Potatoes have been used for centuries already, while most people think that potatoes can only be used as food, but there are a lot of ways how you can use them besides eating them, even if they have already sprouted. Some people throw away sprouted potatoes as they think that the entire potato will taste bad, you can simply remove the sprouts and the eyes as these are the ones that are making the sprouted potato taste bitter.
Potatoes are known to sprout “eyes” in dark and moist environments, such as your kitchen or pantry. However, the presence of these sprouts doesn’t necessarily mean you have to discard the entire potato. As long as the potatoes are still firm when gently squeezed, they can be safely consumed after removing the sprouts and cooking them. Sprouting potatoes can be a natural occurrence, but it’s important to ensure that the rest of the potato remains in good condition and hasn’t started to rot or become mushy.
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If you have ever stored potatoes long term you have probably already noticed that some of them have sprouted. The main reason why potatoes sprout is because once they get ideal conditions like high humidity, temperature, and some sunlight they will start the sprouting process. The best way to store potatoes is in a cold dark basement, but even then you might find that some potatoes will start sprouting. In addition to this if you keep your potatoes close to onions this will actually speed up the sprouting process.
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There are a lot of people who actually throw away sprouted potatoes, but if you are serious about your food pantry lasting you as long as it can then you shouldn’t throw them away. Sprouted potatoes are safe to eat as long as you remove the sprouts and the eyes. The sprouts and the eyes do contain toxins like solanine which could lead to headaches, vomiting, and even serious health complications in people who have a lowered immune system.
The problem is that while most people will remove the sprouts, they will often forget to remove the eyes and these also contain a lot of toxins. As the potato sprouts, it will start to convert the nutrients and the starch contained in the potato into glucose to fuel the growth of the sprout.
You can remove sprouts from potatoes with a sharp kitchen knife, make a small circle in the potato when you are removing them, and do not just cut them from the base of the potato stem as some of the stems will actually be inside the potato, so make sure you also remove them. If you want to make a food pantry that contains also preserved food, then my recommendation is to read my latest article How to preserve meat ( Top 12 Methods ).
What To Do With Sprouted Potatoes?
When you find sprouted potatoes in your kitchen, there are a few options for what to do with them. One option is to plant them in your garden or a container to grow your own potato plants. Simply cut the sprouted sections into smaller pieces, ensuring each piece has a few sprouts, and plant them in the soil. Another option is to use the sprouted potatoes for cooking. While the sprouts may have a slightly bitter taste, you can still salvage the potatoes by removing the sprouts and any green parts.
They can be boiled, baked, mashed, or used in various recipes like soups, stews, and casseroles. Alternatively, you can compost the sprouted potatoes if you’re not interested in planting or eating them. Just make sure to remove any sprouts before adding them to the compost pile.
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Eating Sprouted Potatoes
The first thing which you can do with sprouted potatoes is to eat them, sprouted potatoes are safe to eat as long as you remove the eyes and the sprouts. If you find that the potato is wrinkly and soft to the touch then do not eat it. Sometimes sprouted potatoes will not look wrinkly and will not be soft to the touch but they will have a somewhat rotten smell to them. This happens when you haven’t stored them correctly and as it sprouts the potato will actually start to rot, throw it out as it is not good to eat.
While you are peeling the potatoes make sure to remove all the skin as this will give a bitter taste to the potato, especially if the skin of the potato is green. You can store potatoes for a fairly long time, provided that they are in a cool and dark environment. The problem is that some people think that the cooler the temperature is the better it will be preserved, although, with low enough temperatures, the water inside the potato will freeze, and once the water melts the potato will quickly start to rot.
Under no circumstances eat the sprouted potatoes with the sprouts and the eyes of it, as it will make you feel sick. When you are buying potatoes make sure that they are not damaged, if they feel soft to the touch then the rotting process has already started. The problem is that most potatoes from farms end up in supermarkets, where they will get the ideal conditions to sprout. Sometimes they will cut off the sprouts to make them look more appealing but you will still have to remove the eyes once you get home.
Do not eat sprouted potatoes during pregnancy as these will increase the risk of developing NTDs and OFCs. What is great about potatoes is that you can actually cook them without using any fire or electricity, for more information check out my recent article How to cook food without fire and electricity? ( Top 5 Methods ).
Growing Potatoes From Sprouted Ones
Planting sprouted potatoes is fairly easy, just dig a small hole in the ground and place the sprouted potato inside. Make sure that the sprouts are facing up, if the potato has sprouted on all sides then simply cut off some of the sprouts at the base so that only one side of the potato has sprouted. This way the remaining sprouts will get all the energy they need from the potato, just be careful not to cut into the potato as this will damage it, and it will rot in the ground.
