How one can Retailer Potatoes So They Final Longer, In keeping with Our Assessments

Potatoes are a kitchen staple for good purpose—they’re versatile, hearty, and able to being remodeled into numerous scrumptious dishes. Holding a provide of spuds in my pantry is helpful for making simple facet dishes, comparable to roasted potatoes, air-fryer baked potatoes, or smashed potatoes, however each every now and then, I’ll attain for a potato and discover it sprouting, wrinkling, or worse—rotting. 

Roasted Potatoes

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

The frustration isn’t a lot concerning the waste—potatoes are low-cost and simple to compost—however once I need a potato, I freaking need a potato! To stop future dinnertime tantrums from my interior baby, I went on a journey to find the very best methods to retailer potatoes and examined numerous strategies for preserving them recent and agency for so long as doable.

Optimum Circumstances to Retailer Potatoes

Earlier than I started testing, I consulted a number of agricultural guides on post-harvest potatoes, together with these by the Oregon State College Extension Service, the UC Davis Postharvest Analysis and Extension Heart, and the Utah State College Extension. I discovered that potatoes can last as long as a yr after harvest when stored underneath perfect circumstances, however can rapidly spoil if not saved correctly. 

Potatoes saved at room temperature (round 68°F/20°C) will begin to sprout, wrinkle, soften, and decay after only a week or two. Alternatively, storing them within the fridge could cause the starches to show into sugars, making them brown too rapidly if destined for the fryer. An excessive amount of gentle could cause potatoes to show inexperienced from chlorophyll, incessantly accompanied by excessive ranges of a poisonous alkaloid referred to as solanine.

The Goldilocks resolution? A darkish, coolish (45°F/7°C to 55°F/13°C or to), well-ventilated place, like a wood potato field in a root cellar—phrases that aren’t precisely a part of the modern-day vernacular. As an city residence dweller, my job was to search out the following finest storage container and storage space.

Selecting Potatoes to Check

The shelf lifetime of potatoes can differ relying on the kind. Russet potatoes, identified for his or her thick pores and skin and starchy flesh, sometimes have the longest shelf life, lasting about three to 5 months when saved correctly in a cool, darkish, and dry place. With their thinner pores and skin and creamy texture, Yukon Gold potatoes typically final about two to 3 months underneath the identical circumstances. Purple potatoes and fingerlings, which have a better moisture content material and thinner pores and skin, are likely to have a shorter shelf life, typically lasting round one to 2 months earlier than they soften or sprout. 

For this experiment, I bought 10-pound luggage of russet potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes—the 2 varieties most People are prone to hold available—at Costco, ensuring that they had no cracks, bruises, wrinkles, delicate spots, or greening beforehand.

Discovering the Finest Container for Storing Potatoes

I first targeted on discovering the perfect containers to retailer potatoes, then seeing how they fared in several storage areas. Supreme containers permit air to flow into and retain humidity whereas stopping moisture buildup that may result in rot. I opted to strive six vessels:

• Paper bag
• Mesh cotton produce bag
• Perforated plastic bag (those bulk potatoes are offered in)
• Lidded cardboard field 
• Steel wire basket 
• Plastic mixing bowl

After selecting the storage containers, I put them to the check in two units of circumstances:

1. In a temperature managed fridge drawer set to 50°F (10°C) and 65% humidity to imitate perfect root cellar circumstances.
2. Within the pantry.

Outcomes: Fridge Drawer Set to 50°F (10°C) and 65% Humidity

I positioned two russets and three Yukon Golds in every container and saved them—with nothing else—in a fridge drawer set to 50°F (10°C) and 65% humidity (a a lot larger temp than your common fridge drawer, for testing functions). I checked the drawer’s situation with an indoor thermometer and hygrometer. (Potatoes are about 80% water, so excessive storage humidity—90 to 95%—is good to stop moisture loss and shriveling.)

After every week, the entire potatoes seemed kind of the identical. Those within the mesh cotton produce bag and the plastic mixing bowl had been barely softer than the others, however nonetheless mighty fine-looking potatoes. You probably have a fridge crisper drawer that may be set to a special temperature than the remainder of the fridge, this appears to be a great spot to maintain your spuds, whether or not you bag ‘em, bowl ‘em, or simply toss ‘em in free. That stated, high-tech cooler drawers are about as accessible as root cellars, so onward with the testing.

Outcomes: Room Temperature Pantry

Because the fridge drawer couldn’t knock out any of the storage container choices from my testing, I repeated the check however positioned the entire batches of potatoes in a much less perfect atmosphere: a room-temperature kitchen pantry. 

I eliminated the whole lot that wasn’t a potato from the cupboard space and stored the potatoes there for one week. The daytime temperature (in July) over the week ranged from 65°F (18°C) to 77°F (25°C) with 70 to 95% humidity. Right here’s how each fared.

Paper Bag

The paper bag prevented air flow and ended up feeling damp after every week. No less than a few potatoes had been getting moldy.

Mesh Cotton Produce Bag

The mesh cotton bag additionally retained an excessive amount of moisture, inflicting the russets to develop mould.

Perforated Plastic Bag

Whoever developed the potato sack at Large Potato knew what they had been doing. The luggage that these potatoes got here in did their job nicely, permitting for correct air flow. The subsequent time you purchase a number of kilos of this staple, don’t switch them to a different container. 

Lidded Cardboard Field 

Just like the paper bag, the cardboard field felt damp, the potatoes had been moldy, and a number of the Yukon Golds started to sprout.

Plastic Mixing Bowl

The plastic bowl didn’t supply fairly sufficient air circulation, making the potatoes on the backside damp and squishy.

