The son of legendary chef Rick Stein, following in his father’s footsteps as a chef, has revealed his top tip for storing potatoes. Jack Stein, the chef director of Rick Stein Restaurants, shared the “clamp” method, which ticks off the necessary cool, dark, and dry environmental factors.
He said: “To make potatoes last as long as possible, clamp them; this is an old technique where you insulate them with straw and soil.” You will first need to take the potatoes out of their plastic packaging they are sold in at supermarkets. Then you must “stick them in a bucket with soil on top outside in a dry area like a shed”.
It’s best to check on the potatoes every few weeks to make sure a potato hasn’t started sprouting.
Unfortunately, it only takes one blighted potato to make the rest of them turn bad, too.
Signs that potatoes have gone bad
Tesco stated that any potatoes that turn green, develop soft patches, or have a bad smell have “gone bad”.
Green potatoes contain “toxins” which means they’re not safe to eat; and potatoes that smell mouldy or musty should be thrown out.
The charity Love Food Hate Waste has recommended storing potatoes in the fridge (if you have the space).
If you’re going to store potatoes in the fridge, do make sure the temperature is 5C or below.
“Doing so keeps them fresh for three times as long, so you’ll have lots more time to cook up something delicious with them,” the charity notes.
“UK households waste 180,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes every year because we don’t use them in time, so this change has the potential to make a massive impact on food waste.”
