The Year of the Spud

Not many vegetables have an entire year dedicated to them, but then again, the potato isn't just any old vegetable. First eaten by South Americans 5000 years ago, and enjoyed by people the world over ever since, the potato is a good source of carbohydrate and vitamin C, and could even be the solution to food shortages in the developing world. With all that going for it, it's perhaps little wonder the United Nations has named 2008 the International Year of the Potato.