Sprouted potatoes: what to do with it and can you eat it
In the spring, all last year's potatoes sprout - this is a normal process that occurs from March, even if the tubers are stored in a properly equipped cellar. If you keep your crops on the balcony or in the back room, you will face this problem at the end of February.
Old tubers dry out and shrivel, sprouts appear on them. A few decades ago, no one even thought about whether it was possible to eat sprouted potatoes. In the spring, the sprouts were broken off, a thicker layer of peel was removed during cleaning and the last year's harvest was eaten. No one was afraid of the potential harm, there was no information about mass poisoning with sprouted potatoes.
Now, in the wake of interest in healthy eating and changing storage conditions, the question arises: can sprouted potatoes be consumed? Read on how to use it correctly and when you have to throw away the remnants of the old crop.
The content of the article
Why sprouted potatoes are considered harmful
Potatoes with green sides are definitely harmful.... It turns green from contact with air and sunlight due to the formation of chlorophyll. By itself, it is harmless, but under the influence of heat and light in such tubers, chemicals are actively produced for its further growth and development.
This natural biological process has not the most pleasant consequences for humans - solanine is released, which is poisonous in large quantities.
Why you can't eat sprouted potatoes
Closer to spring, harmful substances accumulate in the tubers, and the beneficial properties are lost... Store potatoes begin to sprout quickly at home, but many do not throw them away, regretting the money spent or not knowing about the harm.
Whether it can be eaten depends on the number and length of the processes... Smooth-skinned potatoes with 5-7 sprouts up to 1 cm in length can be eaten after heat treatment, they are not poisonous inside.
Take a note:
Choosing crumbly and tasty potatoes
Which part is the most harmful
Poisonous substances are unevenly distributed in the tubers. The highest concentration - under the green areas of the peel, around the eyes and in the sprouts.
Shriveled, soft, sprouted potatoes with long sprouts should not be eaten... Since the solanine has already penetrated deep inside, removing the sprouts and cutting the peel will not change anything. The remaining harmful substance is sufficient for poisoning.
Why is solanine dangerous?
All parts of a potato, from tops to roots, contain this substance, especially in flowers and berries.... It accumulates in tubers during storage. In autumn, there is very little solanine, by February its content doubles, and in the spring it reaches its highest concentration. Therefore, eating last year's potatoes in October is a direct path to poisoning.
Solanin has a protective function for plants... It has fungicidal and insecticidal properties, increases resistance to pests and diseases. But for animals and humans, it is toxic.
Solanine destroys erythrocytes in the blood, it is detrimental to the human nervous and immune systems.
Reference.In modern potato varieties, the content of this substance is reduced, it is not enough for serious poisoning.
Signs of solanine poisoning
With solanine poisoning, a person experiences the following symptoms:
- lethargy;
- nausea;
- burning sensation in the throat;
- headache;
- abdominal pain and bowel upset;
- tremor;
- loss of orientation in space;
- increased body temperature.
A dangerous dose of solanine for humans starts at 300 mg.
Read also:
How does potato allergy manifest?
Potatoes for weight loss: is it possible to eat it on a diet
The benefits and harms of sprouted potatoes
Potatoes that have sprouted will not harm if cooked correctly... To get poisoned, you need to eat it in large quantities raw, along with sprouts and green skin.
Cooked old potatoes are not dangerous if you peel them first, remove the eyes and sprouts, cut off the green areas... But the benefit from such food will be small. Since the process of processing the nutrients contained in the tubers starts in the spring, the sugars, carbohydrates and vitamins that a person needs are destroyed.
Potatoes remain useful until the size of the hatched sprouts has not exceeded 1 cm... Trace elements, carbohydrates and vitamins in such a product are available for assimilation by the human body. But as soon as the size of the seedlings exceeds 2-4 cm, no nutrients remain in such a tuber, only starch.
Sprouted potatoes are used in folk medicine... In small doses, toxic solanine can be a medicine. An alcoholic tincture is prepared from the sprouts. This means rubbing the sore spot and making compresses. To prepare the tincture, take sprouts 5-10 cm long, wash, dry, grind and mix with alcohol or vodka.
As solanine has an antibacterial effect, tincture is used for treatment scratches, cuts, skin rashes. And also for diseases of the oral cavity, arthritis, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Attention! Talk to your doctor before using sprout alcohol. Self-medication can be harmful to health.
Treatment with potato seedlings is contraindicated children under 14, pregnant women, lactating mothers and patients with diabetes.
How to cook old sprouted potatoes properly
Boiled tubers are harmless to health, you can stew them... All other cooking methods are not recommended. Such potatoes cannot be boiled in a uniform, fried or baked.
Since more than 90% of toxins are concentrated in the peel and pulp under it, only 5-10% of harmful substances remain in the peeled tuber. Moreover, most of them are washed out with water. therefore boil the potatoes until cooked or half cooked, drain the water in which it was cooked... After that you can bake it, add it to soup, make mashed potatoes, use it as a filling for pies and dumplings.
Important! Children under 3 years old should not be given dishes from sprouted potatoes.
Another way to use old sprouted potatoes - as a raw material for the production of moonshine.
The use of sprouted potatoes as pet food
Cats and dogs can be mixed with potatoes in porridge or their other usual food., but not more than once a week. It is advisable to exclude this product from the pet's diet altogether.
Important! The lethal dose of solanine for animals is from 0.6 mg per 1 kg of body weight.
Slaughter-raising pigs and rabbits are added potatoes to feed... It is prepared in the same way as for human food - peel off the peel in a thick layer and boil it.
Conclusion
Sprouted potatoes do not have to be thrown away, although they contain an increased content of harmful substances. If you store your potatoes correctly and cook them with their biological characteristics in mind, you don't have to worry about poisoning.
If you didn’t dare to cook a dish of sprouted potatoes, but it’s a pity to throw it away, you can benefit from it in another way - prepare a medicine or plant it on your garden plot.