# Stove Top \[stuffing\] instead of potatoes! How common were potatoes?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562 "2011-12-08T22:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/21 "2011-12-09T01:22:06Z")
My grandma who was of German/Russian farmer decent I would guess probably made some form of potatoes in either breakfast or Dinner probably 95% of all days she lived, Potatoes at both breakfast and dinner maybe 30-40 percent of all meals. And when in summer Potato salad at lunch was common. Potatoes were absolutely the staple food she had grown up on, and had probably kept many generations of the family from starving. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/22 "2011-12-09T01:27:43Z")
Meat and potatoes were the stereotypical all-American food. Even rice was a bit exotic, thus Minute Rice for those who couldn’t figure out how to cook it. Rice cookers were not a part of your normal kitchen. SW Louisiana was the first place I ever lived where rice was more common than potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/23 "2011-12-09T01:30:24Z")
Midwestern US…potatoes every supper, in some form or fashion, also part of lunch, usually in chips or potato salad. Stuffing, that’s something that is used in a turkey, right? Can’t imagine it cooked & served otherwise! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/24 "2011-12-09T01:44:57Z")
My reaction to the original Stovetop ad was “What could be better than potatoes?” We had them with every dinner, usually baked or mashed, with French fries when we ate out. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/25 "2011-12-09T01:45:43Z")
My family had potatoes regularly. They ran the commercials because stuffing was something most families had once or twice a year, but potatoes were everyday foods. Not rice, not pasta (except for Italian families), and not stuffing. I bet boxed stuffing was way more expensive than potatoes were in those days, as well. Of course, I’m talking so long ago that I never had pizza or Chinese food until I went to college. (Other countries hadn’t been invented yet.) Stove Top came later. It wasn’t even sold until 1972. Opal, you’ve made me really curious. What did your family serve on a regular basis? What do you serve your family today? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/26 "2011-12-09T01:59:09Z")
My father was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. As such, I can only think of one dish that my mother made which didn’t have some variety of potato: chili. Today, my wife’s a Type-2 diabetic, so I have to try to watch our potato intake (I do all of the cooking), and that’s difficult, as we both love potatoes (especially the variety known as “[new](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=red+potatoes&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=7888l8181l0l9965l3l2l0l0l0l0l137l212l1.1l2l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1600&bih=799&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=BWvhTve3GMaztweO4bGGBQ) potatoes,” though I’ve also heard them called “baby potatoes”). ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/27 "2011-12-09T02:06:01Z")
The average US citizen consumes [between 110 & 140lbs of potatoes per year](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=potato+consumption+per+capita+in+united+states) with a high in the mid 2000’s and a low in the 80’s. That’s about a 5oz serving per day. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/28 "2011-12-09T02:12:22Z")
Meat and potatoes at almost every supper, unless it was Lent. Occasionally it was spaghetti or chili/soup. StG ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/29 "2011-12-09T02:13:15Z")
Also, according to [The US Potato Board](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEIQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uspotatoes.com%2Fnewsletters%2Fdownloads%2FChangingPotatoConsumptionSpecialReport3-27-09.ppt&ei=Um7hTrGcJuqOiAK84PmXAg&usg=AFQjCNEaBda-Ml1YEuLf8wlR9P9AGsuEow&sig2=Pfk-mDAf8uaEqcEQwaTCaQ) (PPT), Potatoes were a part of 83% of all dinners in 1985 and 54% of all dinners today. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/30 "2011-12-09T02:17:38Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Today, my wife’s a Type-2 diabetic, so I have to try to watch our potato intake (I do all of the cooking), and that’s difficult, as we both love potatoes (especially the variety known as “[new](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=red+potatoes&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=7888l8181l0l9965l3l2l0l0l0l0l137l212l1.1l2l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1600&bih=799&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=BWvhTve3GMaztweO4bGGBQ) potatoes,” though I’ve also heard them called “baby potatoes”). Eh, it’s no worse than rice ion moderation. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/31 "2011-12-09T02:22:23Z")
