The more popular something is the more the myths surrounding it. Here, we want to set some facts right and debunk myths surrounding potatoes, so when next you eat some au gratin potatoes, you don’t feel reluctant.
- Myth: Potatoes are bad carbohydrates.
Fact: Potatoes are the best carbohydrate for anyone. Many people have come to demonize carbohydrates, no thanks to some nutritionists and self-proclaimed dieting experts.. However, carbohydrates constitute the bulk of our energy source as humans, and there is no way you can cut them off your diet. The best thing to do is to find carbohydrate foods that are more nutritious and less harmful. Potatoes. Potatoes contain little or no fat content depending on the variety, and they offer more vitamin C, B6, Potassium, and Calcium than most other vegetables. They are safe for anyone and can be added to any diet requiring carbohydrates.
- Myth: Scalloped potatoes are the same as au gratin potatoes.
Fact: Both recipes are similar in taste and preparation. However, scalloped potatoes are prepared without using cream or milk or using just a little of either. Au gratin potatoes, on the other hand, are prepared using cheese. To many, this difference is not much, but it is a common myth which any potato lover would be glad to know of.
- Myth: Potatoes are native Irish foods.
Fact: Potatoes only got into Europe in 1536, and not until 53 years later, in 1589 did they enter Ireland. Before that, potatoes were grown as far back as 5000 BC in Peru. So, while the Irish people love potatoes so much that they have a species named after them, they are not the ones who discovered or first domesticated potatoes.
- Myth: The whole parts of potato plants are edible
Fact: Potato skin, innards, and leaves (not all species) can be eaten. However, the shoot and some parts of the stalk are poisonous. Consuming them may result in mild or severe food poisoning with attendant symptoms.
- 5. Myth: Potatoes have a high glycemic index (GI).
Fact: Nothing could be farther from the truth. Glycemic Index is a measurement of how much a particular substance can spike the glucose level in the blood. Potatoes are low in this regard because they have high water and fiber content which collectively slow down the rate of glucose absorption in the body.
Well, I do hope you know some potato facts now and how they have been warped.