January 2021: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes

Potatoes. We all love them. They are affordable, versatile, and satisfying. But how do you store them? How do you tell when they are beyond help?

Potatoes store best at about 45 degrees. They like it cool, but not too cold, and damp, but not wet.

Dark is a must. Potatoes will dry out if they are kept too dry, but that’s ok. Potatoes are much happier too dry than too warm.

Storing them at room temp is fine, but they will think it’s spring and sprout much more quickly.

We used to stick ours in a heavy paper bag, then stuff them in the coolest corner of the basement and cover them with an old blanket. This kept the light out and the moisture in while still letting them breath.

If your potatoes turn green, peel off the green parts and discard them. The green areas of potatoes are bitter and can give you a bellyache.

Sprouts, on the other hand, are fine. Most commercial potatoes are sprayed with anti-sprouting chemicals before they are sold in order to keep them from sprouting in the grocery stores.

Of course, this allows them to have a longer shelf life 🙂 Unsprayed potatoes will sprout. And yes, they will look weird, but you can just pull off the sprouts and use the taters anyway. Sprouted potatoes are fine 😉

One last thing, dried out potatoes get all wrinkly, but they are still fine too. The skins get tough, so peel them. 

Enjoy your taters 😉