Quirky Pemberton Potato Facts and Trivia
Everyone knows (or everyone should know!) that Pemberton is the seed potato capital of the World (or at least of Canada). The Pemberton Valley is renowned for its seed potatoes, and this means that the valley is potato virus-free. We're rightly proud of our spuds, and want to share our potato love with you.
It Seems That Lately, Everyone Loves Potato-Based Business
Under the category of quirky potato trivia, we'd like to share recent potato inspired business ideas:
First and most inspirationally, the newest spud business idea comes out of North Texas. A young business person was having dinner with his girlfriend when he was hit with "the stupidest idea ever," as she put it.
The idea? Anonymous messages written in sharpie on potatoes. Yep. It's true. And since May, this business idea has profited over $10,000 per month. File that under "Why didn't we think of that?"
Closer to home, did you know that Tyler Shramm has built his business on potatoes? It's true. The idea for Pemberton Distillery began around the kitchen table in 2002 while he and his brother were deciding what they should do with their potato farm. Distill the potatoes is an enlightened outcome, especially In an age when most distilleries use grain, (yes, even for vodka) Pemberton Distillery uses organic Pemberton potatoes for its libations.
And of course, the potato salad guy from 2014. Not really a business idea, per se, the Kickstarter that finally ended up raising over $40,000 helped Zack Brown make his first potato salad.
What is it about potatoes that rallies us? What is it about potatoes that makes us feel like we're all in this together, that we all share the same DNA and that, in the end, we should probably all lighten up just a bit and enjoy life a bit more?
A Few Fun Potato Facts
Did you know...
- that potatoes rely on bumblebees for pollination?
- that between 1897 and 1898 potatoes were worth their weight in gold in Alaska?
- that potatoes are the first vegetable to be grown in space? Yup, in 1995!
- that China is the leading potato grower?
- that in the 1500s, the Spanish thought potatoes were a kind of truffle? They called them tartuffo!
If you want to learn more about potatoes in the Pemberton Valley, learn more by reading our article on Pemberton potatoes. Potatoes mean a lot to our valley. We've been farming them here for over one hundred years. The largest of our potato farms, Across the Creek Organics, has been farming in the same family since 1912. Of the forty original farmers, there are still 10 farming families left here. And though we don't grow the most potatoes in the world (we'll leave that to China) our potatoes are arguably among the best. Some strains of our seed potatoes are seven generations old. That is old! We welcome you to learn more about our valley and the potatoes we grow here.
Sample some of our delicious distilled products, but also spend some time in our restaurants. Many of them proudly serve Pemberton potato dishes. Mile One Eating House, for example, serves Pemberton Roasted Potato Wedges. Solfeggio Foods offers organic Pemberton poutine.
We look forward to seeing you during this harvest season and welcome you to our farming valley. If you are interested in taking part in a harvest celebration, the annual Araxi Longtable Series Dinner will be held on September 5th at North Arm Farm. At any time, though, many of our local Pemberton restaurants cater to this tradition of serving just picked produce to our guests.
Here's to the humble potato, and we hope to see you soon!
Posted: Tuesday, August 18, 2015
