Storing: Are De-Greened Potatoes Safe To Eat ???

Subject: Are De-Greened Potatoes Safe To Eat ???
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Mark Thorson (nospam at sonic.net)
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:33:30 -0700
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On the America's Test Kitchen show, they gave a tip about how to de-green potatoes that have turned green. They said to put them in a cool, dark place, and the green color will go away.

I'd never heard that before. The reason not to eat potatoes that have turned green is that they may contain solanine, a toxic compound found at low levels in all potatoes but at much higher levels in potatoes that have turned green or sprouted.

If this de-greening procedure works, I wonder if the potatoes would be safe to eat? The green is chlorophyll, not solanine (which is colorless). I'd be skeptical that the solanine has disappered, even if the green color is gone.
From: Julie Bove (juliebove at verizon.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 03:32:56 GMT
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I've never heard of making it disappear. I try not to buy green potatoes, but if I get some with green on them, I just cut off the green part and eat them. I'm not dead yet.
From: raymond (raymond at fakeaddress.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:21:19 -0400
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Julie Bove wrote:
>I've never heard of making it disappear. I try not to buy green potatoes,
>but if I get some with green on them, I just cut off the green part and eat
>them. I'm not dead yet.

Me too. If that didn't work, there would be no Irish or sailors left alive.
From: Bobo Bonobo® (CLASSACT at BRICK.NET)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:31:50 -0700
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raymond wrote:
> Me too. If that didn't work, there would be no Irish or sailors left
> alive.

The sailor thing also attests to the healthfulness of buggery.
From: raymond (raymond at fakeaddress.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:25:38 -0400
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Bobo Bonobo® wrote:
>The sailor thing also attests to the healthfulness of buggery.

I had to look that word up on Wikipedia. You are referring, of course, to the British Navy, and I wholeheartedly concur.
From: David Hare-Scott (compost at rotting.com)
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:48:37 +1000
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Bobo Bonobo® wrote:
> The sailor thing also attests to the healthfulness of buggery.

And rum and the lash
From: blake murphy (blakepm at verizon.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:05:45 GMT
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Bobo Bonobo® wrote:
>The sailor thing also attests to the healthfulness of buggery.

but apparently you have to eat a lime afterwards.
From: Dee Dee (deedovey at shentel.net)
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:27:24 -0400
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blake murphy wrote:
> but apparently you have to eat a lime afterwards.

Wrong orifice.
From: Nancy2 (nancy-dooley at uiowa.edu)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 08:43:15 -0700
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Julie Bove wrote:
> I've never heard of making it disappear. I try not to buy green potatoes,
> but if I get some with green on them, I just cut off the green part and eat
> them. I'm not dead yet.- Hide quoted text -

Me, too. I think it's exposure to light that makes them green - mine are stored inside a cupboard until I use them, and I usually bag them in dark plastic (ventilated) bags, with a square of paper towel thrown in in case there's any moisture.
From: Dee Dee (deedovey at shentel.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:29:56 -0400
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Nancy2 wrote:
> Me, too. I think it's exposure to light that makes them green - mine
> are stored inside a cupboard until I use them, and I usually bag them
> in dark plastic (ventilated) bags, with a square of paper towel thrown
> in in case there's any moisture.

I don't buy them if there is a hint of green, but when I bring them home, I put them on a large baking pan (didn't someone a while back ask me why I needed all those baking pans?) and place it on the bottom rack of a table and cover it completely with dish cloths to keep the light away from them. They usually get wrinkled before they get green.
From: Karen AKA Kajikit (kajikit at jagcon.com)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:25:53 -0400
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Mark Thorson wrote:
>On the America's Test Kitchen show, they gave a tip
>about how to de-green potatoes that have turned green.
>They said to put them in a cool, dark place, and the
>green color will go away.

If you put a green potato in a cool dark place, it will still be green - but if it was only partly green, it shouldn't get any MORE green than it was when you put it away. The cool dark place is meant to keep them from turning green in the first place.
When I get a potato that's more than a little green I turf it out. If it's only green on one end or in a small spot, I cut off a generous margin around the greenness and use the rest of the potato as normal.
From: Buddy (why.wood.yew at bother.net)
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:32:24 -0400
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here's Karen AKA Kajikit's last post ->:
> If you put a green potato in a cool dark place, it will still be green
> - but if it was only partly green, it shouldn't get any MORE green
> than it was when you put it away. The cool dark place is meant to keep
> them from turning green in the first place.
> When I get a potato that's more than a little green I turf it out. If
> it's only green on one end or in a small spot, I cut off a generous
> margin around the greenness and use the rest of the potato as normal.

The green is from sunburn while growing (sticking out of the ground.) Pretty sure all you have to do is cook them as usual after recommended peeling.
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:05:55 -0400
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Mark Thorson wrote:
> On the America's Test Kitchen show, they gave a tip
> about how to de-green potatoes that have turned green.
> They said to put them in a cool, dark place, and the
> green color will go away.

Well, I don't even worry about it. If I'm peeling them I just remove the green layer with the peel. If I'm baking or boiling them then I just do so and the green goes awa y. I have not died yet.
From: blake murphy (blakepm at verizon.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:27:02 GMT
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Kate Connally wrote:
>Well, I don't even worry about it. If I'm peeling them
>I just remove the green layer with the peel. If I'm baking
>or boiling them then I just do so and the green goes away.
>I have not died yet.

are you sure? maybe it's someone who just looks like you posting here.
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:17:07 -0400
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blake murphy wrote:
> are you sure? maybe it's someone who just looks like you posting
> here.

Believe me - I'd know if I were dead. For one thing I wouldn't have all these aches and pains all the time. Except for the fact that I would cease to exist, death might be a good thing. Well, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who might disagree with that.
From: ppnerkDELETETHIS at yahoo.com (Phred)
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:13:54 GMT
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Kate Connally wrote:
>Believe me - I'd know if I were dead. For one thing
>I wouldn't have all these aches and pains all the time.

Probably comes from eating green spuds. :-)

Symptoms [Stolen from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002875.htm]

Hypothermia
Paralysis
Shock
Fever
Slowed breathing
Dilated pupils
Vision changes
Stomach or abdominal pain
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Slow pulse
Headache
Delirium
Loss of sensation
Hallucinations

Actually, if you don't trust the government you can find advice on Snopes https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tater-taught/
<quoting>
.. unless you are deliberately seeking out green potatoes to eat, you are unlikely to ingest enough of the toxin to do harm. The potatoes we buy contain such a minute amount of the chemical that a healthy adult would have to eat about 4-1/2 pounds at one sitting to experience any neurological symptoms. Ergo, don't worry about having the occasional green potato chip, but do discard any potatoes that have green eyes, sprouts, or greenish skins, rather than prepare and serve them, especially to children. (Children's smaller body size makes them more susceptible to ill effects.)
</quoting>

>Except for the fact that I would cease to exist, death
>might be a good thing. Well, I'm sure there are plenty
>of people out there who might disagree with that.

If you ceased to exist you wouldn't know you are dead. ;-)
From: Mark Thorson (nospam at sonic.net)
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:02:26 -0700
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Kate Connally wrote:
> Well, I don't even worry about it. If I'm peeling them
> I just remove the green layer with the peel. If I'm baking
> or boiling them then I just do so and the green goes away.
> I have not died yet.

But if you had died, you wouldn't be able to be here and say "Mark was right!", so your testimony cannot be interpreted as evidence. For all we know, there might be dozens of people who aren't around anymore to give their contradictory experience.