This potato is raw and has had from out of it a bite taken.

I have been around people who want to eat raw potatoes, but they don’t know if they can. They ask questions, out loud:

“Can we eat raw potatoes?”
“But aren’t they poisonous?”

There are several answers to those questions. To find out the answers you can look up the information using Google. I recommend using the search terms “raw potatoes” or “raw potatoes nutrition”. Go ahead and try it out and then continue reading this article.

Ok, so you probably found out that there is not much information on the internet about raw potatoes. Some people say they have more vitamin C than cooked potatoes, some say that the nutrients in cooked are more bioavailable, and some say that raw potatoes don’t have as much starch so they are more digestible. I am certain, and I think you must be too, that you can eat raw potatoes, that they are not, in fact, lethal, and that you probably shouldn’t eat the skin, especially if it’s sprouting.

With this vague nutritional information, the only thing you can do to really tell if you can eat a raw potato is to actually eat one–evidence by experience. But I know that you are sitting at your computer desk, far away from an actual potato, that you don’t want to get up and peel one, and that you don’t want to have to deal with all the anxieties associated with eating a new food–wondering about the flavor, chewing and swallowing, hoping that it doesn’t make you sick, etc. I think you are reading this article so that you don’t have to trouble yourself with actually eating one quite yet. You want to experience it through someone else first.

Because I care about you, I have written a little screenplay about Johannes, who ate a raw potato for the first time in his life. The first scene is about his experience eating it, and the second one is several days later, having eaten several of them.  Johannes is the main character, and Cobra is his overly-protective conscience.

Raw Potatoes Taste Like Potatoes
A Screenplay by Matt

Scene I:  Cobra and Johannes are sitting at a table in a kitchen that is clean, but has signs of recent use.

Johannes: This is it.  I’m finally going to eat a raw potato.
Cobra: Don’t, you fool!  It will kill you!  Don’t you know that potatoes are of the nightshade family?
Johannes: No, Cobra, you can’t stop me this time.  I have researched and I am ready to eat one.  See here?  It is all peeled and ready to go.
Cobra: Johannes, I will forsake you if you eat it!
Johannes: Cobra, settle down.  I chose a red one because they taste the best.  I peeled the skin off and made sure to remove any green parts.  Cobra?
Cobra: I am here.  Eat it, Johannes.  I’m not afraid anymore.  What does it taste like?
Johannes: It is crunchy, sort of like a cucumber, but not as watery.  But there is something very surprising about its flavor.
Cobra: What?  What is it?
Johannes: It tastes like a potato.

 Scene II: Cobra and Johannes are reclined in a chair in the living room.  Johannes looks vibrant, as though his skin is glowing with health.

Cobra: I was wrong, Johannes; eating raw potatoes has turned us into a healthy individual.
Johannes: Yes, I feel so clean after eating raw potatoes.
Cobra: How many days have we been eating them?
Johannes: For about a week.  And we have felt satiated.  You know, Cobra, it’s not easy to feel “full” on a 100% raw vegan diet, but with raw potatoes, it’s possible.
Cobra: Do you feel down and out because of all the carbohydrates?
Johannes: No.  Let me tell you something, Cobra.  Potatoes are inexpensive.  I recommend eating the red or gold potatoes.  Stay away from the typical thick-skinned brown ones.
Cobra: Why’s that?
Johannes: Those ones don’t really taste like potatos.  They taste like dirt.
Cobra: I feel like I’ve learned a lot today.
Johannes: Thanks, Cobra.  Remember, keep eating your raw potatoes.  Stay healthy, and stay fresh.
Cobra: Thanks, Johannes.

The End.

If you would like to purchase the rights to produce this screenplay, please fill out this contact form with “Raw Potatoes Screenplay” as the subject line.