NATIONAL POTATO MONTH

August 31, 2026August 7, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 3 Comments

This month we salute the terrific tuber, the spud, otherwise known as the potato! September is National Potato Month!

It’s hard to imagine a world without potatoes. Once indigenous to South America, specifically Peru and Bolivia, the potato has become a staple food in much of the world. In fact, it is an integral part of the food supply in many countries. Spuds are grown in all fifty states in the U.S. alone!

Gurney's Seed & Nursery Company Yukon Gold Seed Potato - Best Early Eating Potato on The Market - Includes one 2-lb Bag — Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Company Yukon Gold Seed Potato – Best Early Eating Potato on The Market – Includes one 2-lb Bag

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In 1784, Thomas Jefferson set voyage on a trip to France with his slave James Heming. Jefferson brought his slave along in hopes he would learn some of the French culinary skills. Upon return to the U.S., Jefferson made Heming prepare one of the many culinary delights learned in France, the French fried potato. The dish was served at Jefferson’s private residence. Despite the fact Heming learned the culinary skill to make French fried potatoes and brought that skill back the U.S., Jefferson is given credit for introducing French fried potatoes. The earliest known recipe for the potato chip appeared in a cookbook published in 1817. The preparation resembled the French fried potato prepared by Heming.

The potato continues to have a vast history after its initial introduction. Most notably, the history of potatoes relates to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. Sadly, starvation and disease claimed as many as a million lives in Ireland during the famine. It was during this time that nearly 500,000 Irish immigrated to the U.S.

Mash-Up Potato Facts:

The word “spud” first made an appearance in New Zealand around 1850. Potato planters used spuds, a sharper version of a spade, to dig up potatoes. Technically, it had nothing to the with the potato.
The world’s largest potato chip was produced by the Pringle Company in 1990. It measures 23′ by 14.5′.
Potatoes have even made an entry into pop culture. Possibly the most famous potato known to man, Mr. Potato Head. A creation from New Yorker George Lerner, the Hasbro Company launched the beloved toy in 1952. Unfortunately, Mr. Potato Head lost his pipe in 1987 mostly due to pressure from anti-smoking groups.
The “Mashed Potatoes” was a popular dance craze in the early 1960s. Mashed Potato Time was a 1962 chart-topping hit for soul singer Dee Dee Sharp.

Potatoes also have health benefits. For instance, potato skins are a good source of roughage and potassium. The average potato with the skin intact only contains 110 calories. It’s all the stuff you put on it that makes it fattening. As long as toppings are used in moderation, you can enjoy potatoes in all their deliciousness!

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HOW TO OBSERVE

Potato dishes can be found in all corners of the world, making it easy to find something that suits your taste buds!

Use #NationalPotatoMonth in social media correspondence.

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National Potato Day

August 18, 2026August 7, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 2 Comments

National Potato Day is August 19, so if you like spuds, this one’s for you! Never celebrated this tasty tot before? Good news, we have the lowdown on how to do things up right with facts and links to turn you from couch potato to party animal.

Potatoes have been a popular food for centuries so it’s about time we recognize this versatile and ap-peeling favorite. Mashed, smashed, chipped, or covered in cheese, potatoes can be eaten with just about every meal — or as a meal! — making these starchy veggies a delicious and easy way to get iron, potassium and vitamin c. The puns are just baked right in! Now just fry and stop us from telling you the whole scoop on what makes National Potato Day so …spudtacular.

NATIONAL POTATO DAY ACTIVITIES

Did you know there are over 4000 different kinds of potatoes? It’s true! Choose your favorite or choose a bunch because potatoes are so tasty and easy to cook that no matter what you pick you won’t be wrong! And not being wrong is a wonderful way to celebrate anything, so try it out this August 19.

There’s no wrong way to prepare a potato and the Internet (and probably your grandma) have a million and one recipes for you to try. Select a favorite, chop to it and discover for yourself why this hot potato is such a hot commodity. Don’t forget to invite some friends and make it an event! This is a celebration, after all.

Creamy and buttery or crispy and salty, the last step to enjoying this day is the best step — eating! —and we will eat potatoes in any form (even baked into bread)! We think consuming these delectable spuds in mass quantities is the best way to pay homage on their special day.

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Betty Crocker Butter & Herb Mashed Potatoes, 4 ounces (Pack of 8) — Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Company Yukon Gold Seed Potato – Best Early Eating Potato on The Market – Includes one 2-lb Bag – Can’t Ship to States of ID, ME, MT, or NE

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL POTATO DAY

Potatoes are a staple for a reason Hashbrowns or potato salad, hot or cold, no matter how you slice ‘em, potatoes have been a staple in diets all over the world because they’re easy to grow, tasty and relatively inexpensive to produce and buy. Nearly ever cuisine has potatoes in it, so you can take a culinary journey with your trusty potato by your side.

Potato chips are the best snackThe people have spoken! Potato chips are regularly regarded as the most delicious snack and we couldn’t agree more. Plus, there isn’t a better party food than the potato chip. Just pour them in a bowl and let the festivities begin! With chips coming in more and more flavors all the time, you’ll never run out of ways to enjoy your favorite spuds with your buds. That deserve a few chip-chip-hoorays!

