The United Nations has declared 2008 the Year of the Potato, something which won't be news to Irish people, who are renowned spud-lovers.

As north European countries go, Ireland consumes vast quantities of potatoes, which make up the backbone of our diet, compared to our Mediterranean counterparts who eat more pasta and rice. Spud lovers will be delighted to know that potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, which makes them a good source of energy, and in vitamin C and potassium.

They have more protein than other roots and tubers (about 2.1 percent), and that protein is high-quality and well matched to human requirements.

So while we might give ourselves a hard time that potatoes are fattening, they are in fact a very healthy food when simply steamed or boiled.

How much butter you drown them in is up to you!

'I didn't know that': some surprising spud trivia

Despite our affiliation for the potato, recent research indicates that the first potatoes were cultivated near Lake Titicaca, on the Peru/Bolivia border, about 8, 000 years ago. However now potato growing has spread to all around the world, even as far as farming China's Yunnan plateau and the subtropical lowlands of India, to Java's equatorial highlands and the steppes of Ukraine.

While the Irish love their Roosters, pinks and Golden Wonders, The International Potato Center lists 7,500 different varieties of potato (1,950 of them wild).

In 2007, potato farmers produced more than 320 million tons

Potato is the world's Number Four food crop, after maize, wheat and rice, making it very important on a global scale

China is the world's biggest potato producer, followed by the Russian Federation and India.

Today potatoes are grown on an estimated 195,000 square kilometres (or 75,000 square miles) of farmland.

Usually, farmers plant a piece of the potato tuber (known as 'seed potato') where one to two sprouts (or 'eyes') have formed. Each seed potato can produce from two to 10 new tubers. Potatoes are ready to harvest when the leaves of the plant start to turn yellow and die.

It takes between three months and five months to grow a potato harvest. It depends on the local climate. In the tropics farmers can harvest potatoes within 90 days of planting. In colder places, it takes up to 150 days.

Potatoes can be grown from seed, though most potatoes are still grown from pieces of the tuber. Scientists are developing ways of growing potatoes using what is called "true potato seed" obtained from the berries.

Green parts of the skin, and the leaves of the plant, contain a toxic compound. (But poisoning from potatoes is very rare.) Cutting away green areas and peeling potatoes before cooking ensures healthy eating.

The amount of potato that people eat each year depends on the region. In Europe, people eat around 96kg (or about 212lb) of potatoes a year. In the developing countries, the average is around 21kg (46lb) per person, but is growing all the time.