is there a way to determine the quality of potatoes before buying?

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

most of the time they are not tasty..

 

[blissful]

Fresh potatoes are being harvested right now. Fresh potatoes will last almost a year in the right conditions.
Older potatoes are not as firm as fresh potatoes, they feel rubbery. Their skin may get wrinkly and thick. Their eyes may begin to sprout, small sprouts or grow 6 inches. These are all edible but not as nice as fresh potatoes.
I will take a fresh potato and wash it and use it with the skin. A dull wrinkled one I'd take off parts or all of the peel. I tear off the sprouts this time of year and try to use them up quickly.
You could try tasting all different kinds of potatoes, yellow ones, fingerlings, small red, baby potatoes, russets. You might like one kind over another. Marketers are selling them in inventive ways, the new creamer potatoes are one example.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

tnx
even buying a good russet for example wont gurentee success the next time you buy it..

it is a roulette for me..

not sure if you suggested a method around it..

so they are not picked from the ground year round?

 

[blissful]

I'm pretty sure the harvest of potatoes in israel is in august and september. They produce 500,000 tons of potatoes.
Here in the midwest US, potatoes are put in cold storage after harvest and distributed to grocery stores year round. They tend to go on sale for about $0.20-0.30 cents/lb in October and November for the potatoes that don't fit in the storage facilities. In August, stores are trying to get rid of extra stock of old potatoes so they can get fresh potatoes and if they have them those go on sale. You can usually tell the difference by checking for if they are sprouting or not. Also look at the bottom of the bag, if it is wet there are rotting potatoes in it.
I'm guessing that potatoes in Israel are also put in storage at harvest time, because they advertise them year round.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

i see
so you say that stored potatoes are not nesseserily tasty if stored too much..
good to be familiar with this idea.

potatoes are seasonal too. i see

 

[taxlady]

What kind of a bag do you get potatoes in from the store? Is it see through or opaque? Does it have a window so you can look at the potatoes in the closed bag?

 

[dragnlaw]

I squeeze them a bit in the bag to make sure they are firm, and also "sniff" - they smell good of the earth.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

What kind of a bag do you get potatoes in from the store? Is it see through or opaque? Does it have a window so you can look at the potatoes in the closed bag?

i usually by in pieces and not in a bag. but they are stored in a big mesh bag..
you can see each potato well..

 

[dragnlaw]

How do you prepare your potatoes? Perhaps something is changing when you do them?
Like letting them sit in the water after cooking? Or overcooking? Roasting, boiling ??
What additives do you serve them with? Butter, plain salt & pepper, other spices, gravies?

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

yesterday i roasted chunks of potatoes with vegetable oil and salt, then micriwaved until chewy.
some times it is good and some times not.

i will try fresher potatoes

i like potatoes that have some sweetness in them..

 

[dragnlaw]

Well, LOL I have never considered potatoes as "sweet". You aren't talking about sweet potatoes, with a yellow/orange flesh. Or yams? with a whiter flesh?

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

if you notice well, some potatoes have a slight sweet taste in them. at least in my opinion.
i'm not talking about sweet potatoes.

 

[dragnlaw]

Got it. Well I can honestly say I've never noticed. Of course now that you have, I will start trying to taste the end results.

 

[jazzerlord]

Good potatoes should have smooth skin without dark spots, deep eyes, or cracks. When you press on them, they should be firm and solid. I choose potatoes based on these points.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Ours always have a see through plastic bag or sometimes a mesh bag. I try to look at each one and squeeze each one. Its difficult and I'm certain the produce guy thinks I'm nuts.
But no matter how well I check, it's a crap shoot. Some start sprouting within a few days and others stay pristine for quite some time.
Buying potato's is a chore for me, as I know I have only a 50/50 chance at getting a good bag.

 

[jennyema]

I never buy the bags anymore. Too many bad specimens in them

I buy them individually from the bin and make sure they are firm with no hint of green. Green will make you sick

 

[taxlady]

Potatoes start to get a bit sweet with storage. I think that some of the starch breaks down into sugars.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I never buy the bags anymore. Too many bad specimens in them

I buy them individually from the bin and make sure they are firm with no hint of green. Green will make you sick

I have been hearing this for years. Yet I have never gotten sick nor have I ever heard of anyone else getting sick from the green layer below the skin.
And I am very certain in my lifetime I have ingested some of this green lining. I do my best to remove it when peeling.
Also, when baking whole potatoes, they are not peeled. Does this so-called danger not be present in cooked potatoes.

 

[taxlady]

The green parts of potato have glycoalkaloids. There is a little bit in the skin and there is some in the eyes, and that's even when the tubers don't turn green. But, there is more if the tubers start turning green. There is a lot more in the leaves of the potato plant. Some people are more sensitive than others. I find that even small amounts can bother my arthritis.

 

[dragnlaw]

Control. Solanine is not removed by boiling, but it can be destroyed by frying. Solanine poisoning is uncommon as cooks and the public are aware of the problem and tend to avoid green potatoes, in any case, consumption of up to 5 g of green potato per kg body weight per day does not appear to cause acute illness.
You do not need to discard green potatoes. Just peel the skins, shoots and any green color; that is where the solanines concentrate.

The article does not say anything about baking.
Most people, including myself, find that simple peeling removes the green. Too much green in a potato - not only can be toxic but will also end up tasting rather bitter.
One year, while growing our own potatoes, I included and ate, the tiny ones found through out the soil. They had a horrible bitter taste that ruined the dish. Although they were not green the bitterness was still there.