New potatoes are potatoes harvested before maturity. Their skins are not “hardened” and therefore can easily be damaged and must be used soon after picking for optimal flavor. There about 100 varieties of edible potatoes that range in size, shape, color, starch content and flavor. The three varieties you receive today are the Red Gold, Purple Majestic and the Russet Burbank.   All three have ancestral roots in the Andes of Peru.  I am sure you will be able to tell which is which.

The potato belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos. They are the swollen portion of the underground stem which is called a tuber and is designed to provide food for the green leafy portion of the plant. If allowed to flower and fruit, the potato plant will bear an inedible fruit resembling a tomato.

Potatoes are an important food staple and the number one vegetable crop in the world. Americans consume more of this vegetable pound for pound than any other. Potatoes are available year-round because they are harvested somewhere in the United States every month of the year.  The main worldwide producers include the Russian Federation, Poland, India, China and the United States.

Nutritional value: Take away the extra fat, deep-frying and condiments usually associated with eating potatoes and you have an exceptionally healthful low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Potatoes can have 600-800 mg of potassium, about 40% more than a banana. Iron, copper, potassium and manganese are also found in potatoes. A Russet Norkotah can have 40% of the RDA of iron. One would expect potatoes to have minerals, as they spend their life underground, but this vegetable is also a great source of vitamins and fiber. It is a very good source of vitamin C and B vitamins, especially B6 (21% of the RDA). Potatoes also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Among these important health-promoting compounds are carotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid, as well as unique tuber storage proteins, such as patatin, which exhibit activity against free radicals, and newly identified blood pressure-lowering compounds called kukoamines.

How about the colors and the skins? All potatoes are a good source of complex carbohydrates, potassium, vitamin C, folic acid, and iron, but recent research has proved there are additional benefits in colored varieties. The pigments that produce the colors may function as antioxidants in the human diet.

Potatoes with the skin on are an excellent source of fiber. In fact, with 3 grams of fiber per serving, a potato equals or exceeds that of many "whole" grain products—whole grain bread, whole-wheat pasta and many cereals. Despite the popular notion, however, the majority of nutrients are not found in the skin, but in the potato itself. Nonetheless, leaving the skin on the potatoes retains all the nutrients and makes them easier to prepare.

How to Select and Store:  Since new potatoes are harvested before they are fully mature, they are much more susceptible to damage. They will only keep for about one week. The ideal way to store potatoes is in a dark, dry place between 45°F to 50°F as higher temperatures, even room temperature, will cause the potatoes to sprout and dehydrate prematurely. While most people do not have root cellars that provide this type of environment, to maximize the potato's quality and storage, you should aim to find a place as close as possible to these conditions. Potatoes should definitely not be exposed to sunlight as this can cause the development of the toxic alkaloid solanine to form.

Potatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator, as their starch content will turn to sugar giving them an undesirable taste. In addition, do not store potatoes near onions, as the gases that they each emit will cause the degradation of one another. Wherever you store them, they should be kept in a burlap or paper bag.

Pivotal role in history

There are not many foods that can claim a pivotal historical event. The potato can. By the early 19th century, potatoes were being grown extensively throughout Northern Europe, and were almost solely relied upon as a foodstuff in Ireland owing to this vegetable's inexpensive production and the poor economy of this country. In 1845 and 1846, a blight ruined most of the potato crop in Ireland and caused major devastation: this event is known as the Irish Potato Famine. Almost three-quarters of a million people died, and hundreds of thousands emigrated to other countries, including the United States, in search of sustenance.

Potatoes originated in the Andean mountain region of South America where the Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate the crop in about 200 BC. Researchers estimate that potatoes have been cultivated by the Indians living in these areas for between 4,000 and 7,000 years. Unlike many other foods, potatoes were able to be grown at the high altitudes typical of this area and therefore became a staple food for these hardy people.

The Incas had many uses for potatoes other than dinner:

Raw slices placed on broken bones to promote healing.
Carried to prevent rheumatism
Eaten with other foods to prevent indigestion.
Measured time: by correlating units of time by how long it took for potatoes to cook.

Potatoes were brought to Europe by Spanish explorers who discovered them in South America in the early 16th century. Since potatoes are good sources of vitamin C, they were subsequently used on Spanish ships to prevent scurvy. They were introduced into Europe via Spain, and while they were consumed by some people in Italy and Germany (Germany's King Frederick William realized that potatoes were a good food source and ordered peasants to plant and eat potatoes or their noses would be cut off), they were not widely consumed throughout Europe, even though many governments actively promoted this nutritious foodstuff that was relatively inexpensive to produce. The reason for this is that since people knew that the potato is related to the nightshade family, many felt that it was poisonous like some other members of this family. In addition, many judged potatoes with suspicion since they were not mentioned in the Bible. In fact, potatoes initially had such a poor reputation in Europe that many people thought eating them would cause leprosy. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 near Cork on the 40,000 acres of land given to him by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581.

Some of the credit for the rise in potatoes' popularity is given to two individuals who creatively engineered plans to create demand for the potato. In the 18th century, a French agronomist named Parmentier created a scheme whereby peasants could "steal" potatoes from the King's "guarded" gardens. Parmentier also created a feast with only potato dishes, a concept he realized was possible while being imprisoned in Germany and fed only potatoes. He also developed and popularized the mashed potato that became popular probably because he made this suspicious vegetable unrecognizable. Benjamin Franklin, ambassador to France, was in attendance of Parmentier's feast in 1767.

Another person who was instrumental to the acceptance of potatoes was Count Rumford. A member of the British scientific group, the Royal Society, Rumford created a mush soup made of potatoes, barley, peas and vinegar, which the German peasants adopted as a satisfying and inexpensive dish.

Potatoes arrived in the Colonies in 1621 when the Governor of Bermuda, Nathaniel Butler, sent two large cedar chests containing potatoes and other vegetables to Governor Francis Wyatt of Virginia at Jamestown. The first permanent potato patches in North America were established in 1719, most likely near Londonderry (Derry), NH.

French Fries were introduced to the U.S. when Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House during his Presidency of 1801-1809.  And in 1853 railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen at a fashionable resort in Saratoga Springs, NY. To spite his haughty guest, Chef George Crum sliced some potatoes paper-thin, fried them in hot oil, salted and served them. To everyone's surprise, Vanderbilt loved his "Saratoga Crunch Chips," and potato chips have been popular ever since.

French chemist Louis Lumiere used microscopic grains of potato starch fixed on 9-inch by 12-inch glass plates to create and market the first autochromes in 1907. Autochromes were widely used in photography before the development of color film.

In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually, feeding future space colonies.