Potato storage?

Ian

Ian

Notorious member
We have an ongoing frustration here at the Empire of Junk regarding potatoes. Seems that no matter what we try, they get soft and sprout in just a few weeks. Type and time of year seems to matter not.

So please help us out here, what are the most ideal long-term storage conditions for raw potatoes?
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
We don't eat them fast enough I guess. Too many lectins and fattening starch to use many, but we like to keep a few pounds on hand for stews and such.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Ian, I store ours in a short sided open top cardboard box with some crumpled up brown paper in the bottom. Do not let any of them touch each other.
I use my cold cellar for most of the year...It is the room between the heated cellar and the basement outside door. Stays about 45 to 50 deg
Light is a problem so they need dark. Also never leave them in the bag they came in . Some varieties last longer than others. I find the yellow ones ( Not Gold) ....last the longest The red potatoes seem to be the least long lasting
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Don't wash the potatoes.
Dry in cardboard box not touching in the dark for a couple of weeks. Temperature between 40 and 50 degrees and less than 50% humidity..
Store in the dark in low humidity, not over 50 degrees.
I don't know if it is possible to store raw potatoes in Texas?
HTH
 
Hawk

Hawk

Well-Known Member
We buy russet potatoes and store them in a perforated, plastic container in a dry, dark cabinet.
They'll last 4 weeks.
 
Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Store them in a cool dark low humidity and as was said, not touching each other. I have no idea why touching would matter but it sure seems to.
 
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Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
If you leave them where light can get them they promptly turn green. That's the reason for keeping them in the dark.
 
462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Ours are kept in a rectangular plastic tub-like container, in the larder cabinet in the garage. A 10-pound bag will keep till it's time to buy another 10-pound bag. Or a five-pound bag.
 
Joshua

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
Not long term storage. Get rid of the plastic. Put the potatoes into two heavy brown paper bags. Find as dark and cool place in the kitchen or pantry. They will normally last a month this way. They might start to sprout but the won’t turn green. The green is a sign of possible toxins in nightshades.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
We used to plant/harvest one half to two acres when I was a kid. Not sure what the heck we did with ll of them, but it kept us and my grandparents in potatoes until late, late winter. Cool, dry, DARK place. We had a large potato bin in the basement. The only "rule" we did not follow repeated often in previous comments was that we did not keep them from touching each other. Those potatoes were GOOD and lasted a long time. I think most of what we buy in the store these days is "engineered" to go bad within a short time. I'm not a conspircay theorist, but it seems everything suddenly goes bad on the day of or BEFORE the expiry date any more.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
The washing mentioned might be the cause of short life. I bet your family didn't wash the potatoes until ready to cook them.
 
Joshua

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
Jeff H said:
. I think most of what we buy in the store these days is "engineered" to go bad within a short time. I'm not a conspircay theorist, but it seems everything suddenly goes bad on the day of or BEFORE the expiry date any more.
Click to expand...

I knew a millwright that once worked in a French fry factory. He told me that they do just that. The worst almost rotten potatoes get made in to frozen fries for fast food. The next in line to get sold at retail are the oldest potatoes.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
ahhhh.
tatoes, it's almost sorting time.
they store them in Quonset hut type buildings around here, jumbled up all dirty and just barely above freezing.
then drag them out in the spring and sort them out, looking for the smaller ones called 'one drops', that flow through the equipment easier.
those are known as seed potatoes.
the others are either cut or shipped.

anyway if you pre-slice them in the shape you want, you can freeze them and then cook them from frozen.
don't thaw them out first unless your gonna French fry them.

if you just want to store them long term,, cold and dark, in dirt if possible.
potting soil works since it's sterile, and so does sand.
 
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