Seeing green on your potatoes? Those areas contain a harmful toxin. Cut out those spots and throw them away.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Green = vegetables = good, right?

Not when it comes to potatoes.

Here’s an important piece of information that my mother taught me years ago, but fewer and fewer people these days seem to know about. Green in potatoes indicates the presence of a rather harmful toxin. When you see patches of green in your potatoes as you peel them, cut out the green parts entirely and discard them.

What is the green? Actually it’s chlorophyll. Not bad for you at all. But the chlorophyll indicates that the potato has been exposed to sunlight. And where the potato has been exposed to light is where a natural toxin in the potato (solanine) becomes concentrated at harmful levels. So, never store your potatoes on the counter. Always keep them in a cool, completely dark place.

Solanine is a natural defense mechanism of the potato to ward off fungus and pests. It will also be triggered when a potato is bruised, so if your potato is at all damaged or bruised, discard it.

According to the Wikipedia, deep-frying potatoes at a high temperature (306°F) effectively lowers the level of toxins. But boiling them (212°F) has no effect. Best to stay on the safe side and just cut away the green parts. The NIH website mentions that the potato sprouts can also have concentrated solanine, so those too should never be eaten.

One of the things we’ve been noticing recently is that more often than not the bag of potatoes we buy from our local grocer contains several potatoes with green splotches. Once in a while is one thing, but every time? We’ve complained to our store’s manager and if you are finding green in the potatoes from your produce supplier, we urge you to do the same.