Potatoes are a staple ingredient now that summer is coming to an end as most of us are looking forward to making more heartier foods like stews, soups or roasts. However, despite being a resilient vegetable, it can be difficult to keep potatoes fresh and safe to eat as many people are storing them in the wrong place in the kitchen.
Kelly D’Amico, a sustainable food expert and founder of Made to Sustain has warned most of us are causing potatoes to spoil before their time by storing them next to onions. She said: “Store potatoes in a cool, dark, and well-ventilated place, away from onions, garlic, and any ethylene-producing fruits (like apples or bananas). A mesh bag or open basket in a dark pantry or cupboard is ideal.”
It might sound strange as onions often cooked alongside with potatoes in recipes, but they should never be kept next to each other in a kitchen otherwise they will both begin to rot.
Onions, as well as garlic and shallots, release a substance caused ethylene gas, which is invisible and odourless to humans but is produced by certain foods to help it ripen and develop its natural flavour.
Potatoes are very sensitive to ethylene gas and it will cause them to sprout, become mushy and even deplete them of nutrients. However, the main reason to keep these vegetables apart if that both release a lot of moisture when being stored, and too much humidity will cause them to rot or go mouldy.
Kelly said: “The primary issue with storing onions and shallots (which are members of the Allium family, like garlic) near potatoes is not necessarily their ethylene production, but rather their moisture content.”
The key to keeping potatoes and onions fresh is to keep them as dry as possible as they are both naturally have a lot of water inside them that slowly releases over time.
Potatoes are best kept in a dark and cool environment such as a cupboard, drawer of a pantry if you have one.
It also really helps to keep them stored in a well-ventilated container such as a basket, mesh bag or even a paper bag so there is no chance of them causing condensation.
Keep potatoes out of the fridge as cold temperatures can make them gritty but hot temperate will make them mushy so also avoid storing them next to any kitchen appliances.
Make sure to also keep them far away from a window as they cannot be exposed to light, as it can trigger a chemical reaction makes them sprout and begin producing solanine, a natural toxin which can make you ill.
It only takes a few minutes to clear out a spot in your kitchen to store potatoes properly, but will result in you having to throw away less produce, so you save a little more money on your food shop.