Content

• Steps
• Advice

Compared to most other vegetables, potatoes are a tuber that can be easily stored. When properly stored, good potatoes can last for several months. In order to preserve the excellent nutritional value of potatoes, whether they are supermarket-bought or home-grown potatoes, it is essential to understand the correct potato storage process.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Preserving Potatoes

1. 

   Classification of potatoes. After buying potatoes outside or digging your own in the garden, take a moment to sort them. Be sure to choose bulbs with bad appearance, such as cracking and bruising. These bulbs cannot be preserved as they wilt quickly and may cause the delicious tubers to wilt with them. For those with bad signs, you can apply the following:
   • Cut away any damaged, cracked, or bruised portions and use the remaining potato for 1-2 days.
   • "Rescue" potatoes (follow the instructions below) to remove spoiled parts and prolong shelf life.
   • Discard potatoes that are too damaged or withered.

2. 

   
   
   Store tasty tubers in a dry, dark place. After sorting, keep the delicious potatoes in a place where there is no light and moisture, such as basements, cellars, separate kitchen cabinets. Moisture and light can cause potatoes to turn green and / or wilt.
   • In addition, you must allow the potatoes to breathe. Most potatoes are sold in mesh bags so that air can circulate. You should put the potatoes in a mesh bag, not in an airtight storage box.
   • If you are harvesting the potatoes yourself, arrange them in a knit basket or well-ventilated box. Be sure to place a newspaper in the middle of each potato layer and on top of the last layer of potato.

3. 

   
   
   Keep cool. Potatoes should be stored at a temperature lower than 10 degrees Celsius. Potatoes should be kept at 2-4 degrees Celsius for long-term storage. Store in a cold, dark place like the basement or cellar is best.
   • Note that the temperature in the refrigerator is too cold to preserve potatoes and possibly lose the flavor of the potato. Please read the information below for more details.

4. 

   
   
   Check the potatoes periodically for signs of spoilage. When stored using the methods above, potatoes can last for several months without spoiling. However, every few weeks, you should have a brief check for signs of a "problem" potato. A wilting potato can affect the surrounding tubers. Therefore, early removal of spoiled potatoes is essential. Signs of damaged potatoes include:
   • Turn green: Potatoes are green. When left on, the potato pulp will become soft and slightly dry. Potatoes that turn green are usually due to light exposure. If the potatoes are only slightly greenish, cut off the green outside before using it in cooking.
   • Grow: The bud-like "sprouts" begin to grow out of the tuber. This is often accompanied by green / tender potatoes. If the potato is not too soft or green, cut off the sprouts before processing.
   • Wilted potatoes: Potatoes show obvious signs of decomposition, such as an odor, a soft texture and / or stamping. Throw away any wilted potatoes and any newspaper that comes in contact with them.

5. 

   Save potatoes for long-term storage. If you want to preserve potatoes for longer, try the tips below. This method is also applicable to potatoes that are slightly damaged or are about to wilt. Small cuts or bruises will usually heal after the potato is "saved". To save potatoes, follow these instructions:
   • Stack potatoes on a layer of newspaper and keep in a dry, dark place.
   • Increase the temperature to 10-15 degrees Celsius, slightly higher than normal temperature to store potatoes.
   • Leave the potatoes in the storage place. After about 2 weeks, the peels will thicken and dry. At this point, remove the dirt from the peel and store it according to the instructions above. Note that you should lower the temperature a bit when storing.
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Method 2 of 2: What to Avoid

1. 

   Do not wash potatoes before storing. While "rinsing" seems to make it harder for the potato to wilt, it doesn't. Exposure to the moisture will shorten the shelf life and make it more likely to wilt. Therefore, you should keep the tubers as dry as possible before and during storage.
   • If the skin gets dirty, let the dirt dry again, then use a dry brush to sweep large patches of dirt away. You can (and should) rinse the potatoes just before you use them in cooking.

2. 

   Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator. As noted above, the fridge is too cold to store potatoes well. Cold temperatures turn the starch in potatoes into sugar, causing them to taste sweet and unpleasant. Refrigerating potatoes also affects the color of the potatoes.
   • If you put potatoes in the fridge, let them warm to room temperature before using them in cooking. This will help reduce (but not completely eliminate) the discoloration of the potato.

3. 

   Do not store cut potatoes open. Once you have cut the potatoes out, prepare them as soon as possible. Compared with the hard shell, the exposed flesh is difficult to preserve as well. If you cut too many potatoes and cannot cook immediately, fill them with 3-5 cm of cold water. This can be used to preserve potatoes for 1 more day without changing the color or texture of the potatoes.

4. 

   Do not store potatoes with fruit. Many fruits like apples, pears and bananas secrete the chemical ethylene.This gas speeds up the ripening process (you will see the fruit ripening faster when placed together). Ethylene gas can cause potatoes to sprout early, so keep fruit separate. advertisement

Advice

• If spring comes and potatoes still remain in the garden, use them to grow a new crop of potatoes.
• If potatoes get sweet during storage, move them to a warmer (but still dark, dry place) for about a week before serving. The sugar in the potatoes will begin to revert to starch again and reduce the sweetness.