Once you have placed the potato in the hole then just cover it up with soil, around 3-5 inches of soil should be enough, anything more than that, and the potato sprout will not be able to reach the surface and it will simply rot. Do not step in the ground to compact it, this will only make it harder for the potato sprouts to reach the surface, and you want to make it as easy as possible for the sprout to surface.
As a general rule when you are planting the potato sprouts make sure that it is dry outside, otherwise, the potato will rot. The best time to plant potatoes is in the spring, I personally plant my potatoes when I see that some of the trees are bulbing. Just keep in mind that if you plant your potatoes too early in the spring then you might get a couple of frosty nights which will most likely destroy most of the potatoes. If you also have some expired canned potatoes then check out my recent article What to do with expired canned food ( Top 7 Options ).
Using Sprouted Potatoes For Feeding Animals
If you have animals, then you can feed your animals with sprouted potatoes. Although you should still remove the sprouts and the eyes of the potatoes as some animals are very sensitive to the toxins which are in the sprouts. If you want to be extra careful, you might also want to boil the potatoes after you have removed the sprouts.
If you like fishing then you could also use these potatoes as bait because the color of the potatoes contrasts the surrounding area when it is in the water, as long as you remove the skin of it. If you have smaller animals then it might be a good idea to dry the sprouted potatoes and make them into a fine powder or smaller chunks.
Using Sprouted Potatoes For Composting
If you are wondering what to do with soft potatoes and you do not want to throw them out, then you can easily make compost with them. Dig a small hole, put the sprouted potatoes inside, and cover them with leaves and other biodegradable materials and scraps from your kitchen. After this just add some water and put a thin layer of dirt on it. If you notice steam coming out of it during the evening or in the morning then you have done a good job and your compost is starting to be broken down.
In some cases, you will also notice that the sprouts have come out of the compost, at this point you can either relocate them or let them grow using the nutrients of the compost. Once you want to plant some potato sprouts then you can use the material from the compost and you will see that the potato plants will start growing extremely fast. Potatoes have a lot of nutrients and starch and this makes them excellent for composting, even if you use green potatoes. If you want to stockpile food but you are on a tight budget then check out my recent article How to stockpile food on a budget ( In 10 Easy Steps ).
Make Adhesive From Sprouted Potatoes
You can actually make adhesive or glue from sprouted potatoes, potatoes contain a lot of starch which has extremely good adhesive properties. Simply boil the peeled potatoes and crush them into a paste, you could also add some sugar to it to further increase its adhesiveness. Once the potato is almost liquid then you can use it as an adhesive, just do not expect miracles from it as an adhesive.
The starch from potatoes is actually used in a lot of industries as adhesive, although they do add a lot of chemicals to increase the adhesive properties of the starch.
Use Sprouted Potatoes For Cleaning
Yes, you can use potatoes for cleaning, mostly because it has adhesive properties. To clean with potatoes, simply cook them, and once they are cooked, remove them from the dish. You will actually be using the water to clean in which the potatoes were boiled. Place the item that you want to clean in the water and let it be for 10-20 minutes, after which just take it out and dry it with a towel. This is how they actually cleaned coines hundreds of years ago. If you want to know which food is the best to live off then check out my recent article Best single food to live on ( Top 11 ).
Use Sprouted Potatoes To Remove Rust
You can actually use sprouted potatoes to remove rust, just cut a potato into two pieces and rub the rusted item with the potato. Leve, it like that for around one hour, and then get a clean rag and wipe it off, you will notice that the rust will come off very easily, mostly because the potato contains some acids which are great for breaking down rust.
Use Sprouted Potatoes To Power Small Electrical Devices
Potatoes contain some electrical energy that could power a small device, generally speaking, the more potatoes you link together the higher voltage they can produce. The problem is that this energy drains extremely fast, but it should be enough to power a small watch or other small electrical devices. Just don’t expect to be able to power your smartphone with it as that will require a lot more energy than a potato.
Key Takeaways
- You can use sprouted potatoes for a lot of things like cleaning rust, making compost, and even making adhesive from them amongst others. There are plenty of uses for sprouted potatoes, even if they started to get wrinkly and soft to the touch. Sprouted potatoes are safe to eat as long as you remove the sprouts and the eyes correctly, as these do contain toxins.
- Sprouted potatoes are still safe to eat, but they may have a slightly bitter taste. You can peel off the sprouts and cook the potatoes as you normally would.
- If the sprouted potatoes are soft, wrinkled, or have mold, it’s best to discard them as they may no longer be edible.
