An originally American crop brought to Europe only thanks to Christopher Columbus, it is one of the most common side dishes on the plate today. Potatoes are very popular all over the world as they taste great when cooked in many forms – as fries, chips and potato chips, boiled or baked. Whether we grow them at home or bring them home in a bag, we should be interested in how to store this valuable commodity properly.
Humidity is not good for them
Potatoes should be stored in a cool (up to 15°C), dry and dark place.
If you also cover them with paper, or store them in paper bags, this will reduce evaporation and prevent them from wrinkling or turning green. However, do not store them in plastic, as this will create moisture that could cause the potatoes to become mouldy. Therefore, the room where the potatoes are stored should not only be cool but also well ventilated.
The best solution is a cellar
If you do not have a cold pantry at home, you should buy potatoes in small quantities, They can also be stored in the refrigerator, but only for a short time at a temperature of at least 4 ° C. Too low temperatures cause the potato starch to convert to sugar. As a result, the tuber is sweet and sprouts. Therefore, keep the optimum storage temperature between 7 °C and 10 °C. However, it also depends on the variety of potato you have at home. If you are not sure, avoid storing them in places where the temperature drops below 7 °C.
Keep an eye out for sprouts!
To prevent them from germinating, you should protect potatoes from light. In addition, check them regularly. If the sprouts do not exceed 1 cm in length, you can peel them off and eat the potato after cooking. However, heavily sprouted potatoes should no longer be taken into the kitchen, as there is poisonous solanine around the sprouts, which in higher quantities can lead to headaches and vomiting.