Storing potatoes

A._Badger

sahra wrote: »

I used to keep mine in a potato sack but found they still sprouted, but now keep them in the fridge and they last way past the use by date and don't sprout

Some years ago, an elderly lady I'd been grumbling with about the quality of potatoes in a supermarket, told me the same tip. For the next decade I kept my spuds in the fridge and it seemed to work well.

But it appears the advice is wrong - at least according to some experts it is:
http://stilltasty.com/questions/index/74/page:1

The Potato Council in the UK gives the same advice (but doesn't explain why).

It has even been claimed that there are health implications in refrigerating potatoes (I'm sceptical).

As most of the potatoes we buy are kept artificially cold so they can be sold more or less sprout-free at this time of the year, I'm not entirely sure I trust the experts on this - but I thought it worth mentioning.

fiesta04

Fridge for me, last for a month or more and they stay firmer too.

F4

FrugalFranny

Fridge here, though I like to let them get to room temp before peeling as cold potatos tend to make my hands hurt/cramp up when I'm doing more than 4-5 good sized ones in one go. It does seem to keep the sprouting away a little longer.

lollipopsarah

I always buy a sack and make sure it's closed but they still sprout so I just peel them a bit thicker.
xx

Edwardia

Not buying potatoes in the first place works for me. I buy celeriac, swede, turnip, carrot and kohl rabi instead.

spadoosh

Edwardia wrote: »

Not buying potatoes in the first place works for me. I buy celeriac, swede, turnip, carrot and kohl rabi instead.

Why would you come into a thread discussing storing potatoes if you dont buy them?

And how do you stop a rabi from sprouting? Put a cap on him!!!!!:rotfl:couldnt resist!!


Anyway, ours always go bad (sprout and blotch) before they should, there in a dark cool cuboard with onions and garlic and crisps and a few pans.

Any reasons why they dont last long?!

dasophster

I generally keep potatoes in the fridge; as an above poster has said there is no real health implication to keeping them in the fridge, just as the site link posted above says they may darken a little or taste a bit sweeter which is nothing major. I'd imagine the vitamin C levels would be better preserved in the fridge too. I have also found potatoes go a bit more waxy/starchy in the fridge and with some already waxy varieties this can make them take impossibly long to cook and just taste like blocks of starch, but if you get a very floury variety of potato like maris piper then it takes a much longer time for them to become that way. I used to get maris pipers from costco and after 3 weeks in the fridge they still had the same texture as before. I have had the odd bag of potatoes that has lasted for 2 months in perfect condition in the fridge but this isn't generally the timeframe I keep them for; I tend to use them within 2-3 weeks tops. The potatoes I currently have are from my fruit and veg box and are being kept in there on their own out on theworktop but with the box lid firmly closed this is because I intend to use them ASAP and they have a thick layer of dirt on which also stops them from sprouting quickly xx