Tuber Terrors
This insect, notorious for its black and yellow stripes as adults and orange spotted body as larva, is a major defoliator of potato plants, often requiring chemical control.
What is the Colorado Potato Beetle?
This major Great Lakes state is a leading producer of potatoes, specializing in varieties with low sugar content that are ideal for making potato chips.
What is Michigan?
A single medium-sized baked potato contains more of this electrolyte—essential for nerve and muscle function—than a banana.
What is Potassium?
The potato belongs to the plant family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, peppers, and this notoriously poisonous group of plants.
What is nightshade?
This popular US picnic dish consists of chunks of potato, hard-boiled eggs, and chopped vegetables mixed in a mayonnaise or vinegar-based dressing.
What is Potato Salad?
This physiological disorder occurs when growing conditions change abruptly, causing the potato to develop a hollow space, usually in the center of the tuber.
What is hollow heart?
This northwestern U.S. state is the top producer of Russet Burbank potatoes, due to its ideal soil and climate conditions.
What is Idaho?
This French Queen, famous for her disastrous fashion sense, helped popularize the potato in France by wearing its blossoms in her hair.
Who is Marie Antoinette?
A potato is considered to be 'chitting' when the dormant buds on its surface begin to do this in preparation for planting.
What is sprouting?
This popular Canadian comfort food consists of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy.
What is Poutine?
The destruction of potato crops by Late Blight in the 1840s led to a devastating famine in this European nation.
What is Ireland?
Known for its volcanic soil and high-desert climate, this state's Columbia Basin region is a key grower, producing most of its potato crop for the frozen processing market.
What is Washington?
Historically, sailors in the 17th century were encouraged to eat potatoes and other vegetables to prevent this disease caused by a Vitamin C deficiency.
What is Scurvy?
When exposed to light, potato tubers turn green because of the formation of chlorophyll and this toxic alkaloid compound.
What is solanine?
These tiny, soft potato dumplings from Italy require the cook to achieve the perfect balance of potato, flour, and egg to ensure they are light and tender, not heavy and tough.
What is Gnocchi?
The most common viral disease of potatoes, often transmitted by aphids, is PVY, which stands for this.
What is Potato Virus Y?
This Southern state, specifically the Hastings area, is a key early-season growing region and is famous for its unique dark, porous soil known as "muck."
What is Florida?
The earliest known evidence of potato consumption dates back thousands of years to the Chilca Canyon in this modern South American country.
What is Peru?
Potato varieties are typically this, meaning they have four sets of chromosomes, unlike most diploid crops.
What is tetraploid?
Popular in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany, this is a thin, rolled-up, savory pancake filled with mashed potatoes and often cheese or sauerkraut.
What are Pierogi (or Varenyky)?
Caused by the bacterium Pectobacterium atrosepticum, this disease is characterized by a black, rotting lesion at the base of the stem, often leading to a soft, wet rot in the stored tuber.
What is Blackleg (and/or Bacterial Soft Rot)?
This mountainous state, known for its cold winters and relatively dry climate, has a major seed potato industry centered around its San Luis Valley.
What is Colorado?
This popular brand of premium vodka, first introduced in 1993, is notable for being made entirely from potatoes rather than the more common grains.
What is Chopin?
This is the genus and species scientific name for the common cultivated potato.
What is Solanum tuberosum?
This savory, grated potato pancake, often served with sour cream or applesauce, is a traditional dish prepared for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
What are Latkes?