue, 2008-10-14 08:03.

so much for *the

so much for *the international year of the potato* i have never had any good potatoes this year.too many unknown boutique varieties.small bags,high prices,rot on many,bruises,sprouting,green on new ones,tiny potatoes in bags,cut one open and tiny dots inside,after peeling and cooking black marks appear,we are getting inferior potatoes at the expence of exporting any good ones and also commercial selling to chippers and restaurants etc,GIVE THE PUBLIC A FAIR QUALITY !!! there should be info on the source of the potato too so complaints can be made directly so the grower can improve by knowing as none check size or quality

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