The poor rejected spud: why potatoes don’t belong with the other vegetables

The problem with potatoes is that most of their nutrients are stored in their skins – which we routinely peel off and discard. Photograph: SimpleImages/Getty Images

Name: Potatoes.

Age: The earliest verified potato remains, found in Peru, have been dated back to 2,500BC, though some tools suggest potato cultivation could have begun many thousands of years earlier.