Its flowers range from white to purple, and occasionally fruits develop that resemble small green tomatoes. Like the berries of the nightshade, these fruits are poisonous. The tuber's skin ranges from tan to purple, and its flesh is usually white or light yellow, although in some Andean varieties it is purple. These eyes, rather than the seeds of the fruit, are planted to grow a new crop. According to food experts, a diet of potatoes and milk will supply all the nutrients the human body needs.
Potatoes contain plentiful carbohydrates and some protein, calcium, and niacin.
They are cooked fresh and can also be frozen or dried. They are processed into flour, starch, and alcohol and are used as fodder, especially in Europe. Cultivation Potatoes are the fourth largest world crop, surpassed only by wheat, rice, and corn. The leading potato-growing countries in 1990 were the USSR, Poland, and the United States. The leading U.S. states, in order of production, were Idaho, Washington, Maine, Oregon, and Colorado.