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If you like your spuds, National Tater Day on March 31st is for you! The day recognizes all kinds of potatoes which provide us with essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Potatoes are quite versatile, which might explain why so many people like them. They are the number one consumed vegetable in the United States. And when you consider how many ways we can eat the over 200 different kinds of potatoes in the United States, you shouldn’t be surprised.

First off, we can bake them. Who doesn’t like a baked potato? Yeah, we see you in back. Put your hand down. The rest of us absolutely love the baked spud. Plus those baked potatoes? You can bake them twice with all sorts of delicious toppings. Twice! Secondly, we can boil them. And from the boiled potatoes we can make soups, salads, or make one of the world’s all-time favorite potato dishes – mashed potatoes. And did you know, mashed potatoes have numerous different recipes, too? You can’t have shepherd’s pie without mashed potatoes. Dice them and slice them and we can make scalloped, fried, or even hashbrowns. And then, there’s potato dumplings and pancakes. 

Beyond all the ways we use potatoes, this day may have originally had a different meaning. At the beginning of April, parts of Kentucky celebrated the sweet potato (Tater Day). Sweet potatoes are one of the main cash crops in that area. Tater Day started way back in the early 1840s with the trading and selling of sweet potatoes. It is the oldest continuous trade day in the United States.

Worldwide, there are more than four thousand potato varieties. 

Since the time potatoes were shipped from Europe to the colonies in the early 17th century, their consumption has been a major part of the North American diet.

The day may have originated in Kentucky where they have celebrated Tater Day for some time. However, our research was unable to find the creator of National Tater Day.

Q. Where is the world’s largest potato? A. Potatoes are a popular record goal for people around the world. Not only do they try to out-grow the competition, but people also try to out-bake, out-peel and out-serve potatoes. Check out these potato-related records:

2011 – Peter Glazebrook of the UK grows the world’s heaviest potato weighing in at 10 pounds 14 ounces (4.98 kilograms).

2012 – Have you ever tried to peel a potato in one long, continuous strip? If so, your new challenge is to achieve the longest potato peel. The current record is held by Alastair Galpin of New Zealand. His peel came in at 5 feet 2.28 inches (1.582 meters) long.

2016 – Feuerwehr Dettingen cooked the world’s largest potato pancake. The Dettinggen, Germany pancake measured 7 feet 11 inches (2.42 meters) in diameter.

2020 – Patrick Huyskens of Belgium grew the world’s tallest potato plan measuring 57 inches (145 centimeters) tall.

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