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How to OBSERVE

Potatoes are America’s cropPotatoes are grown in all 50 states! It makes sense that there should be a national day to celebrate the crop that can feed an entire country. We really do think this starchy, vitamin packed veg is all that and a bag of chips so pick up a bag, choose a recipe and feast with friends!

No matter how you celebrate share it on social media with #NationPotatoDay. We look forward to seeing your favorites.

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NATIONAL CHIP AND DIP DAY

March 22, 2026March 13, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 1 Comment

On March 23rd, it is a National Day just for the chip and dip! National Chip And Dip Day celebrates a perfect combination loved by many across the country. Chips and dip are the quick and easy party dish that also makes for great parties. We enjoy them for just about any occasion. From watching the game to hunkering down for a big storm, chips and dips are the way to go. Just no double-dipping, please!

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Ruffles Potato Chips, Variety Pack, 1 Ounce (Pack of 40)#NationalChipAndDipDay — Lay’s Potato Chips, Variety Pack, 1 Ounce (Pack of 40)

Only a few days earlier on March 14, we celebrate Potato Chip Day, and now we add a partner, the dip. And people have been dipping their food for centuries. Hummus-like recipes date back to the 13th century. These are some of the first “dip” recipes found.

Potato chips are not the only mode of celebrating the day. There are tortilla chips, corn chips, pretzel chips, and even popcorn chips to name a few. After you have chosen your chips, there are dozens of dips to partner with them. There are a variety of dips usually made with sour cream, cheeses, salsas, and seasonings. The combinations are endless. Don’t hesitate to mix up your favorite or try something new!

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalChipAndDipDay

Invite some family and friends over and have a chip and dip party! Be sure to share your favorite recipes, too. Use #NationalChipAndDipDay to post on social media.

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NATIONAL POTATO CHIP DAY

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 5 Comments

National Potato Chip Day on March 14th celebrates America’s #1 snack food. Millions will enjoy their favorite chip this holiday. It’s a good thing there are so many to choose from, too!

Saratoga Chips

On August 24, 1853, an unhappy restaurant customer kept sending his potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining they were thick and soggy. Chef George Crum decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and added extra salt. To the chef’s surprise, the customer loved them. The crispy potatoes soon became a regular item on the restaurant’s menu under the name of “Saratoga Chips.”

Other explanations point for the existence of the potato chip point to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph’s The Virginia House-Wife (1824). While many references between these dates sliced potatoes and fried them in grease, uncertainty remains whether the potatoes were fried to a crisp.

However, by the late 1870s, menus across the country used the term “Saratoga Chips” on train cars, hotel restaurants, and street carts. The name carried into grocers when bakeries made the chips in larger batches. They shipped them by wagon to the restaurants and grocers by the barrel. The grocers sold them to private families by the pound. Folks were instructed to bake the chips in a hot oven for a few minutes, and the chips would be as crisp as if fried that same day.

Classic Potato Chips

The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell’s Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the “oldest potato chip company in the United States.” New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally established in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts, claims to be America’s first potato chip manufacturer.

In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass-produced for home consumption. Flavored chips were introduced in the 1950s. Potato Chip revenues are over $15 billion a year worldwide!

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalPotatoChipDay

While we enjoy potato chips as a simple snack, they also provide a great ingredient in recipes, too. Favorite recipes include chocolate-dipped chips and crushed chips dusted over fish. Share with us how you enjoy your favorite chip recipes! Or just grab a bag of potato chips to enjoy and use #NationalPotatoChipDay to post on social media.

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NATIONAL IRISH COFFEE DAY

January 24, 2026December 19, 2025Jensperspectiveblog

National Irish Coffee Day kicks off January 25th each year with a mug of strong coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and topped with a layer of cream.

On a cold, wet day in 1942 weary travelers to the small Shannon Airport in southwest Ireland found their way to a restaurant and chef Joe Sheridan. To warm his guests, he served them hot coffee, spiked with whiskey and topped with whipped cream. The passengers asked if the beverage was Brazilian coffee. Sheridan responded that it was Irish coffee.

A travel writer, Stanton Delaplane, brought Irish coffee to the United States after having it at Shannon Airport.

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Delaplane brought the idea to the Buena Vista Cafe on November 10, 1952. After much trial and error, sampling, and a trip back to Ireland for a taste of the original, Delaplane, along with Buena Vista owners Jack Koeppler and George Freeberg, were able to replicate the delicious coffee and the method for floating the cream on top of the coffee.

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Traditional Irish Coffee

Starting with a warm glass, fill 2/3rds full of freshly brewed coffee. Stir in a heaping teaspoon of sugar. Add 1 ounce of Irish whiskey.

Adding the cream, so it floats is the tricky part. According to the Buena Vista account, and at the suggestion of San Francisco’s mayor, a dairyman, cream that is 48 hours old, is best. However, others recommend whipping cream (not whipped cream) that has been lightly whipped or foamed.

When the coffee has stopped swirling from stirring in the sugar, pour the foamy cream over the back of a spoon.