Is it safe to eat baby-potatoes?
I kept several potatoes in a box dark cool cellar. Now, after 6 months, I am surprised to see that they grew a lot of sprouts, and among them, many "baby potatoes", with radius between 1 and 10 milimeters. The "mother potatoes" look and smell OK, but they feel softer than usual.
I wonder if there is anything here that can be cooked and eaten?
I have read that the sprouts themselves are poisonous, and the softer potatoes are also unsafe. But what about the baby potatoes - are they safe?
Best Answer
Planting will get you a better return. Cut the potatoes up into sections with a sprout each, let the cuts callus at 70 F/21C for a few days, and plant.
If you remove the sprouts and the potatoes are not green, or any green parts are removed, they should be safe, if not of particularly good quality.
Planting the sprouted ones and buying others to eat would be your best bet, better quality, and not too costly. Next year, put some apples in the root cellar with the potatoes to help prevent/reduce potato sprouting during storage.
In the well-managed root cellar we're supposed to somehow find time to to go through every couple of weeks to check for and remove the various sprouting or spoiling food before the process gets too far along. I can't say I have arrived there myself yet...but if you at least look for the sprouted ones when you are grabbing tubers to use, you can remove small sprouts from firmish potatoes and use them up, and be aware if the whole batch is sprouting away and needs to be used up soon, before it gets to this point.
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Are baby potatoes okay eating?
This causes them to make chlorophyll, which is green but not poisonous, and solanine, which is toxic but not green. So any age or size potato can be green/toxic if it grows above ground, but baby potatoes of any age are fine to eat.When can you not eat baby potatoes?
You're clear to prep, cook and eat if those potatoes are: Firm when squeezed....Do NOT eat if your taters are:How do you know if baby potatoes are bad?
Raw potatoes should be firm to the touch with tight skin that's free of large bruises, black spots, or other blemishes. If a potato has become soft or mushy, you should throw it out. Though it's normal for potatoes to smell earthy or nutty, a musty or moldy odor is a hallmark of spoilage.Are potatoes safe to eat after they sprout?
Phew - got that? In addition, when potatoes sprout, the starch in the potatoes is converted into sugar. If the potato is firm, it has most of the nutrients intact and can be eaten after removing the sprouted part. However, if the potato is shrunken and wrinkled, it should not be eaten.I only ate potatoes for two weeks
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