Potatoes are unique because they don’t have a short shelf life, but they don’t last very long, either.
That said, if you have an abundance of spuds intended for festive roasties, there’s no need to try to eat them in a hurry.
With the right storage method, you can keep them looking and tasting fresh without green spots or sprouts. A TikTok influencer has revealed a nifty trick for doing just that.
Potatoes that develop green spots or sprouts can be harmful due to toxins, leading many people to throw them away if they can’t cut these parts off.
A viral video by Leen (@leen.bd) on TikTok suggests that keeping an apple with your potatoes can stop them from becoming inedible.
Apples are thought to extend the life of potatoes because of the ethylene gas they emit. This gas, naturally produced by apples during their ripening, has been shown to slow down the metabolism of carbohydrates in potatoes and increase their respiration rate.
According to research in the Journal of Food Science and Technology, this is key to maintaining their freshness.
Fans were quick to praise the content creator’s hack in the comments, with one fan exclaiming, “I’ve known about it for about one year. It changed my life! It works!”
However, this method is specific to potatoes; storing apples with other fruits could hasten their ripening and lead to spoilage.
It should be noted that sweet potatoes, unlike white spuds, are sensitive to the gas emitted by apples. Storing apples with sweet potatoes (often mistaken for yams) can cause sprouting, which you want to avoid.
According to experts at Food52, sweet potatoes can be kept fresh for a very long time—up to 12 months, in fact.
They explained that while sweet potatoes shouldn’t be kept in the fridge, they can surprisingly be frozen.
You must start with cooked sweet potatoes, which should be peeled and boiled. When a fork can easily pierce their flesh, slice or mash the cooked sweet potatoes and top them off with a small amount of freshly squeezed lemon juice, preserving their vibrant orange colour.
Place the potatoes in the freezer in plastic bags and lay them flat for easy storage.
