“Good heavens, potatoes are worth more than gold!”

“Surely not!”

“If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what would you prefer, a bag of potatoes or a bag of gold?

“Yes, but a desert island isn’t Ankh-Morpork!”

“And that proves gold is only valuable because we agree it is, right? It’s just a dream. But a potato is always worth a potato, anywhere. Add a knob of butter and a pinch of salt and you’ve got a meal, anywhere. Bury gold in the ground and you’ll be worrying about thieves forever. Bury a potato and in due season you could be looking at a dividend of a thousand percent.”

Terry Pratchett, Making Money

In a world full of exotic super foods and complicated diets, it’s easy to overlook the quiet, dependable staple buried in the earth. Lauded by Samwise Gamgee as the pinnacle of practical goodness and reflecting the common-sense wisdom found in the best of Terry Pratchett’s world, potatoes are an often unsung culinary hero.

And we aren’t just talking about one spud. We have two magnificent root veggies to consider: the classic white potato and its vibrant cousin, the sweet potato. While they share a name and a place on our plates, they are not actually botanically related and they each bring unique strengths to the table.

The common white potato (like Russets, Yukon Golds, or Reds) belongs to the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family, the same as tomatoes and peppers.

• Culinary Value: Its starch composition is its superpower.
  -High starch (Russets): Perfect for baking, frying, and making fluffy, dry mashed potatoes – they absorb butter and cream beautifully.
  -Medium starch (Yukon Golds and Reds): The all-rounder. Great for roasting, mashing, and holding their shape in stews.
• Nutritional Value: A white potato is a fantastic source of potassium (more than a banana!), Vitamin C, and essential B vitamins. Contrary to popular myth, a plain baked potato is relatively low in calories and high in fiber. White potatoes are higher in carbs, providing a quick source of energy.

Sweet Potatoes are members of the Convolvulaceae (Morning Glory) family. They have a creamy texture and an unmistakable sweetness.

• Culinary Value: Its lower starch and higher sugar content makes it caramelize beautifully when roasted. It’s incredibly versatile, working well in both savory dishes and sweet treats.
• Nutritional Value: This is where the sweet potato truly shines. It is packed with Beta-Carotene, which your body converts to Vitamin A – crucial for vision and immune function. They are also rich in Vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. They tend to have a lower glycemic index than their white counterparts, meaning they release energy more slowly.

The enduring appeal of the potato, in any variety, is its simplicity and satiating power. Samwise Gamgee was right: the potato is the ultimate survival and comfort food, and the core ingredient that can transform a handful of vegetables into a proper, nourishing stew.

But their value goes beyond mere taste. The potato represents fundamental, reliable wealth. It’s the kind of investment that reliably pays off. As the ever-resourceful Moist von Lipwig noted in Terry Pratchett’s Making Money, the true worth of a potato is its potential for endless increase.

“Potatoes. They’re worth more than gold. You can’t eat gold. Gold will just sit there. I know a man who planted gold and nothing came up. But if you plant one potato, you get ten or twenty potatoes. A dividend of a thousand percent!”

This wisdom, whether delivered by a Hobbit tending his garden or a con man turned Postmaster General, speaks to the same truth: real wealth is what sustains you. Samwise Gamgee is my spirit animal, especially when it comes to potatoes. They are without a doubt a comforting, hearty food with so many options for fixing – I have always said if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, I would pick potatoes!

Not only are they delicious and versatile, the potato is the epitome of practicality. It is affordable, easy to grow, and endlessly adaptable – a true testament to how the best things in life are often the simplest. So the next time you dig up or pick up a bag of potatoes, whether they are white or orange, remember they truly are worth more than gold.

One of my favorite potato recipes is the Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas found on my Recipes page. Since I am currently on a special diet through my treatment for AGS, MCAS, and HI, I can no longer have chickpeas or some of the other ingredients in the original recipe so I have tweaked it by substituting the chickpeas with more sweet potatoes and/or cauliflower, using olive oil instead of avocado oil, and seasoning with just sea salt, onion powder, and parsley. Still delicious. As with most potato recipes, feel free to play with it, they are very forgiving. This recipe works well for white potatoes too, either Yukon Gold or small Reds. You could throw in some dried Rosemary and Thyme for the seasoning.

In the end, whether white or orange, savory or sweet, potatoes prove that the most valuable things in life don’t have to be complicated or exotic – they’re just reliable. What is your favorite way to fix the humble spud? Do you prefer white potatoes or sweet potatoes? What are your best potato recipes or tips/tricks/culinary wisdom? Or perhaps you have a favorite quote (you may have noticed, I love a good quote!)? Please share in the comments!

“Po-tay-toes. Boil ’em, mash ’em, stick ’em in a stew.”

Samwise Gamgee