Sprouting Spuds

yes , "sad veg " soup used to be a fav here

I will use up wrinkly, sprouting spuds, ditto the odd sad old carrot and leeks/sprouts looking somewhat the worse for wear -I just strip the outer leaves off.
That's what soups are for - at least in this house.

As Jalima says, there is a danger of introducing disease if you plant potatoes other than from the garden centre. We used to have an allotment and had to give it up through ill health. I do miss the fresh veg.

Blimey! Who knew that (acrylamide)? I routinely knock off the sprouts. I hate wasting food. DD will buy a bag of spuds, use some for one meal and then throw them out! I was horrified at this. So now she gives them to me instead (as if I don’t have enough of my own), and I will either part roast and freeze them or mash and freeze them. I’m inclined to agree that unwashed potatoes don’t sprout as quickly. We used to buy ours straight from a farm gate and I don’t remember having the problems we have now.

Just what I was going to say Aggie! We always have extra blue top milk left after DGD has stayed, so everyone benefits from a lovely batch of scones.

I cut the sprouting bits off the potatoes, just last night, there was nothing wrong with them.
Last Christmas Day, we had potatoes, sprouting ones planted in an old dustbin months earlier. They were delicious.
Waste not, want not, as my mother would say. I'm not mean by using them, I just can't bear waste.

Keeping potatoes in the fridge increases their sugar content and produces the chemical acrylamide.
The FSA doesn't recommend refrigeration but admits that more research is needed into the consumption of large amounts of acrylamide and cancer.

Sour milk makes lovely scones ;)

I peel sprouting potatoes, cut the soggy bits off carrots, scrape the discoloured bits off cauliflowers, cut the mouldy bits off bread, scoop the mouldy bits out of jam and eat non smelly food that is past its use by date, as my mother did before me. I have survived for nearly 72 years! How can this be?
PS. Sour milk is a step too far.

I can't believe we're getting excited about sprouting spuds.

OK.. What happens when you put a potato underground? It sprouts so you can grow more potatoes.

A potato in the dark will send out white spindly shoots. They are reaching for the light. The potato has broken dormancy and wants to grow. The ones from the supermarket may have been treated to stop them sprouting in store. If they are planted they may grow but are not going to be as reliable as seed potatoes.

So why are they sprouting?
Because they have been taken out of their dormant state which is controlled by temperature. Once they warm they will sprout.

If the sprouty bits look black, then I presume that means they have been treated. Baking potatoes often have black sprouts that haven't sprouted properly iyswim.

Confused of North Devon.....

20.17. merlotgran they may have been treated to prevent them sprouting, lutongranny

So why are they sprouting?

It's the time of year, I'm afraid. Main crop potatoes have just about had their chips!!
You beat me to it merlotgran! !

I have a 'potato bag (canvas, with a dark lining) to keep them in but they still sprout. Apparently they shouldn't be kept in the fridge. When I peel them, I dig the 'eyes' out with the end of the potato peeler, unless they are too 'sprouty'.

DH won't plant them in case they introduce disease, he will only plant the seed potatoes from the garden centre.

They may have been treated to prevent them sprouting, lutongranny

if you like you can plant the sprouting ones, it is chitting and grow your own potatoes. I find them most delicious..

You're we!come, Heather51

We've been doing it for ages, seems to work pretty well!

It's the time of year, I'm afraid. Main crop potatoes have just about had their chips!! Keeping them in the dark won't really make much difference but keeping them cool will help.

Just knock the sprouts off and peel them.

You could always plant the sprouting ones.

Buffybee wouldn't exactly call it a "fear" of sprouts, they just make me go "urgh" for some reason!

However, as mentioned, mashed potato freezes really well, and if you (or, in my case, Mr P ) make a batch and freeze them in suitable portions, it saves a lot of hassle.

Only 1 starchy pan to wash, then when you want mash, just take it out in the morning, either zap in the microwave, or if you have the oven on for something else, decant into an oven proof dish and bung in!

Thanks all for your comments. I also still use them after removing the shoots but I’m sure they never used to grow so quickly. Fortunately, I don’t have your aversion Pheonix. I have never thought about mashing potatoes for the freezer, thank you for that idea. ?

We used to grow our own potatoes. After harvesting we put them in paper sacks in a dark place to deter sprouting.
Some species sprout quicker than others.
As others have said once they've sprouted you can still use them.
I saw some in the supermarket labelled treated to prevent sprouting. I don't think it's worth the risk.
"Chemical inhibitors such as chlorpropham (CIPC) and maleic hydrazide are useful in controlling and preventing potato sprouts.8 Oct 2018"

I threw quite a few sprouted ones out this afternoon after I'd been to Asda. I can't bring myself to eat them even if I knock the sprouts off as I always think of them being poisonous once they sprout. I'm a terrible waster but I'd rather dump them.

I keep potatoes in the fridge, as I wouldn't eat them if they had sprouts on them.
I think that I have your fear of the sprouts phoenix.☺

I do keep them in the dark!

The buggers still sprout though.

I can’t help, I’m afraid, as our potatoes seem to last ages. We keep them in the cellar, so in total darkness, but they’re often washed and in plastic bags. If we do get any sprouts though, I just snap them off.