A few weeks ago I was allowed to go out on the farm with a PR bureau called Kroon op het Werk to learn more about potatoes. A day with your feet in the clay on the fields of CêlaVíta. And I can tell you… I have rediscovered the potato! Not only because of the enormous passion with which the quality man told his story, but also because the potato appears to be healthy, while I thought otherwise. In addition, the smile that the quality man got on his face every time he showed us a new potato variety was priceless. Heart and kidneys in love with the potato, that man.
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It doesn't happen every week that I go out with these kinds of events. Plenty of invitations, that's not the issue, but usually too short of time. This time too, of course, but I was very curious about the fields in Erp to 'assess' their potatoes together with CêlaVíta. Especially because I was always under the impression that potatoes are not really healthy. That makes curious. And sometimes you have to give yourself something, so hoppa… I went out to discover more about the potato - fortunately with a lovely sun.
I believe it's in my genes. I'm actually not a real potato eater. But really tasty potatoes, preferably well crumbly, that makes me very happy. I got that from my grandfather. Although I don't remember much else about my grandfather. But the image of him mashing floury potatoes with a generous dollop of gravy… that image is etched in my memory. He also went on a farm for this. He could really enjoy a good potato. My dear daddy took that from him. And funnily enough… me too.
You have potatoes and potatoes of course. This enjoyment does not happen often these days and that has several reasons. That delicious floury potato is a good eigenheimer in my opinion. But I can't always find it in the store. In addition, I am naturally more of a pasta and rice lover than a potato-vegetable-meat type. Apart from this delicious potato gratin from the airfryer, I don't eat them very often.
And then there's reason two. Potatoes make you fat. At least… that's what I've always understood. Is the potato healthy in that regard, or not? Potatoes contain starch, which is converted into carbohydrates. And in most cases I try to avoid excessive carbohydrate consumption. It also fits well into my NewFysic plans. Until I can go on the farm at the event of CêlaVíta. Because what I learn there… that makes me think again.
Even before we go on the farm, we get a lesson about potatoes from a dietician. Marieke van de Pavert comes with -for me- special news. A serving of potatoes contains far fewer calories than a serving of rice or pasta. All the time that I 'terribly' leave a tasty potato, I do so on the basis of the wrong information.
Yes of course it contains carbohydrates, but I also know that carbohydrates can be healthy energy suppliers. Just don't overdo it. But the engine has to keep running and our bodies and brains can't do without it. In that respect, the potato is healthy. One or two potatoes with dinner shouldn't be the problem. Other facts:
As you can see above, 200 grams of potato in a day is only a small part of the carbohydrates that you should have in a day.
Potatoes belong to the nightshade family. The green of the potato you see above is therefore poisonous. The potato is not healthy in this. The rest of the potato can be eaten as usual, so if you cut off this green there is nothing to worry about. If you sometimes eat it, not by the way, it is too small an amount to be bothered by.
How do potatoes grow? I can tell you all about that now. A potato plant grows from the first planted potato. That potato ends up as a kind of 'emptied' bag as you can see in the photo above. If the potato plant is completely withered on the land, it is normally the time for the potatoes to be harvested. I normally say because this summer has not really been a good example of a good summer for the potato growers.
If the summer is too dry, the potato plant will get confused. Not only the part that is visible above the ground, but especially the part that is below the ground. The potatoes sprout because of the warm weather and small potatoes form on the large potato. If this is discovered too late, the originally growing potato will be affected. The new potato grows because the nutrients of the first potato decrease. But the little new potato does not have enough time to grow into a full-fledged potato. And that's where it goes wrong.
The nice thing about such an extensive session in the fields is that you don't just see a lot of special potatoes in the field. Like for example these pink potatoes, how do you like them? I feel they belong in a star restaurant, don't they? But also that you learn that the potato is healthy and that you were wrong all along. The tasting itself was also a party! Taste potato dishes on a potato field, made by a real chef on a Green Egg. Life's a bitch .
To put the potato in its right place, CêlaVíta is now organizing the Potato Day. And somehow I think that's right. Even though I mentioned in the article above that I don't eat a lot of potatoes… the fact that this delicacy is now in danger of losing out compared to the rice and pastas you see everywhere on the shelves is not fair, is it? Certainly not given the fact that the potato is healthy. Provided you don't exaggerate.