Growing up in the midwest, potatoes were on the table for most meals, including breakfast. When I was a small child, before my dad went to work in the auto industry, we were pretty poor. Some nights, it was a big skillet of fried potatoes, veggies we had grown in the garden (and canned or frozen if it was between garden seasons) and bread. Even later, we had mashed, boiled, baked or fried potatoes most evenings for supper, fried potatoes or potato cakes (similar to latkes) for breakfast and, for a lunch at home, potato salad or fried potatoes. Today, like **Superdude** ’s wife, I’m Type II, so I only eat them once or twice a week at most. Oh, and **devilsknew** , I also grew up with the term boughten. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/32 "2011-12-09T02:37:14Z")
Saw the local, traditional, Pizza Place’s, Famous Holiday Pizza the other day… the toppings are turkey, gravy, stuffing, and a special cheese blend. Think there might be cranberries in there somewhere, in my rendition. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/33 "2011-12-09T02:45:12Z")
Do sweet potatoes count? Growing up, (in the 80s-90s), we had potatoes about twice a week. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/34 "2011-12-09T02:45:17Z")
Pacific Northwest, '70s and '80s. Every home dinner included either pasta or potatoes. I didn’t eat rice as my starch regularly until college. The occasional Stove Top dinner was quite a treat indeed. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/35 "2011-12-09T02:45:20Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Saw the local, traditional, Pizza Place’s, Famous Holiday Pizza the other day… the toppings are turkey, gravy, stuffing, and a special cheese blend. Think there might be cranberries in there somewhere, in my rendition. But do they have potato pizza the rest of the year? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/36 "2011-12-09T02:47:06Z")
Crushed potato chips, swear to god, on Pizza, is a local delicacy. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/37 "2011-12-09T03:11:05Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Eh, it’s no worse than rice ion moderation. Yeah, I try to watch her intake of rice, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/38 "2011-12-09T03:31:16Z")
My mother was in Weight Watchers during most of my childhood and adolescence, and she generally wouldn’t cook anything that she didn’t like or that wasn’t on her diet. So my sibs and I grew up eating a rather low fat, low carb diet which was pretty unusual at the time. When I ate with friends, or even just compared notes with them, I was struck by how often they had carbs. This was mostly in Fort Worth. My husband’s family was also in Fort Worth. His stepfather had a rather lowpaying job (the man dropped out of 8th grade, I believe) and his stay-at-home mother had 8 kids, six of them boys, to feed. Starches of various kinds had a starring role in each meal. Usually there were at least two starches, and sometimes more. If they had a pancake breakfast, for instance, each person was limited to two slices of bacon (except for the old man, of course, because he was Head of the Household and He Deserved It) but everyone could eat as many pancakes as they wanted. Fried potatoes frequently made an appearance at every meal. Beans AND potatoes and sometimes rice were served during most evening meals. Mom went to the day-old bakery and loaded up on the cheapest loaves she could get, as the family would usually go through two loaves each evening. And they might have already gone through a loaf before evening, as well. My maternal grandfather used to fondly remember that his mother would boil potatoes and allow the kids to eat cold boiled potatoes as snacks. This is not my idea of a treat, but Grandpa felt that this was, as he put it, wholesome. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/39 "2011-12-09T03:31:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Meat and potatoes were the stereotypical all-American food. > [@Superdude](#): > > My father was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Yes, I’m familiar with the phrase “meat and potatoes kind of guy,” to whom a meal consists, almost by definition, of meat and potatoes (and perhaps other items as well, like a vegetable and a dessert). This is true in much Middle American home cooking, as well as being the basic meal offered in many restaurants, including steakhouses (steak & baked potato) and fast food places (burger & fries). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562/40 "2011-12-09T03:35:15Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Pacific Northwest, '70s and '80s. Every home dinner included either pasta or potatoes. I didn’t eat rice as my starch regularly until college. > > The occasional Stove Top dinner was quite a treat indeed. Same here, except I grew up in the Midwest. Rice that wasn’t Minute, Uncle Ben’s or -A-Roni was absolutely exotic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stove-top-stuffing-instead-of-potatoes-how-common-were-potatoes/605562.md?page=3)