How to stop potatoes from sprouting…
Depending on the degree of germination of the potatoes, they can no longer be eaten. To avoid this in the future, there’s a simple trick to make potatoes last longer.
To ensure that potatoes keep a little longer and don’t sprout as quickly, they need to be stored correctly. It’s important that the place is dry, airy, dark and not too hot. However, even with all these precautions, small sprouts can still form. To prevent potatoes from sprouting, there’s a simple trick: add a specific fruit.
These fruits prevent potatoes from sprouting
Surprisingly, potatoes should be stored with an apple. In fact, this fruit is notorious for not being stored near other fruits and vegetables, as they ripen faster and can therefore spoil more quickly. The reason for this is ethylene, a ripening gas that apples secrete. It is naturally present in many fruits and accelerates the ripening process in others.
Why does ripening gas act differently on potatoes?
Apple ripening gas acts differently on potatoes – it doesn’t make them ripen or sprout faster, but actually slows down the process. Ethylene suppresses cell stretching and therefore germination.
The blog also recommends adding one or two apples to a quantity of regular potatoes. If these shrivel up after a while, simply replace them with fresh apples. If you need more potatoes, of course, you also need more apples.
Can I still eat sprouting potatoes?
Whether you can still eat sprouting potatoes depends on how advanced the process is. The germination process produces solanine, a slightly toxic substance. This is why the potato has already been voted “Toxic Plant of the Year 2022”. If the potato sprouts are no bigger than a centimetre, the concentration of solanine is still very low and they can be eaten without fear. It is important, however, to cut the sprouts generously.