Potatoes: the pantry staple of all pantry staples, stored in cellars over thousands of years, dependable, and comforting. And being that staple, purchasing them in small amounts doesn't tend to be the norm. It's important they last — no one likes to have to throw out sprouted spuds.
Thankfully, potatoes have a pretty long shelf life on their own. But with a few facts in mind about what these nightshades need, you can get the most out of the potatoes in your kitchen.
Check your spuds for soft spots, mold, places that look damaged from being dug up, or spots already looking primed to sprout. The only potatoes worth storing are free of these things.
Keeping your potatoes in the right conditions can earn you up to 6 months with your precious spuds. The conditions in question are air, sun, heat, moisture, and other produce.
Air
Potatoes require air. Because they release water, keeping them sealed away will make them damp and prone to mold. You may notice the bag potatoes come in is either mesh or riddled with air holes. This is to let them breathe.
You can keep potatoes in this bag, as long as it isn't sealed completely on the top, but consider moving them to a more appropriate vessel, especially if the bag is plastic. The best choices are a cardboard box with holes in the side, a basket, another mesh bag, a paper bag, or even a bamboo steamer – any well-ventilated container.
If possible, make sure your pantry or place of storage has good air circulation. Potatoes will last much longer if the air is moving, rather than if it's stagnant.
Potatoes don't belong on your counter – they're not exactly the prettiest produce to display, anyway. Exposure to sun (and even fluorescent lighting) coaxes out chlorophyll from the vegetable, causing it to turn green, wrinkle, and finally, rot. Potatoes, like the dirt they're used to, enjoy a dark place to live.
In the same vein, keep those spuds away from heat until you're cooking them. Storing them on the top of the fridge, anywhere near the stove, or under a sink are no-gos. Each of these places give off heat.
Besides darkness, potatoes love moisture. After all, it's how they grow. If you mimic that environment in your pantry, they'll think it's time to sprout. Cool and dry is the name of the game, here. 45-50 degrees F is ideal; place potatoes in a spot such as a pantry, basem*nt, or garage during the winter.
Surprisingly, even the fridge isn't great. Cold temperatures prompt the spuds to turn their starches into sugars (something called cold-induced sweetening), making them taste, well, sweeter, and will likely make them turn brown when cooked. Storing them there will fly for a little while, but not long term.
Wait until you're ready to use potatoes before rinsing and scrubbing. If pesticides are top of mind, or if what you're cooking leaves the skins on and you want to be extra careful regarding dirt, rinse them with a 10% vinegar or salt solution.
Storing Potatoes With Other Produce
Potatoes are solitary vegetables. Store them away from other produce, but especially fruits. Onions might be a logical item to keep in the same area or box, being another highly used and versatile kitchen ingredient, but they need their own space, too. Anything that might produce ethylene gas needs to keep its distance, or else your potatoes will spoil more speedily.
Store your potatoes in a cool, dark place (45 to 50 F is the ideal temperature range), such as your pantry or unheated basem*nt. 2 Do not store them on top of your refrigerator or next to your stove, as both spots emit heat.
Store your potatoes in a cool, dark place (45 to 50 F is the ideal temperature range), such as your pantry or unheated basem*nt. 2 Do not store them on top of your refrigerator or next to your stove, as both spots emit heat.
Although you shouldn't put potatoes in the fridge, potatoes will still keep the longest when stored in a cool, dark place—specifically somewhere that has a cold temperature of about 50°F and 90 to 95 percent humidity, like, you know, a temperature- and humidity-controlled root cellar.
Ziata recommends open containers (like open paper bags, baskets, and sacks), as these options will prevent excess moisture from accumulating. "Avoid airtight containers and sealed plastic bags, and never wash your potatoes before storing," she says.
Potatoes are best kept around 45 to 50 degrees, which means they shouldn't be stored in the fridge or freezer. The best place to store them for maximum shelf life is a cool basem*nt or garage—as long as it's dry.
Keep them in a cool, dark and dry place: Potatoes should not be exposed to direct light, as this can lead to them turning green and producing a toxic substance known as solanine. To avoid this, store potatoes in a dark place with a temperature range of 43-50°F or cover them with a cloth or paper bag.
Store in the dark, in a cool location and you should be able to have them stay fresh for a couple of weeks. The potato is about 80% water, so high humidity really helps retain the moisture. Above 55°F the potato will start to shrink and is more susceptible to sprouting.
Keep your spuds in a dark environment to help prevent sprouting. Stashing tubers in a lidded box works great. Some folks store them in slightly open dresser drawers or newspaper-lined clothes baskets. Avoid too-cool temps, which can trigger starches in potatoes to turn into sugars.
Our handy hessian and paper bags are great for storing your potatoes and other vegetables at harvest. They allow airflow which helps to keep the produce in the right conditions. Once you have harvested your potatoes can be stored in these bags, which allow airflow.
In the old days, a lot of people had root cellars. And root cellars were the perfect place to store not only potatoes, but lots of other crops as well. Alas, few of us, especially in large cities, have the luxury of a root cellar.
Potato – Bush beans, celery, corn, garlic, marigolds, onions, and peas all do well planted near potatoes. Avoid planting potatoes near asparagus, Brassicas, carrots, cucumber, kohlrabi, melons, parsnips, rutabaga, squash, sunflower, and turnips.
Potatoes will last much longer if they remain dry during storage and are not washed until they're ready to be used. Washing with a salt or vinegar solution can help remove more pesticide residue than water alone.
A kitchen cupboard or closet, even the basem*nt or garage, can all the good choices. The 45°F to 55°F temperature range is the sweet spot for potato storage, where they can last for months.
Potatoes need to be stored in a cool, dry, dark place. They must not be exposed to light otherwise they start to go green and become inedible. There should be good air circulation too. A cellar, providing it isn't damp, or a shed is ideal.
How to Store Potatoes. Potatoes do best in a cool, dark room with lots of ventilation. This keeps them fresh and firm and helps prevent greening. Greening happens when chlorophyll builds up under the peel.
Generally, potatoes last one to two months when stored in a cool, dry, dark and well-ventilated space (never under the sink!), such as the pantry, versus one to two weeks in the refrigerator, according to FoodSafety.gov's FoodKeeper app, the federal consumer resource for food safety.
You absolutely can freeze potatoes, and you should if you have an excess of spuds. But there's one important thing to remember: You should really only freeze cooked or partially cooked potatoes, as raw potatoes contain a lot of water. This water freezes and, when thawed, makes the potatoes mushy and grainy.
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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