Gnats were in my bag of potatoes; can I still cook and eat the potatoes?
There are some holes in my plastic package of potatoes. Gnats got into them (maybe 20 or so) and were buzzing in and out of them until I shoed them away. Can I still either bake or boil the potatoes and eat them?
Best Answer
Opinion answer, no authority here, just going by what to me is common practice.
Potatoes are grown in the ground with dirt and bugs around all the time. In general, not a big deal. Gnats or small fruit flies are not an issue for a relatively hard and skinned item. As long as there is no soft spots or rot, just scrub then and you should be rid of any eggs they may have laid.
However, if the potatoes themselves were doing the attracting, that is a sign you may have rotting potaties. Those potatoes involved I would consider not only contaminated, but in danger of contaminating the remainder of the bag, drawing more unwanted visitors, and ready to smell up your world. I would remove any that show such signs.
If it is more than one or two, well, potatoes are relatively cheap in most places, so time for a new supply.
Pictures about "Gnats were in my bag of potatoes; can I still cook and eat the potatoes?"
Quick Answer about "Gnats were in my bag of potatoes; can I still cook and eat the potatoes?"
As long as there is no soft spots or rot, just scrub then and you should be rid of any eggs they may have laid. However, if the potatoes themselves were doing the attracting, that is a sign you may have rotting potaties.Can you eat food that gnats have been on?
Yes, they don't do any harm unless they've laid eggs in the fruit and there are maggots in it. Even eating the maggots (or one or two accidentally) wouldn't do any harm, although many people would find that rather unappetizing.Can you eat potatoes with fruit flies?
Buy only what you're sure you'll eat.One spoiled potato or forgotten box of berries can lead to thousands of fruit flies. Once produce gets ripe, put it in your refrigerator until you eat it. Compost the leftovers or throw them away promptly.Do gnats come out of potatoes?
Gnat larvae are attracted to potatoes, so gardeners can detect the presence of larvae in the soil by slicing 1/2-inch pieces of potato, burying the pieces partially under the soil surface, and leaving them overnight to see if the larvae have congregated on or underneath the potato chunks.Do gnats lay eggs on food?
Gnats (or more likely fruit flies) that seem to appear from the kitchen are likely to lay eggs on decaying food waste. These flies will seek decaying organic matter (plenty of which can be found in open kitchen bins).BiG bAg oF potAtoes
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Adhitya Rizky, ROMAN ODINTSOV, Ryutaro Tsukata, ROMAN ODINTSOV