Unusual Food Museums That Amuse and Educate

Idaho Potato Museum – Blackfoot, Idaho, USA

This museum in Blackfoot, Idaho promises: “We give taters to Out-Of-Staters”. Every adult who purchases a ticket takes home a box of hash browns. How and why exactly did Idaho become so well known for potatoes? Blame it on the Snake River. Potatoes prefer to grow in soil that has a high moisture level, and the weather combined with the river provides just the right environment for potato plants to flourish.

The Potato Museum highlights the famous spuds of Idaho. You’ll get a history lesson beginning with the first potatoes planted in the mid-1800s all the way through how the crop was industrialized. You’ll learn how the growing and harvesting process works. There is information about potato nutrition, interesting video presentations, and many other educational facts on display.

Here are some points about potatoes: the average American eats about 124 pounds of potatoes a year; the average German eats twice that amount; Thomas Jefferson introduced French fries to America when he served them at the White House; the largest potato ever grown was 7 pounds 1 ounce; and the world’s largest potato chip is 23” x 14.5”.

Washington Banana Museum – Auburn, Washington, USA

Banana plantations are typically found in hot tropical regions like South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Caribbean Islands. So, why is there a banana museum in Auburn, Washington – a cool, wet, northern location? I imagine there isn’t a banana tree in sight. It’s all because of a woman named Ann Mitchell Lovell, and her interest in this special fruit.

Ann, who was nicknamed Anna Banana as a child (it has to start somewhere) first became interested in bananas in 1980 on a trip to Hawaii. She bought a t-shirt with the logo of a bar on it. Guess what? The bar was named ‘Anna Bannanas’ (yes, spelled differently.) Ann gradually accumulated more and more banana related things, some she found herself and others were given to her by friends. The collection grew and morphed until she ended up with close to 4,000 banana related items, many of which are on display at Bananas Antiques in Auburn.

Here are a few bits about bananas: the average American eats about 150 bananas a year; in 2001 Britain reported more than 300 accidents relating to bananas – most involved slipping on banana skins; a cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10-20 bananas, which are also known as fingers; the word ‘banan’ is Arabic for finger; and lastly, bananas don’t have any fat, cholesterol or sodium making them a great snack food.

Dutch Cheese Museum – Alkmaar, Netherlands

If you’ve ever visited the Netherlands, and been outside of the big city, you’re familiar with the herds of cows that speckle the pastures. There are about 1.5 million of them in the country. That’s a lot of cows, and you’ll notice they all look happy and well fed. That’s where the profitable cheese business begins, with the milk from those plump, healthy beasts.

In the Dutch Cheese Museum, which is located inside of the Waaggebouw (weighing house) at the Alkmaar cheese market, you’ll learn the country’s history surrounding the production and trade of cheese. You can view a slide presentation and portraits of Dutch women from the 16th century to learn more about traditional life in this country.

You’ll also see old tools and instruments used for cheese making over the centuries. Outside of the museum is the cheese market, where a demonstration is put on daily from April through September. A traditional market is at work here, complete with the cheese carriers in their customary straw hats hauling carts of cheese around the mart.

Here are a few details about Dutch cheeses: cheese has been made in this area since about 200 BC; cheese was traditionally made by women; 60% of the cheese produced in the Netherlands is Gouda; Edam cheese was originally formed into round balls to make it easier to transport on sailing ships and the cheese balls were occasionally used as canon balls.