You’ve probably heard of solanine. It’s a substance found in many plant species that protects potatoes from harmful insects and fungi. In practice, it’s a poison, more precisely an alkaloid, but it’s found in very small amounts in potatoes and therefore doesn’t pose a great danger to the human body. But when potatoes germinate, that changes, 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 when large quantities are consumed. The same danger exists when potatoes are consumed raw. Solanine is also found in eggplants, peppers and tomatoes, but in all of these the amount is minimal and continues to decrease after cooking.
How to prevent potatoes from sprouting
Let’s assume that you have bought healthy potatoes, with a smooth, wrinkle-free skin, that is, a fresh, not too old tuber. These are already conditions that you can do quite calmly. However, if you want to prevent sprouts from appearing at a later date, you should take a few small precautions:
Place an apple between the potatoes and of course increase the number of apples if the amount of potatoes is too large (the ethylene contained in the apples prevents the potatoes from sprouting).
Use a suitable container that facilitates sweating, yes to the wicker basket, no to the plastic.
Store potatoes in the dark as light promotes shoot growth.
If the tubers from the supermarket have already sprouted, do not buy them. If they sprout only to a limited extent at your home, remove the sprouts and the part underneath, but also all the green parts. Overall, one should not think that this poses such a great 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