Nearly $300 million dollars worth of this popular tuber ends up in the landfill – it also sprouts,
turns green, and becomes poisonous. So what's one to do with this dirty potato?
It's not hard to spot a sprouted potato. They're the ones with white bulges bursting out of them.
No, as much as it may look like it, this is not some kind of alien parasite trying to attack
you by disguising itself as food — it's just a part of the potato plant's normal growth cycle.
According to an open-source botany textbook, wild potato plants rely on tubers to survive from year
to year. Although most gardeners plant potatoes as an annual crop, in its natural habitat,
this species grows yearly. The plant stores its energy as starch in bulbous potatoes underground.
When the conditions are right — warm and moist — the underground tuber sends shoots upward.
Potatoes hidden away in kitchen pantries sometimes do the same as their wild cousins — they detect
summery conditions and start growing sprouts – yeah, we'd say this one's gone all kinds of wrong!
"I'm a zit. Get it."
Potatoes also sometimes turn green when under certain conditions. According to John Seymour,
author of "The New Self-Sufficient Gardener," this is because potatoes are scientifically
classified as stems rather than roots. That means they can produce chlorophyll
which tints them green when exposed to light. This is not the same as sprouting,
although potatoes can both sprout and have a greenish hue at the same time.
It's tempting to buy potatoes in bulk. They don't have a reputation for spoiling quickly and can
be a lot cheaper this way. But Michigan State University recommends only purchasing the number
of potatoes you can use in one month. The tubers can keep for longer, depending on their freshness,
but, this way, consumers know potatoes won't sprout before they can get them in the oven.
When you're in the produce aisle, check each potato carefully for nicks caused
by farming equipment. The vegetables you choose should be free of bruises, injury,
and mold. They should not show any signs of greening and have no sprouts on them.
Seeing the green sprouts on potatoes makes it tempting to pop them in the
soil. It seems like they should make more potatoes, but that's not always the case.
A University of Minnesota guide says to only plant certified seed potatoes.
These are not seeds, but rather small, disease-free tubers. Using them ensures
vigorous plants and a high yield at harvest. It also keeps gardens healthy — pathogens
hide in tubers. Diseases that affect potatoes will also take a toll on tomatoes, peppers,
and eggplant. Finally, supermarkets do not intend for people to plant
their potatoes. They may treat them chemically so they'll stay dormant.
Some gardeners use a technique called chitting which means purposely sprouting
seed potatoes before planting, according to "The New Self-Sufficient Gardener"
by John Seymour. It reduces the days until harvest time.
The potatoes rest in boxes, one layer thick, in a warm place,
and out of direct sunlight. Once potatoes have sprouted, gardeners rub off all but
the three best and plant the tubers four inches deep in soil with plenty of compost.
If you do plant potatoes and harvest them, you'll need to cure them so they
don't sprout too quickly. John Seymour avoids this step by simply leaving his in the ground
until he's ready to cook them. In contrast, North Carolina State University says to dry
potatoes for a few days after digging them up so they're less likely to sprout in storage.
Now that sprouted potatoes have invaded your kitchen,
you want to get rid of them. You can't bring yourself to throw them in the trash, though. It
seems like a waste of good organic material, and there's your hungry compost bin in the backyard.
The EPA says that vegetable waste, like potato peels, is fantastic for composting,
although they don't specify anything about sprouted potatoes. The agency
does recommend checking everything that goes into the compost for disease. A
contaminated vegetable could ruin a batch of compost, or, worse, sully an entire garden.
Thriving Yard recommends you do not compost your sprouted potatoes,
as they can be vessels for bacteria once sprouted. If you do want to compost your sprouted potato,
freezing and then adding it in will likely prevent the spread of any diseases by the tubers.
To eat or not to eat sprouted potatoes — that
is the question. Rest easy — the National Capital Poison Center says:
"The highest concentration [of solanine] is found in the leaves, flowers, 'eyes,' green skin,
and sprouts. The lowest concentration is found in the white body of the potato."
In other words, as long as you cut out the eyes and sprouts,
your mashed potatoes shouldn't be toxic.
"Oookay! Here we go. I think the
potatoes are just about done. I'm just gonna give 'em one quick whisk here."
Be warned: Baking, boiling, and roasting will not reduce potato toxicity. You can
only achieve that by peeling them and cutting off any affected areas. Green
potatoes are goners — even after peeling, they still have high levels of solanine. If
you are unsure if a potato is safe or not, the best course of action is to chuck it.
That being said, sprouted potatoes are a large source of food waste, according to the Daily Mail.
Many cooks see a sprouted potato and throw it out instead of taking the time to remove the growths.
This results in nearly $300 million dollars worth of potatoes rotting in landfills. That's a
great argument for spending a few extra minutes with your peeler — the planet will thank you.
Your garden was especially fruitful this year or there was a fantastic deal at the
supermarket. Either way, you're worried that they're about to sprout or go green
before you can cook them. Not to worry — using up those potatoes won't be hard.
Penn State University says that with some preparation potatoes can go in your freezer.
Freezing whole, fresh, or baked potatoes results in something less than appetizing,
but there's another alternative. Whipping up and freezing industrial-size batches
of mashed, or cut potatoes, means fast, delicious meals when you're in a hurry.
Freezing cooked potatoes doesn't noticeably affect the taste or
texture. Another option is to cut spuds, pre-bake,
and freeze them. Score! You've just prevented food waste and done meal prep in one fell swoop.
And anyone who loves Italian food needs to try homemade gnocchi, which are simple to freeze and
then cook up in small batches. As for eating raw potatoes – yeah, we'd advise against it: