Is it ok to use potatoes once they've started sprouting?? Do you refrigerate?
Posted by Beans and Greens on May 12, 2007 · Member since Apr 2007 · 169 posts
I don't cook potatoes very often, so a lot of the time potatoes in the bag have started sprouting.... I've noticed this only happens if I store them in the cupboard (which I think is recommended) and this doesn't happen when I store them in the fridge. Does this happen to your 'taters too? Do you refrigerate? Have they gone 'bad' once they've started the sprouting process? I normally use them unless I see a funky color or if it looks 'obviously' bad....just looking for clarification ;)
Thanks
I decided to throw them out..... I found a thread on this and it seems they could be toxic with all the alkaloids and they're a little soft anyway.....not worth getting sick!
I guess I'll make potato salad another day ::)
Tossing them's best, anyway--by the time they really start sprouting they're sort of slimy and unpleasant, anyway. I wouldn't refrigerate a raw potato, unless it's been peeled (I sometimes peel too many and wrap it in saran wrap). They get all sort of shriveled in the fridge.
I usually throw them away. I too don't use potatoes fast enough. So I decided to buy them the day that I decide on cooking them, just to be on the safe side. I don't buy the bagged ones either. I just grab a couple from the bulk bin, just enough for the recipe that I use.
I don't usually toss them unless the sprouts are big (more than a quarter of an inch long). The toxic compounds that a potato produces when it sprouts should only be in the actual sprout coming out of it. If you break them off neatly, you should be ok unless the entire potato has gone bad anyway. In that case it would probably also be soft and shriveled or have mold.
If your potatoes have huge sprouts growing, put them in the soil! You can grow your own potato plant from it.
I don't know why potatoes aren't supposed to be in the fridge (besides maybe the shriveled skins), but I keep them in a cool, dark place and it takes them quite a while to sprout. I usually ate them by that time.
Potatoes have to be pretty disgusting before I throw them out. You're not supposed to put them in the refrigerator because the starch converts to sugar or something like that.
I really want one of these e.g.g. things. Not sure how much it would help for potatoes...
http://www.4theegg.com/
blame it on my only out of poor college days for a few years, but, i stil use them...
i've picked off nickel sized pointy sprouts before to use the potato
but, then again, i'll pick off moldy crust from my bread to still use
follow the 5, 10 second rule-depends on how yummy the food is
ehhh, que sera sera
;)
I've been eating sprouted potatoes for years with no side affects. Growing up on a farm we always grew enough potatoes to get us through the winter and by spring many of them had rather long sprouts. As long as the potato isn't rotten they are fine. I always peel a potato that has started sprouting though.
Wish I saw this thread sooner...
I can actually find this on the web but I am fairly sure that I have heard that your potatos will sprout sooner if you store them with onions. Keep these two separatly.
I know for sure that you actually shouldn't store them in the fridge, moist and too cold.
Only the sprout is toxic and it can be used if the are removed (simply by washing with a potato brush)
I only toss potatos if they've gone soft but that's just cuz I don't like mushy potatos, they could be used for soups or something like that I'm sure.