Potatoes stay fresh ‘for weeks’ when you place them in 1 area of home

Potatoes are a fantastic thing to have in the house, ready to use, whenever you fancy whipping them up into something tasty. They can make the perfect lunchtime treat in the form of a hearty jacket potato, or they can be the ideal accompaniment with dinner.

But have you ever come to use your potatoes and been left with a sinking feeling when they’ve already gone off, sprouted, and started to look a little mouldy?

It completely ruins your dinner plans and could force you to instead to call up your local takeaway.

But did you know that you could well be storing your potatoes all wrong, and it could be contributing to them going off so quickly?

There’s somewhere you can store them, and it all comes down to a battle against a potato’s worst enemies: trapped moisture and stagnant air. Even after they are harvested, potatoes are essentially still alive. They “breathe” through a process called respiration, where they consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide, heat, and moisture, and that’s why there’s one place that can help them last a whole lot longer.

You need to keep them out of the bags they come in, and instead, place them somewhere that will give them better airflow.

Wire basket

The open design allows for 360-degree airflow. Fresh oxygen can easily reach the potatoes, and the gases they naturally emit can dissipate into the room. The airflow will be much better with a wire basket. Plastic bags are bad because they restrict airflow, essentially suffocating the potatoes and trapping the gases they release.

Rot will also be prevented with a wire basket. Because air flows freely, any moisture the potatoes release evaporates quickly. Keeping the skin dry is the number one way to prevent them from becoming mushy.

Plastic bags that they come in trap the moisture released by the potatoes, creating a humid microclimate.

Condensation builds up on the inside of the bag, making the potato skins damp. This is a perfect breeding ground for mould, bacteria, and rapid rotting, which can leave you disappointed when you come to use your potatoes.

One woman shared on TikTok that she even uses a wire basket from Ikea, often used for holding folders, but she finds it amazing for potato storage.

Temperature can also be better regulated with a wire basket, and airflow helps dissipate the slight amount of heat generated by the potatoes as they respire, keeping them at a stable ambient temperature.

Plastic bags often trap heat and create a warmer environment, which accelerates both sprouting and soiling.

However, wire baskets aren’t infallible and have a vulnerability, which is light exposure.

Potatoes exposed to light will start to photosynthesise, turning green and producing a bitter, mildly toxic compound called solanine.

To get the absolute longest life out of your potatoes, keep them in that breathable wire basket, but store the basket in a cool, dark, and dry place, like inside a pantry cabinet or a cellar.

Will you be trying this storage hack? Let us know in the comments…