Why potatoes go green

The app keeps this valuable information at your fingertips. Always buy food in quantities that your household can use in a reasonable amount of time and rotate the products in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. Is it safe to eat a green potato?

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However, green potatoes are more than just undesirable. They can also be dangerous. Why Potatoes Turn Green. Chlorophyll is a natural chemical produced by plants to aid in photosynthesis turning light into sugar. Potatoes that turn green from chlorophyll may also contain solanine, which is a toxic substance.

Of course, there are things other than sunlight that can cause potatoes to produce the toxic substance solanine. Sunlight exposure is not necessary, but it does make potatoes produce solanine faster.

Chlorophyll is a chemical produced by plants that makes them green. Chlorophyll also plays a key role in photosynthesis, or the process of turning sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into sugar. When a potato tuber the part of the plant that we eat!

This is what causes the potato skin and possibly the flesh underneath to turn green. There are a few different factors that determine how much green appears on a potato, and how fast it happens. These factors include:.

According to the University of Nebraska Lincoln, even low levels of light exposure for a short duration can cause greening:. This means that potatoes still attached to the plant and exposed to strong sunlight can turn green in only one day. Even potatoes that have already been harvested and left out in the sun to dry can turn green in a single day.

However, light is not the only culprit in making potatoes turn green. Soil temperature also plays a role. Temperature makes a big difference in terms of whether a potato will turn green and how fast it happens. At low temperatures, little or no greening of potatoes occurs. At warmer temperatures, potatoes can turn green fast.

According to the University of Nebraska Lincoln:. This means that potatoes in cool soil are less likely to turn green for example, during the early fall. On the other hand, potatoes that mature during summer and stay above the surface of the soil will soon turn green. Keep in mind that potato tubers can turn green whenever they are exposed to light — either outdoors or indoors. This means that potatoes stored on a countertop where they are exposed to natural or artificial light will turn green.

According to North Dakota State University:. The green comes from the pigment chlorophyll. Potato tubers exposed to light will become green naturally as the plant seeks to harvest the light. In addition to light levels and temperature, the variety of potato also makes a difference in how fast potatoes turn green.

In general, white-skinned varieties tend to turn green more easily than red- or russet-skinned varieties. Regardless of what type of potato you are growing, light is necessary for the production of chlorophyll to make the potato turn green.