According to French Elle Magazine, potatoes are a very popular and favorite starchy food. However, potatoes can sprout very quickly if not stored properly.
1. Are potato sprouts edible?
Unlike garlic sprouts, potato sprouts have no nutritional value at all. Potato sprouts are known to contain a chemical compound called solanine. This compound can cause people to have symptoms of food poisoning such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness. More dangerous is central nervous system disorders. However, you should not panic too much because solanine is only really dangerous when consumed in too large a quantity.
2. What to do to prevent potatoes from sprouting
First, you need to choose the right storage place. Potatoes like cool places, ideally between 7°C and 10°C. If you don't have a place to keep your potatoes away from sunlight, you should use paper bags, baskets or opaque boxes to store your potatoes.
To slow down the sprouting process, simply place an apple in between the potatoes. Apples are a fruit that emits ethylene, a gas naturally produced by many fruits as they ripen.
For this reason, we should not store apples with other fruits. On the contrary, when in contact with potatoes, ethylene will inhibit the production of plant hormones that promote germination, thus helping and extending the storage time.
