Yes, there is more!
While I was thinking about potatoes last night I remembered that when Thomas and I were first married he persisted in calling potatoes "Irish Potatoes" or "White Potatoes", instead of just simply potatoes, and this drove me nuts. (Because, you know, we'd only been married for a while, and there were as yet no kids, mortgages, or other life-altering events to have to worry about, so I indulged in having little petty grievances like that.)
Anyway.
To me, potatoes were "potatoes" and the only time you had to be more specific was when you were talking about sweet potatoes or yams. Imagine the fun when Thomas, told there were potatoes on the menu (I don't recall what the whole menu was), came to the table and said, "I thought you said we were having potatoes." And then, I, staring pointedly at the dish of potatoes on the table, said, "We are having potatoes." And then he said "Oh! You meant Irish potatoes."
Well, that got my Irish dander up a bit, because I didn't undertand why he was calling them that. (And because, like I said, I was only 21 and stupid and didn't realize that there were more important things in life to get irritated about besides what your new husband called potatoes!)
Well, we've now been married 20 years, and he has finally learned to call a potato a potato, bless his heart. But I did come to understand why he called them Irish potatoes. I grew up on potatoes. They were a staple, cooked for almost each and every dinner. Thomas, born in Alabama, was raised for the first 9 years of his life on sweet potatoes and only ocassionally had white potatoes, so to him the sweet potato was the staple. Those were called simply "potatoes" in his house. The climate and soil there lended themselves to the growing of sweet potatoes over regular potatoes. He had always heard regular potatoes called "white" potatoes or "Irish" potatoes, and until he married me he wasn't a big fan of them. I saw to changing that, of course.
He had no idea why they were called Irish potatoes, but I assumed it had to do with the Irish potato famine, which this article supports.
I thought of something else, too: Potato Candy. Have you ever had it? My mother used to make it ocassionally and it was delicious!
My, the varieties of potatoes!
8 comments:
never heard of potatoe candy!
Sharon
Lots of interesting thoughts in this one... like what I used to get upset over before I had kids! lol And I never knew about irish potatoes either... but I was born in North Dakota. That should explain a lot.
lol
God bless-
Amanda
never have I heard of potatoe candy!
I really like the articles about Ireland you linked me to.
Marti
PLEASE send me the recipe for the potatoe candy. As I recall, it had lots of powdered sugar that you rolled out and put peanut butter in there and rolled it up and sliced it. Am I right? Anne
Yes! Mom made some with peanut butter, and some just plain. But yes, there was lots of powdered sugar and you rolled it up and then sliced it. I'll have to get the recipe from her.
Well, bless Thomas's pea pickin' heart! Down here we have three types of tators. There is Irish potatoes (any white skinned potatoe), red potatoes (which everyone plants in their gardens) and sweet pototoes. We haven't figured out why them yankees keep calling them yams. ;o) - Barbara
I was wondering why he called them that too until I read to the end of the entry and that explained it! I do love potatoes and we always had them with almost every meal also growing up. I really have been in the mood for potatoes a lot lately. And I like every kind there are.... white, sweet, baked, mashed, whipped, scalloped, fried, you name it!! Hugs,
Lisa
I love all kinds of potatoes. Bring 'em on!
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