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Jim Tomlin has nearly 30 years of experience in journalism, having worked at such publications as the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturdays Down South and Saturday Tradition. He is a contributing writer and editor for BetVirginia.com.
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Virginia Residents Rank High For Potato Enjoyment
Did you know that May 30 is the International Day of the Potato?
It’s true, as declared by no less august an organization than the United Nations. The UN General Assembly marks the day because of the crop’s worldwide importance. The fact that this idea sprung from a body of bureaucrats from more than 100 nations might also explain why the day has such a fussy title, rather than just being World Potato Day.
Anyway, BetVirginia.com took a break from reviewing Virginia sports betting apps to search Google Trends for which states love taters the most, according to search interest scores for “Potato recipe.”
Most Potato-Loving States
Rank | State | Search Interest Score |
1 | Maryland | 100 |
2 | Virginia | 96 |
3 | Michigan | 80 |
4 | New Jersey | 60 |
5 | Ohio | 57 |
T-6 | Georgia | 54 |
T-6 | Pennsylvania | 54 |
8 | North Carolina | 52 |
9 | Texas | 49 |
10 | New York | 48 |
The time frame for our search was May 14-21, 2024. We compiled search interest scores compared to searches for other terms.
You might know Idaho mostly for potatoes – it is the leading potato-producing state in the nation – but maybe they grow the crop more than they search for information online about the vegetable. Or maybe Idahoans already know all there is to know?
Whatever the case, states east of the Mississippi River dominate our list. Virginia, the home of VA sportsbooks, had a search interest score of 96 (with the top score being 100), behind only Maryland. The only state in the middle of the country that showed up on our list was Texas.
Virginia’s Favorite Potato Recipes
Rank | Recipe | Search Interest Score |
1 | Potato chip | 49 |
2 | French fries | 37 |
3 | Potato salad | 17 |
4 | Baked potato | 12 |
5 | Tater Tots | 6 |
After ranking each state based on search interest score, we found Virginia’s favorite potato-based food and ranked the top five terms, also based on search interest score.
The favorite potato recipe in Virginia is in the snack aisle of your local grocery. It’s the potato chip, with a search interest score of 49. That’s followed by French fries (37 score) and potato salad (17).
Those are hardly the healthiest potato recipes but they’re definitely tempting. One ounce of chips has about 150 calories, varying a bit depending on the brand. That’s almost as many calories as an entire medium baked potato with the skin (about 170). But if you top that baked potato with anything – and let’s face it, almost everybody does – that number goes up again.
The calorie count is in the same ballpark for about 20 French fries, again depending on where you get them and what you put on them.
Not enough carbs for you? Find out what is Virginia’s favorite beer too.
USA Network Today photo by Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
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