Potato is a starchy root vegetable of Central American origin. This humble tuber is one of the most widely grown root-crops and one of the cheapest staple food ingredients consumed all-over the world. Botanically, it belongs to perennial subspecies of Solanum tuberosum, in the Solanaceae family.
Potato plant grows about 12 to 18 inches in height and bears many tubers underground. The tubers usually have round to oval to oblong shape but vary widely in size. Internally, its flesh features bright cream-white, rose red, or russet color depending up on the variety with moist, crunchy texture and once baked, becomes soft and has special buttery "potato" flavor.
Fresh potato along with its skin is one of a good source of antioxidant vitamin, vitamin-C. 100 g of fresh tuber provides 11.4 mg or 20% of daily required levels of this vitamin. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals. They are very good natural sources of both soluble and insoluble fiber. The dietary fiber in them increases the bulk of the stool, thus, it helps prevent constipation, decrease absorption of dietary cholesterol and thereby, lower plasma LDL cholesterol. Additionally, its rich fiber content also helps protect from colon polyps and cancer.