Steel Wire Basket

This storage methodology was proper up there with the perforated plastic bag. The open sides provided the potatoes the airflow they wanted. Based mostly on the success of each this methodology and the perforated plastic bag, I concluded that maximizing air circulation as a lot as doable is vital for making potatoes final. You possibly can even go away them in a pile on the counter, in the event you don’t thoughts them knocking round, however any breathable open container or bag will do.

Storing Potatoes Alongside Onions

Whereas onions are generally saved with or close to potatoes, consultants advise in opposition to this since onions emit ethylene gasses that may negatively have an effect on the potatoes. The UC Davis Postharvest Analysis and Extension Heart says low ranges of exterior ethylene can trigger weight reduction and gentle shriveling in potatoes, whereas excessive concentrations of exterior ethylene could induce sprouting. 

It’s value noting that industrial non-organic potatoes are sometimes handled with sprout inhibitors to increase storage life. (Natural growers would possibly use important oils to cut back sprouting naturally.) The potatoes I used on this experiment had been typical, so probably handled with a sprout inhibitor.

I examined onion’s impression on potatoes by storing them each in the identical wire basket in a single pantry and potatoes on their very own in one other pantry for a management group. I additionally positioned one batch in a darkish nook of my counter, sitting subsequent to a bowl of onions.

After one week, the countertop potatoes sitting subsequent to the bowl of onions fared the worst out of all of the potatoes all through the testing. The spuds had been shriveled, squishy, and slightly moldy (see above). The potatoes that had been saved nearer to the onions however within the extra perfect storage circumstances of the pantry seemed significantly better. 

Nevertheless, the pantry potatoes saved subsequent to the alliums picked up an off taste—possible a degradation attributable to the ethylene emitted from the onions—which I found once I cooked with them. I fried and boiled batches of every to see how they tasted. Fried russet potatoes that had been saved within the pantry subsequent to onions smelled oniony and tasted acrid, bitter, and bitter in comparison with the management group, which smelled recent and earthy and tasted solely of potato.

Steamed Yukon Golds saved subsequent to onions had some sharpness however weren’t as bitter. I think I wouldn’t have observed this a lot if I didn’t carry out a side-by-side tasting. The steamed russets saved with the onions had been extra unappetizing, taking over a stale style, and void of potato taste.

My takeaway, which aligns with knowledgeable recommendation, is to keep away from storing these staple meals collectively—and certain different ethylene gas-producing meals like bananas and apples, for instance—notably in the identical bowl. Because the room-temperature potatoes had been rotting, I didn’t style them, however they seemed horrible. We all know that storage circumstances even have a big effect on the end result of your potatoes, so the much less perfect the storage circumstances, the more severe total, and the presence of ethylene gas-producing meals exacerbates that. 

How Refrigeration Impacts Potato Storage

The Oregon State College Extension Service says storage temperatures beneath 38°F (3°C) could cause sugar buildup or sweetening: “Fried merchandise from such tubers are darker and oilier than these from tubers saved at larger temperature.” Nevertheless, the UC Davis Postharvest Analysis and Extension Heart says that chilling harm, outlined as a “discoloration of inner tissue,” solely happens throughout longer intervals of storage, normally a number of weeks.

To see if one week within the fridge noticeably altered potatoes’ sugar-to-starch ratio, I positioned a wire basket of potatoes within the crisper drawer of my fridge and set it to 34°F (1°C) and 60% humidity. After every week, the looks didn’t change a lot, aside from the moisture condensing on the skins as they returned to room temperature.

In my very own checks, I might clearly see the refrigerated potatoes brown sooner when fried—too quick for them to cook dinner completely with out burning. These refrigerated potatoes additionally tasted bitter, probably because of the additional browning. There was no discoloration once I steamed the potatoes, however the refrigerated ones tasted barely bitter and form of like a fridge—like when butter is stored too lengthy. The nice, earthy potatoey taste that ought to be there was missing.

The Takeaway: How one can Retailer Potatoes So They’ll Final 

By following these steps, you’ll get pleasure from recent, agency potatoes for weeks, prepared to be used in no matter dish you want—whether or not it’s a comforting mash, crispy fries, or a hearty stew. 

1. Select high quality potatoes. Begin by deciding on agency, unblemished potatoes. Keep away from any with cuts, bruises, or inexperienced spots, as these are extra liable to spoilage.
2. Don’t wash earlier than storing. Maintain your potatoes dry. Any extra moisture can result in mould progress and untimely spoiling. In case your potatoes are notably soiled, gently brush off extra soil with a dry fabric or a delicate brush.
3. Retailer in a cool, darkish place. If doable, discover a spot between 45°F (7°C) and 55°F (13°C), like a basement, pantry, or cool cabinet. Maintain potatoes away from daylight and warmth sources.
4. Maximize air circulation as a lot as doable. Use breathable storage, comparable to a mesh plastic bag or a wire basket, to retailer your potatoes, ensuring to not crowd the potatoes to keep away from extra moisture buildup. 
5. Verify on them recurrently. Examine your saved potatoes for indicators of sprouting or spoilage each one to 2 weeks. Potatoes which have spoiled will trigger others to spoil sooner, so take away any which can be delicate, sprouting, moldy, or inexperienced.
6. Avoid ethylene-producing meals. Potatoes and onions could also be kitchen companions in cooking, however they shouldn’t be saved collectively. Onions launch gasses that may give potatoes an off taste and pace spoilage, and so do different vegatables and fruits like apples, bananas, tomatoes, and avocados.