Irish Potato Bread. Recipe, Page E4.

PhotoS Courtesy of the United States Potato Board

The United Nations General Assembly really didn’t have to declare this the International Year of the Potato for us to pay attention to a spud.

The whole world over, potatoes offer comfort food. Where would an Indian samosa be without potato? Or Irish stew? There’d be no potato pancakes! Or French fries! Or something mashed to go with gravy! Where oh where would my personal favorite — gnocchi — be without the potato? Well it would be a ricotta gnocchi and that’s just not the same.

But why did the UN get involved in this culinary story? Because world population is growing by more than 100 million people per year and most of them are in developing countries where resources are scarce. Potatoes, as we know, can be grown on less land and in harsher climates than any other crop. They grow quickly. Most importantly, they are nutritious with more potassium (skin on please) than a banana. Potatoes are a source for nutrients including dietary fiber, vitamins C and B6 and complex carbohydrates. And when naked, a medium-sized potato is but 110 calories.

Now that the low-carb craze has abated, we can speak the potato name again.

Trade groups like the U.S. Potato Board ( www.uspotatoes.com) and the Maine Potato Board ( www.mainepotatoes.com) offer recipes on their Web sites. Find some of those, and a few others in these pages.