How Do You Know When a Potato Goes Bad?
A staple in some parts of the earth, potatoes are healthy and delicious tuberous vegetables that are readily available in grocery stores. Originally, potatoes were cultivated past natives of the Andes mountains. Today, many varieties of potatoes exist in all parts of the world.
This versatile food tin can be used in many dishes, so it's no surprise that near households take potatoes stored in their firm.
However, how do we really know if a spud is still safe to eat? Do potatoes become bad?
If yes, and then how would we know if it should be thrown away? For this post, nosotros're going to answer some of the almost mutual questions about potatoes.
How to tell if a potato is bad
In that location are factors to consider before we can say if a potato is already bad. To assistance you empathize more, we broke it downward into two categories: raw and cooked potatoes.
Raw potatoes
Raw potatoes are in proficient status if they are solid and firm to the impact. You should also cheque the skin – information technology should not take large bruises, deep black spots, and other visible blemishes or discolorations.
Below are the signs of bad raw potatoes:
1. Wrinkles and other signs of aging
Just like human skin, murphy skin also sags, forms wrinkles, and develops dark spots equally it ages. The presence of such inconsistencies is a alert sign that it is not in its best status anymore. It won't affect the sense of taste of the irish potato, however.
When to discard: Discard the irish potato if it already sags, develops wrinkles, and feels mushy to the touch in gild to non ruin other potatoes. Once the tater is in this kind of condition, information technology should not exist eaten anymore.
ii. Foul smell
Raw potatoes should smell bawdy, nutty, and starchy. In one case it starts to become bad, a irish potato will have a biting, musty, and moldy scent.
Sometimes, it can be tricky to know if the spud is notwithstanding in expert status considering it volition wait fine on the outside, but it is already rotten on the inside.
Therefore, information technology is important to smell the potatoes first before purchasing them. If it smells different, then don't buy it.
However, if you already purchased the potato, piece it open to know if simply a small part of the potato is spoiled.
Remember, a tiny bad spot does not hateful that you lot have to discard the whole murphy. You lot can merely cut the spoiled office and save the part that is still edible.
When to discard: Throw out the potato if most, or the whole murphy is already spoiled.
three. Shoots, sprouts and dark-green sprouts
When harvested, potatoes do not completely finish growing. That's why they course small sprouts, or "eyes," peculiarly when stored for also long in a humid climate.
Most often, this happens to organic potatoes or those that were adult in the backyard since no chemicals were likely used to grow them. If the potato still smells fresh, yous tin can still eat it. Simply cut off the sprouts before cooking.
However, earlier the shoots and sprouts appear, green spots are formed first. Green spots are also developed when the spud is stored in an surface area where it receives direct sunlight.
The dark-green spots hateful that there is a presence of a toxin called solanine. Modest dark-green spots can be cut off and discarded so that the unaffected part tin can still be used.
When to discard: Potatoes that have already grown long sprouts, along with the presence of wrinkles and mushy texture should be thrown abroad.
It'south likewise recommended to throw away potatoes if there is already a presence of large light-green spots.
iv. Soft and mushy feel
While it is normal for potatoes to be soft and still condom to eat, there's a limitation on this. If the potato still smells fresh, with no presence of dark spots and blemishes, it is nevertheless rubber to eat.
When to discard: Discard the potato once it gets as well soft and mushy, along with the presence of a rotten scent.
5. Mold
If the potatoes are not stored properly, you lot may see some mold form on its surface. This happens mostly because of the loftier humidity and poor temperature where it is stored. Pocket-size moldy areas can be removed.
When to discard: Exercise non use the potato if the greater part of it turns moldy.
Cooked potatoes
Sometimes, it can exist trickier to distinguish if cooked potato has gone bad.
1. Strong odor and presence of molds
A foul-smelling white potato dish, along with the presence of mold is a clear sign of spoilage. Cooked potatoes that smell bad and have mold should not be eaten anymore and exist thrown away immediately.
In some cases, cooked potatoes may already have leaner nowadays on them without whatsoever visible signs. Therefore, it is suggested to consume the dish inside four days after it has been cooked.
Before eating, brand sure to reheat the dish to kill whatsoever bacteria that might take already developed on the dish.
ii. Separation of the liquid from the solid
This is especially truthful for mashed potatoes. In the showtime, you lot tin can see a clear liquid in a higher place the mashed potato. You can simply mix it dorsum and utilise it.
