Store potatoes correctly: With these 5 simple tips, your potatoes will stay fresh and edible for longer.
Table of contents
- Storing potatoes correctly: You need to know these 5 tips
- Buying potatoes: This is what you should pay attention to
- Can you store potatoes in the refrigerator?
- How long do cooked potatoes last?
We Germans love our potatoes – almost as much as our bread. Luckily, the golden yellow mineral treasure is available virtually all year round.
But how are potatoes stored correctly? Are sprouting potatoes poisonous and can you still eat the potatoes if they shrivel, become soft or have green spots? We want to give you answers to all of these questions here.
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Storing potatoes correctly: You need to know these 5 tips
By storing them correctly, you can prevent the potatoes from sprouting quickly and going bad. These points are important:
1. Potatoes are photophobic.If there is too much light, potatoes germinate and produce more solanine. On the other hand, the nightshade plants feel comfortable in a place protected from light such as the cellar or a dark pantry.
2. Potatoes like it cool.The perfect temperature is between 8 and 15 degrees. If it is warmer, the tubers dry out. They shrink, shrivel and germinate. As a result, they lose important nutrients and, in the worst case, become inedible due to the solanine.
3. Potatoes do not tolerate moisture.In damp or cold locations, potatoes become wet and soft. They also taste unpleasantly sweet and tend to rot.
4. Potatoes must be able to breathe:To prevent moisture from forming, you should definitely choose air-permeable packaging for the potatoes. Plastic films and plastic containers are taboo. Cloth bags or wooden boxes, on the other hand, are well suited. It is best to pad the bottom of the box with dry straw or newspaper.
5. Potatoes are solitary creatures:Certain types of fruit and vegetables emit the ripening gas ethylene. These include apples, pears, tomatoes and bananas. Just like potatoes, these foods should not be stored in the refrigerator. Since they cause the tubers to spoil more quickly, they need a lot of space between them when stored.
Also read:You should not store these foods in the refrigerator
Buying potatoes: This is what you should pay attention to
Before you store your potatoes, you should remove them from the foil packaging. Also check your supply regularly and clear out any rotten potatoes.
A simple trick to throw away fewer potatoes is to buy smaller portions from the start. You can also get individual tubers in many supermarkets. This has the additional advantage that there is no packaging waste.
When shopping, make sure to only choose undamaged, firm potatoes. Soft spots or dry, dark spots are an exclusion criterion.
Can you store potatoes in the refrigerator?
Raw potatoes have no place in the fridge. The moisture causes them to draw water, lose their taste and rot more quickly.
Even the cold in the refrigerator (below 4 degrees) does not affect the tuber. The starch is then converted into sugar. When cooking or deep-frying, this can result in...carcinogenic substance acrylamidearise.
Things look a little different when the potatoes are cooked. For example, if you have cooked too many potatoes, you can store them in the refrigerator.
Important:If you want to prepare potatoes in advance, you should not season them. Salt removes water from the tubers, which means they last less long.
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How long do cooked potatoes last?
Boiled potatoeskeep in the fridge for three to four days.Place the cooled potatoes on a plate and cover it with a cloth or piece of kitchen paper. Beforehand, you should dry the tubers well with kitchen paper. This means the cooked potatoes don't mold as quickly.
Tipp:So that the cooked potatoes in the refrigerator do not take on the taste of surrounding foods, you should give them as much distance as possible. Alternatively, you can store them in an airtight plastic box for one night.
Whether the potatoes are still ediblecan be recognized by the smell. The potatoes should definitely not smell musty or sweet, but should still have a slightly earthy smell. This also applies when buying fresh potatoes.
Cutting the potatoes (whether raw or cooked) also shows whether they are still edible. If the inside is glassy, brownish or stained, you should throw it away.
Funfacts:Did you know that 100 g of potatoes contains almost as many vitamins as 100 g of pears or apples (source: nutritional table ofDGE)?
Baked potatoes that are baked with the skin on are particularly healthy and nutrient-rich.
