Thread: Potatos in the refrigerator crisper drawer.

For a simple experiment those curious readers so inclined should try the cold storage "option". I crave the flavor at times, nothing risky here. Guests dining with me do notice when served these. Over the table conversation follows, better than no topics to discuss which also happens.

it seems like... "cold-induced sweetening" affects quality of potato chips and French fries because increased sugars make the color too dark and reacts with amino acids upon deep-frying and generate harmful compounds like acrylamide. I keep my potatoes in the fridge too, but I've never tasted unusual sweetness in potatoes. I think the level of increase in sugars in potatoes is below the level that we can detect as...

no idea about this whole sciencey thing. all i know is that if i keep my potatoes out of the fridge, i get potato plants.

I was taught that potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark place, e.g. in a paper bag in the pantry...never in the refrigerator. Same for tomatoes.

I'm not to sure of the particulars of why I do this, but I keep my potatoes in my pantry. If I know I'll be making french fries or home fries, I keep them in the fridge the day before so they get really crusty and golden brown. No matter what I do though, I always end up with a couple potato plants. I might try planting them in my yard and seeing what happens. With tomatoes, I keep them out of the fridge unless they're getting...

From Chef2Chef: Never store potatoes in the refrigerator. The cold temperature will turn the potato starch into sugar. You will then have to store the potatoes for up to two weeks at 50 degrees to convert the sugar back to starch. Always store your potatoes in a dark, cool, dry area with good air flow.

What @betteirene and @savory say. We even have ads for Ontario produce on TV that tell us how to store items properly. I usually buy 5lb. bags of potatoes and although, not used every day, they are gone before the weird things start to grow.

Don't recall where I heard this tip but it works... I store potatoes in a lower kitchen cabinet (away from the stove - heat is bad for the praties) in a wire bowl (air circulation is important) with a few apples thrown in. It works.

We Quebecois are an interesting lot. For some strange reason, a large number of us enjoy our fries dark brown, limp and sweet. There's a small local chain that stores its potatoes in a refrigerated warehouse at 1°C for several months before frying them. That results in extra dark, extra mushy and sweet fries. They are also cooked at a relatively low temp so they get extra greasy. Yum!

As a NYer I have lived in places where I had to keep every single food item that was not in a can in the fridge. Potatoes are in the fridge and I have never noticed a sweetening.