Notwithstanding, if the mashed potato develops a white haze, along with a sour-smelling odor, you lot should throw it away.
How long do potatoes terminal in the fridge?
The refrigerator is non the best storage for potatoes. However, if you don't have a cool, dry out space to shop them, such as a root cellar, then the fridge will be your just safe choice.
In general, potatoes volition last in the fridge for three to iv weeks, although they will form a sweetness flavour when cooked.
If raw potatoes have already been sliced, they should be kept in cold water and then refrigerated. They should so exist good for the adjacent 24 hours.
Meanwhile, cooked potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for iii to iv days. In the freezer, cooked potatoes tin can last for ane twelvemonth, although their quality may suffer because of freezing.
Should you store potatoes in the refrigerator?
Raw potatoes should be stored in a identify that is absurd and dry out, just not in the fridge. This is considering storing them in the fridge, or in any common cold temperature, can result in college amounts of sugar.
This can pb to increased levels of acrylamide – a chemical found in starchy foods that are cooked at high temperatures, such equally when the potatoes are roasted, baked, or fried.
Acrylamide negatively affects animals since information technology causes cancer. The presence of such chemicals may likewise impairment a person's health.
Should you shop potatoes in the pantry?
If yous don't have a place that is cooler than room temperature just warmer than the fridge, such as a basement, then a pantry or a dark chiffonier should exist a good choice to shop raw potatoes. If stored at room temperature, potatoes could last for up to two weeks.
If you have a pantry with a libation temperature, potatoes can terminal longer.
To store, potatoes should be loosely covered in a cardboard box, mesh bag, or paper pocketbook so as to provide ameliorate air apportionment.
Tin y'all freeze potatoes?
Although cooler temperatures are ideal to store raw potatoes, they should not be kept in a fridge or in a freezer.
This is because the water in potatoes expands and develops crystals which disintegrate the prison cell wall structures, causing them to be mushy when defrosted.
In addition, storing raw potatoes can cause discoloration, causing them to become chocolate-brown if exposed to air at freezing temperatures. Information technology is recommended to melt potatoes first before freezing.
Meanwhile, cooked potatoes can be stored in the fridge or in the freezer. They tin can final longer, about 10 to 12 months if stored in an closed container before freezing.
On the other hand, french fries should be stored in the freezer. However, it is vital for them to be partially cooked before freezing.
What happens if you swallow bad potatoes?
Eating bad potatoes can cause food poisoning. Some symptoms a person may experience later on consuming bad potatoes are fever, nausea, airsickness, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.
In more serious cases, it tin even cause hospitalization, and in the worst-case scenario, expiry.
Therefore, y'all should immediately dispose of potatoes that are already in bad condition to avoid food poisoning.
Tips When Storing Potatoes
- If you're ownership potatoes, bated from looking at their concrete appearance, it'south also important to olfactory property them. Good potatoes should smell bawdy and nutty. If they odour rotten, you should not buy them.
- The clay on potatoes helps foreclose premature spoiling, therefore it's recommended not to wash the potatoes until yous're going to use them. Moreover, storing moist potatoes can cause mold.
- If exposed to too much sunlight, potatoes will turn green. Therefore, potatoes should be kept in a cool, dark place.
- Potatoes and onions should not be stored together since onions may crusade potatoes to spoil faster.
In the terminate, the about of import thing is not to eat a bad spud. If you're unsure if the irish potato can nevertheless be consumed, information technology's all-time to throw it away to avert the adventure of food poisoning.
Source/south:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-long-exercise-potatoes-last
- https://www.purewow.com/food/how-to-tell-if-potatoes-are-bad
- https://world wide web.leafage.tv/articles/is-a-black-spot-in-the-middle-of-a-baked-murphy-safe/
- http://www.eatbydate.com/vegetables/fresh-vegetables/potatoes-shelf-life-expiration-date/
- https://world wide web.luckybelly.com/do-potatoes-go-bad/
- https://www.canitgobad.net/can-potatoes-go-bad/
- https://www.nidirect.gov.britain/articles/storing-nutrient-safely-potatoes
- https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-long-exercise-potatoes-concluding/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-store-potatoes#TOC_TITLE_HDR_5
Source: https://farmhouseguide.com/ways-to-tell-if-a-potato-is-bad/
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