Keeping potatoes ( off topic maybe)

[Jim K..]

Damp shaded environment? Almost like being underground...?

[aprilsweetheartrose]

I am wondering if anyone else is having difficulty keeping supermarket bought potatoes?

I tend to buy the wonky ones from Morrisons or cheap from Tesco. I have found they are sprouting easily and tend to rot. I am keeping them dark and cool but it is still an issue. I used to get 56lb bags off the local farm ( until the old lady died and now they dont do them at the door) and never had a problem even keeping them for several months, let alone around two weeks.

Is there a new trick I am missing here. I have had a similar issue with carrots too.

[Max Demian]

How long before they sprout/rot? Try a different variety and check for sprouting before buying. Failing that, you will have to buy small quantities loose. New/baby potatoes can be kept in the fridge. (What are baby potatoes? They are available all year round so they can't be new.)

[RJH]

IME supermarkets spuds tend to have been chilled, and go off quickly when stored properly. Lidl and Aldi are especially bad.

Supermarket carrots are worse - rubbery within days.

Solution - it's not 100%, but:

Generally veg (and fruit) from a proper greengrocer.

Or farm shops (fresh eggs too, nor sure about free rangeness etc).

I find Asian/Arab shops round here have some decent veg - the Ozmen chain in Sheffield is superb. And you can choose whether to have everything encased in plastic.

[Chris Hogg]

New potatoes are just young potatoes, i.e. ordinary potatoes that have been lifted before they reach full size, and before the sugars in them have fully converted to starch, so they taste a bit sweeter. Having said that, I expect there are varieties of potato that are particularly well suited to being lifted early. So, 'newness' depends on when they're planted and when they're lifted, and in principle can be had at any time of year.

[Robin]

IIRC that's what lies behind Norfolk Keepers

[polygonum_on_google]

From the Food Standards Agency:

You also need to make sure that you don?t store raw potatoes in the fridge if you intend to cook them at high temperatures, such as by roasting or frying. This is because keeping raw potatoes in the fridge can lead to the formation of more free sugars in the potatoes. This process is sometimes called ?cold sweetening?.

Cold sweetening can increase overall acrylamide levels, especially if the potatoes are then fried, roasted or baked. Raw potatoes should be stored in a dark, cool place at temperatures above 6°C.

[dennis]

You can buy first earlies, second earlies and main crop seed potatoes.

They mature after different growing periods.

Main crop you normally don't harvest until the skin has set or they don't keep.

First earlies you usually harvest before the skin has set and they are "new" potatoes.

Second earlies mature a bit later and may or may not have the skin set depending on when they are harvested.

First and second earlies don't keep well.

Then there are a huge variety of each.

[Roger Hayter]

I'm sure you're not storing them in plastic bags, because that is disastrous. With the carrots I think it is because the supermarkets abrade them to get the roots off and make them look clean, and this lets bacteria in. Don't know why the potatoes don't keep, perhaps they are thin-skinned varieties or lifted early and just not suitable for storing. Again, aggressive cleaning could play a part in rotting.

[tabbypurr]

What it doesn't mention is that acrylamide isn't a genuine problem. It just would be if you ate 1000x what any person does.

NT

[ARW]

Are you sure they are not in a damp place?

[aprilsweetheartrose]

Thank you for the responses. I have been keeping the potatoes in a cool dark cupboard ( as I did when I got my potatoes from the farm). However, I have not removed the plastic wrapper, I just opened it and thought that the potatoes would be OK. With hindsight and in the light of what some posters have suggested, I have now transferred the potatoes to a dry cardboard box in the same cupboard. I have now figured that in fact, although I had not realise it some of the potatoes may have been damp in the bag and thus could cause the rotting issue.

In future I shall take them out of the plastic bag , dry them and store them in the box , in the cool dark cupboard and see if that works.

Thanks.

[Chris Hogg]

Buy fewer potatoes or carrots at any one time. I don't eat traditional potatoes, although I do eat sweet potatoes, and I eat carrots. I buy them in twos and threes, and keep them in the salad draw in the fridge. They're never in there long enough to get slimy or rot.

[Dave Liquorice]

Which makes the assertion that some supermarkets chill their spuds a little suspect. The store won't know the cooking temperature.

Having said that some of the fresh vegetable racks are cooled (note cooled not chilled, like the dairy/ready meal chillers) but not where the spuds are.

Acrylamide is that wot makes a spud go green? I just peel/cut off any green bits and cook/eat the rest.

[Paulk]

No it isnt. I know that the one I use does because you can feel some of the spuds are much colder than the others when you buy them first thing after the store has opened and they have obviously just restocked the bins.

[Jeff Layman]

No. It's exposure to light. Then you get a poisonous substance called solanine formed in the green parts. The rest of the spud is ok to eat once the green parts are cut away.

[tabbypurr]

acrylamide is formed by high temp cooking bordering on burning.

NT

[harry]

Some potatoes are sprayed to keep them from sprouting in store.

[misterroy]

First problem is the potatoes have been washed. The ones you bought from the farm were not washed. Second problem is the plastic bag. Third problem is the time of year, the potatoes want to grow. I am eating Kerr's Pink potatoes that I bought in a paper sack. Through the winter I buy them 20kg at a time at a local farm supplies shop, now they are only in smaller bags. There will be a wholesaler or shop near you that sells in a paper bag, buy your tatties there.

[ARW]

Can anyone think of a fourth problem?

The OP needs to be aware or such things.