Web Watch must have been busy back in 2008, as we totally missed that 2008 was the YEAR OF THE POTATO.
Funny thing about websites dedicated to a singular year’s event: those sites never really get updated. Yet they persist forever with slightly outdated information on them, just waiting for someone to stumble upon them and gaze upon their glory.
But even while we browse through old archives of websites – such as the 2008 YEAR OF THE POTATO website, we stumble upon some interesting facts or two – facts that should still hold up when we look at them today.
Mainly that Idaho is not the world’s leader in potato production.
Nor, is Ireland, contrary to popular belief.
No, the world’s biggest potato producing continent is Asia. Europe follows quickly after, then comes Africa. North America is last on the list of potato producers, which is a bit fascinating considering how many french fries we find stuck in the cushions of the back seat of our cars.
WHO EATS THE MOST POTATOS? This may surprise you too, in terms of sheer quantity:
- China
- Russia
- India
- United States
- Ukraine
- UK
- Germany
- Poland
- Bangladesh
- Iran
But when looked at in a per-person viewpoint, the US doesn’t even crack the Top Ten (much to McDonald’s chagrin, we’re sure). For the countries were individuals eat the most potatoes per capita:
- Belarus
- Kyrgyzstan
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Poland
- Rwanda
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Kazakhstan
- UK
Take these stats with a grain of salt, of course. It’s all based on 2008 data, courtesy of the YEAR OF THE POTATO.
Fine.
You don’t want to read about 2008 potato information.
How about some 2012 POTATO CONSUMPTION INFO instead?
- The majority of potatoes are eaten during the weekdays
- Roasted potatoes are most often eaten on Sundays
- Frozen potatoes are most often eaten on Fridays
- People eat sausages with potatoes most often, followed by chicken
- Carrots are the most popular vegetable to accompany potatoes at a meal