Store potatoes correctly & store

If potatoes are stored properly, their famous shelf life can be extended. You can find out from us how to store potatoes correctly.

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the most traditional vegetables in Germany and is grown in many gardens for their own use. After the potato harvest, correct storage is of course important so that you can continue to use it for a long time. We give you tips on how to store your freshly harvested potatoes.

Where to store potatoes?

The starchy, tasty tubers can often be kept for months if stored correctly. In addition to the typical wooden boxes, air-permeable jute bags or wicker baskets are also suitable for storing potatoes. The most important parameters for the successful storage of potatoes are temperature, light exposure and humidity.

Cool Temperatures

Potatoes keep best in dark and cool places around 5 to 8°C. The metabolism inside the potato is greatly slowed down in this temperature range, so that the ingredients such as starch hardly change and the tuber remains edible for a long time. Optimally, potatoes should be stored in the basement. But you can also store potatoes in the fridge if you don't have a basement. However, you should not keep potatoes outside, because the temperatures are too low in the cold months and quickly lead to frost and cold damage. If the temperatures rise again, the tissue becomes soggy and pathogens have an easy time. Good alternatives to the basement are a frost-free conservatory, a garage or the garden shed.

Darkened Room

You should store your potatoes in the dark and in any case protect them from light. The potatoes turn green if they are stored too brightly and form the poisonous alkaloid solanine to protect themselves from being eaten, which can lead to stomach problems, headaches or vomiting. In addition, exposure to light also promotes germination, but this only occurs immediately before planting the potatoes innext spring is desirable. Darkening can also be done by storing the potatoes in damp sand.

Store dry

Although the potato itself consists largely of water, its skin should be completely dry when stored, otherwise potato diseases can spread quickly in storage.

Note humidity

In contrast to the direct moisture content of the tuber, the air humidity should be viewed differently. The optimum humidity for the potato is around 90% to prevent the tubers from losing water and quickly becoming shriveled. When storing in sand, care should be taken to ensure that the sand is sufficiently moist to minimize water loss.

Store apples and potatoes together?

Some fruits and vegetables - like apple (Malus x domestica) or tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ) - secrete the gaseous plant hormone ethylene. This accelerates the ripening, but also the aging of sensitive vegetables and can thus lead to early spoilage of the tubers. You should therefore store apples separately from potatoes.

Potato Storage Tips

If you want to store potatoes for as long as possible, it is advisable not to wash them before storing them. The tubers should generally lie loosely, not bruised, and be checked regularly for rot and other storage diseases. If any of the tubers have a rotten or moldy patch, remove them from the others to avoid spreading.

How long can you store potatoes?

The shelf life of potatoes in storage depends on the storage conditions, the variety and the harvesting method. Tubers damaged during harvest should be cooked and consumed within a few days. New potatoes in particular often cannot be stored for long due to their thin skin, which is why they are better kept in the refrigerator if they are stored for a shorter period of time. Late potatoes, on the other hand, form a thicker skin, which is why they can be stored for months.

Boil and preserve potatoes

The unprocessed potato can be stored very well and for a long time. Alternatively, you can boil potatoes. In addition to preservation in the form ofWhole potatoes can also be pre-cooked and canned for potato salad. Canned potatoes are ready to eat and can be served as a quick side dish with quark or something similar. We explain step by step how to cook potatoes:

Cooking Potatoes: Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes; possibly cut into cubes or chop as desired.
2. 15 - 20 min. Boil in s alted water.
3. Put on a separate pot with the "soaking stock"; simply add s alt to the water and boil it for at least 10 minutes at 100 °C.
4. Drain the potatoes and place in mason jars or mason jars; leave about 2 cm from the top edge of the glass.
5. Pour the preserves over the potatoes until they are completely covered; here, too, maintain a distance of about 2 cm from the upper edge of the glass; then close jars.
6. Boil the preserving jars in a boiling water bath (100 °C) for about 90 minutes.
7. Let jars cool.

Did you know that you don't necessarily have to plant potatoes in a bed? Learn how to grow potatoes in a pot in this article.