Potato

The potato is a staple food in Australian kitchens and one of the most versatile vegetables available. Whether roasted, mashed, chipped, baked, boiled, or turned into a salad, it’s a foundation ingredient that appears in some form at most meals.

Different potato varieties suit different purposes. Waxy types (like kipfler and Dutch cream) hold their shape when cooked, making them ideal for salads and boiling. Floury types (like sebago and King Edward) break down more readily, producing fluffy mash and crispy roast potatoes. All-rounders (like coliban and desiree) handle most cooking methods well.

Potatoes are grown commercially across several Australian states, with major production areas in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. They’re available year-round, though new-season potatoes — small, thin-skinned, and sweet — appear in spring and early summer.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Potatoes are grown from seed potatoes (small tubers or tuber pieces) planted in prepared soil. The plants grow over three to four months, developing an underground network of stolons that swell into tubers. Once the above-ground foliage dies back, the tubers are harvested mechanically, sorted to remove damaged or undersized specimens, and brushed clean. They are sold fresh with no further processing, though they may be washed and graded by size.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 77kcal
Protein 2g
Carbs 15.4g
Fat 0.1g
Fibre 2.1g Sugar 0.8g
Mass Distribution

1 Potato large (3" to 4-1/4" dia) is about 369 g — roughly 280 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon 0.51kg
Freshwater 59.01L
Land 0.91m²

Where it comes from

Made from
Potato, tuber

In the kitchen

Used as

starchy everyday vegetable

Goes well with
butter cream garlic cheese rosemary
Classic dishes
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • French Fries
  • Potato Gratin
  • Roast Potatoes

Keeping it

Keep it: in a cool dark pantry, not the fridge.

In the freezer: 300–360 days.

In the fridge: 7–14 days (from date of purchase).

In the pantry: 30–60 days (from date of purchase).

Advice from Cubud’s own keeping notes — how to keep it, not a measured number.

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromPotato, tuber goes well withbutter goes well withgarlic goes well withcheese goes well withrosemary shares a sourceBaby Food shares a sourceCulinary Bases shares a sourceMashed & Prepared Potatoes shares a sourcePotato Chips & Snacks shares a sourcePotato Fries & Hash
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