Do potatoes deserve their bad reputation as an unhealthy food?
Potato suppliers Catherine Ramage and Kerri Farrell are the Spud Sisters. (ABC News: Peter Drought)
Potatoes have gained a reputation as an unhealthy, high-carb vegetable that's best avoided if you want to stay fit.
But where did this belief come from, and is it justified?
For years potatoes were a staple vegetable in many households.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Australians were well known for their meat and three-veg dinners — with potatoes usually dominating the vegetable servings.
They were relatively cheap and widely available. You could even grow them in your own backyard.
So where did it all go wrong for the once-loved spud?
Serving bowl of potato salad with chives and shallots. (ABC Everyday: Heidi Sze)
The bad reputation of potatoes is unfair, according to dietitian Nicole Senior, and has been fuelled by the rise of low-carb and high-protein diet trends.
Ms Senior says while some potatoes do have a high glycaemic index, because easily digestible starch — such as that in hot, baked potatoes — can rapidly raise blood-glucose levels, it depends on the variety of the potato used and the way it is cooked.
"Potatoes are a nutrient-dense vegetable and a quality carbohydrate," she says.
Nutritional benefits include vitamin C, fibre and resistant starch, which increases when potatoes are cooled down and used in a potato salad, for example.
"Resistant starch nourishes all of those beneficial bugs that we have in our bowel and keeps them happy and keeps our bowel healthy," she says.
Another tick for potatoes is that coloured-skin varieties include higher antioxidants, which also have health benefits.
Each potato variety has different nutritional values and characteristics. (ABC News: Peter Drought)
Tackling myths and misinformation
The average Australian eats about 17 kilograms of potatoes each year, but most people can't tell a kipfler from a King Edward.
Limited availability of potato varieties at supermarkets and a focus on the vegetable's aesthetics are contributing to this lack of consumer knowledge, according to those in the industry.
The major supermarkets say consumer expectations drive their requirements, and they offer alternative produce offerings to match any shifts in customer behaviour.
Catherine Ramage says ugly potatoes shouldn't be disregarded. (ABC News: Peter Drought)
Potato suppliers Kerri Farrell and Catherine Ramage, known as the Spud Sisters, are determined to shift consumer understanding about the ubiquitous vegetable.
"At a supermarket, they'll only be offered a washed potato or an unwashed potato or a red potato and a white potato," Ms Farrell says.
"The conversation about waxy and starchy potatoes and their use is lacking in Australia."
Potatoes labelled at a supermarket in Australia. (ABC News)
Ms Farrell says the limited labelling of potatoes in supermarkets contributes to consumer misunderstanding.
"You see a lot of misinformation saying that red potatoes are all waxy, which isn't true," she says.
"Potatoes that do baking, roasting, mashing — just because they are washed, doesn't mean they do all those things."
Midnight Pearl, Andean Sunrise and Prince of Orange are just some of the 40 potato varieties the Spud Sisters source from Victorian farmers on behalf of restaurants and online customers.
Midnight Pearl potatoes have a dark purple flesh that's used for mash or gnocchi. (ABC News: Peter Drought)
Witnessing people's improved eating experience after understanding the use of waxy or starchy potatoes in a dish, is one reason the sisters embarked on their venture.
"They might be different and ugly, but the kookier the potato the better — we're all about what tastes nice," Ms Ramage says.
Besides limited labelling, supermarket storage processes and nutritional myths are also holding back the industry, according to South Australian potato farmer Terry Buckley.
Potato grower Terry Buckley says nutritional myths are holding back the industry. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
He says Australia's focus on the appearance of potatoes reduces their use-by date and makes them go green more quickly.
"You could double their shelf life if you haven't washed them and you keep them in the dark and you package them well," he says.
The industry also needs to improve the public's nutritional education, according to Mr Buckley.
"Potatoes are fattening? That's always been pretty much a myth," he says.
The taste, not the look, should be guiding consumers' potato purchases, according to grower Terry Buckley. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
Reducing food waste
In Australia, the $1.1 billion industry leads the nation's vegetable production but, worldwide, potatoes are among the most-wasted foods.
Mr Buckley says he has witnessed food waste within the industry due to demands for the "perfect product".
"To achieve that amazing white or red [potato], your wastage is very high," he says.
White and red potatoes on display at an Australian supermarket. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
But he says consumers are missing out because popular supermarket versions fall short on taste compared with other varieties.
"If you went and bought a packet of them, you'd tip them out on the bench and you'd eat the plastic bag," he says.
Growers and suppliers say many potatoes are wasted because shoppers don't like them covered in dirt, which actually preserves their shelf-life. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
Imperfect vegetables 'still tasty'
Potatoes were first farmed in the South American Andes about 8,000 years ago, and there are now about 5,000 varieties worldwide.
Melbourne-based Peruvian chef Alejandro Saravia is dedicated to highlighting the vegetable's benefits to people in Australia.
Chef Alejandro Saravia says it's difficult to find different potato varieties in Australia. (ABC News: Nicholas White)
He says more initiatives are needed to encourage imperfect ingredient purchases to reduce food waste.
"As chefs, our main focus is the taste and the freshness of our ingredients, not how they look. A potato that is not looking perfect, it's not going to taste bad, right?" he says.
"I do strongly believe that the restaurant industry is very focused on the values of flavour, seasonality and reducing food miles, and I think the supermarkets should do the same."
Mr Saravia is determined to elevate potatoes in his dishes. (ABC News: Nicholas White)
Even for chefs, it's difficult to find different potato varieties throughout the year, he says.
Mr Saravia says working with the Spud Sisters has given him the ability to highlight a variety of produce from large commercial to heritage and boutique growers.
"Nothing compares to sourcing directly from the farmers, from the people that are working the land 24/7, and getting their advice," he says.
Chef Alejandro Saravia at Morena restaurant in Melbourne. (ABC News: Nicholas White)
As Mr Saravia puts his effort into elevating the humble spud through his culinary creations, he says consumers' role in shifting behaviours is important too.
"It's also the consumer responsibility of not choosing the nice, big potato and also picking the small ones that are still delicious," he says.
"They are still tasty and they will still provide a great source of food for your families."