Green potatoes , do you use them up?

SupergaryMonk

or are they poisonous?

Linda32

AFAIK they are poisonous

GreyQueen

SupergaryMonk wrote: »

or are they poisonous?

They have turned green because they have been exposed to daylight. That green bit is chlorophyll which is what gives plants their green colour. Chlorophyll isn't poisonous but its presence on potato tubers indicates that they have produced a high level of solanine, a glykoalkaloid, which is poisonous. The greenness will have penetrated a few millimetres and this is where the solanine will be. The solanine/ chlorophyll reaction is believed to be nature's way of the plant discouraging things from eating its tubers if they come to light. Solanine makes the spud bitter and the greenness looks alarming. About 80% of the solanine will be in or just under the skin.

Cut it off or shave it off with a potato peeler, with a margin of a few millimetres of white potato to be on the safe side; the rest is perfectly good.

If the spud is very bitter, once cooked, chuck it; the bitterness indicates high levels of solanine.

I always trim and eat my h.g. spuds if any of them have green bits, as does everyone else I know. If it's harmed us, we've never noticed. HTH.

[Deleted User]

I too trim the green bits off, and I'm still alive and kicking:):)but then I am frugal old bird anyway and hate to waste anything if I can help it :):)

Primrose

I bury them in the middle of my compost hesp snd if I'm patient for long enkugh often find they given me a small crop of potstoes.