The genius trick to prevent potatoes from sprouting at home

You have probably heard of solanine . It is a substance present in many plant species that serves to protect potatoes from harmful insects and fungi . In practice, it is a poison , more precisely an alkaloid, but present in potatoes in very small quantities and therefore does not pose a great danger to the human body. But things change when potatoes sprout , because higher amounts of solanine are concentrated directly on the sprout and in the part below.

At this point, the danger can become significant, especially if large quantities are consumed. The same danger exists when potatoes are eaten raw . Solanine is also found in eggplants, peppers and tomatoes, but in all these cases the amount is minimal and decreases again once cooked .

How to prevent potatoes from sprouting

Let’s say you have bought healthy potatoes, with smooth and unwrinkled skin, i.e. a fresh tuber, not too old. These are already conditions that can make you quite calm. However, if you want to prevent sprouts from arriving later, just take a few small precautions:

Place an apple between the potatoes and of course increase the number of apples if the quantity of potatoes is too large (the ethylene contained in apples prevents the potatoes from sprouting).
Use a suitable container that facilitates transpiration, yes to the wicker basket, no to plastic.

Store the potatoes in the dark, because light promotes the growth of the sprouts.
If the tubers from the supermarket have already sprouted, do not buy them. If they sprout to a limited extent at home, remove the sprouts and the part below, but also all the green parts. Overall, it should not be thought that this represents such a serious danger. In fact, to get solanine food poisoning, an adult would have to eat at least three kilograms of raw potatoes or sprouts, which is very unlikely.