Potatoes had been introduced to the United States several times throughout the 1600s. They were not widely grown for almost a century until 1719, when they were planted in Londonderry, New Hampshire, by Scotch-Irish immigrants, and from there spread across the nation.
Although the potato was grown in South America for millennia, the first potato patch in North America was only planted in 1719, in New Hampshire (the first french fries were served at the White House some 80 years later during the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson).
In 2007, the United States harvested 20.3 million tonnes of potatoes, enough to make it the world's fourth biggest producer. Potatoes in the United States are grown in almost every state, although about half of the crop comes from Idaho, Wisconsin, Washington, North Dakota, Colorado, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, California and Michigan. Most potatoes are harvested in September and October.
Only about one third of US potatoes is consumed fresh. Around 60 percent of annual output is processed into frozen products (such as frozen fries and wedge slices), crisps, instant potato and starch, while 6 percent is re-used as seed potato. Each American eats more than 54 kg of potatoes every year. However, fresh potato consumption has declined.
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