Potatoes are a versatile food for cooking and incorporating into soups, casseroles, or eating on their own. However, they do have a tendency to turn green with time. If anyone has ever warned a person to avoid eating a green potato, they do so with good reason. The green color can indicate high levels of a potentially toxic compound.
This article will describe what makes green potatoes toxic and if a person can make a green potato safe to eat.
Potatoes turn green as a reaction to light. This is true for sunlight and artificial lighting. The light serves as an indicator to the potato that they should grow. As a result, potatoes exposed to light often produce sprouts. The light also stimulates the production of chlorophyll, a green compound. Ultimately, the chlorophyll will turn the potato’s skin and the inner portion green.
Some potato varieties are more likely to turn green than others. This is true for potatoes that are white-skinned, compared to russet potatoes or other varieties that are red-skinned. If a person is purchasing a bag of potatoes at a grocery store, they should carefully examine the entire bag of potatoes to ensure there are not some that have turned very green.
While the chlorophyll in green potatoes is not necessarily harmful, the fact that the potato is turning green is an indicator of other processes occurring inside the potato. The most significant is the formation of a substance known as solanine. The potato creates this substance after it is exposed to light. Solanine is also present in the sprouts, roots, and leaves of a potato. Doctors call it solanine a neurotoxin, and it can be poisonous.
Solanine is naturally present in all potatoes, mostly in the peel. However, the amount is usually so small that it does not cause harmful symptoms.
Solanine has a bitter taste. This bitter taste can make the person eating it feel sick to their stomach if they eat a green potato. A person can also experience diarrhea.
Usually, a person will not keep eating a bitter potato because of its taste. However, if they were to eat too much of it, it is possible that death could result.
Simply looking at a green potato does not indicate how toxic it possibly is. For example, the normal amount of solanine in a potato’s peel means a 200 pound person would have to eat 20 pounds of potatoes to experience a toxic level, according to the University of Nebraska. However, exposure to light can increase solanine levels up to 10 times. This makes even 2 pounds of potatoes potentially dangerous (the average large baked potato is about 1 pound).
A person should never eat a potato that is extensively green. Removing enough of the material that contains solanine to safely eat the potato is not usually possible. Avoid purchasing potatoes that are green in color whenever possible.
Also, cooking a green potato does not render it safe. The only way to make the potato safe to eat is to remove any green parts. If the green portion of the potato is only on the top of the skin or in a small area, a person can usually cut out that portion and safely eat the remainder. However, if the potato tastes bitter, a person should not continue to eat it.
A person should avoid serving a potato that is green to children. This is because the children usually have lower body weights, and the toxins can affect them more.
Because sunlight causes potatoes to turn green, keeping them away from the sun can prevent them from turning green. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a special website and mobile app called the “FoodKeeper” that can provide a person with advice on how to store potatoes and other foods.
Other recommended storage methods include:
- Store potatoes in a cellar or basement, where temperatures are usually cooler and dark.
- Store potatoes at between 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit for ideal conditions, according to North Dakota State University.
- Keep potatoes away from any appliances that give off heat (such as a refrigerator).
- Purchase enough potatoes to eat so as to not keep any for an extended time period to allow them to turn green.
If a person is growing potatoes, keeping soil around the potato plant to ensure it does not come in contact with light can help. Allowing potatoes to grow too close to the soil’s surface can cause them to become green. Continually covering the potato plant with dirt (a practice known as “hilling”) can help to prevent this as well.
When it comes to potatoes and seeing green the best motto is usually “when in doubt, throw it out.” Not only will the potatoes taste bitter, they could potentially be toxic. There is always another option — to take the green potato and plant it in a person’s garden. The potato can sprout and grow future potatoes as a result.
- Are green potatoes dangerous? (2019). https://ift.tt/3eNiJfO
- From garden to table: my potatoes turned green, now what? (2015). https://ift.tt/3bqerc3
- Green potatoes. (2015). https://ift.tt/3uR2ILy
- Green potatoes: the problem. (n.d.). https://ift.tt/2QqfDQB
- Waitrovich, B. (2016). Is it safe to eat a green potato? https://ift.tt/3eLWN4S
May 15, 2021 at 11:28PM
https://ift.tt/3uSdrFl
Are green potatoes harmful? - Medical News Today
https://ift.tt/2rh4zOj
Potato
No comments:
Post a Comment