According to experts, blackened potatoes do not pose any danger, so you can safely gobble them up on both cheeks. It is believed that this comes from an excess of mineral fertilizers and nitrates, but in fact, there may be several reasons for this phenomenon: for example, an unusual soil composition, different varieties of potatoes, weather conditions, an excess of nitrogen against a background of a lack of potassium, and so on.
And although it is not very pleasant to eat such a vegetable, it can be safely planted, only in this case it is necessary to observe the correct proportions of fertilizers. So, if there is little potassium and a lot of nitrogen, the synthesis is likely to be disrupted, which will lead to the accumulation of proteins and amino acids to the detriment of starch. So potassium is needed in sufficient quantities because it stimulates the formation of carbohydrates, including starch. At the same time, an excess of potassium salts affects the plant - they contain a lot of chlorine, which has a harmful effect on potatoes, impairing its taste and reducing starchiness.
But amateur gardeners expressed their version of the darkening of the vegetable. Before freezing begins, the potatoes must be kept in a cool and dry place so that their tubers cool and dry. If this is not done and immediately placed in the basement, they will instantly overcooled, which will lead to their physiological changes. As a result, these tubers darken during cooking. However, if you put them in cold water for several hours, this effect can be avoided.
“When cooking potatoes, they always turn black if they have grown on overconsolidated soil and if there is insufficient ventilation in the pit where they are stored, that is, the potatoes are suffocating from lack of oxygen. Another possible cause of blackening is a lack of potassium during growth. "
In fact, there are many reasons: an excess of nitrogen against the background of a lack of potassium, varietal differences in potatoes, weather conditions, the mechanical composition of the soil, etc.
If you add a lot of nitrogen and little potassium, then the synthesis is disrupted, amino acids and proteins accumulate to the detriment of starch. Potassium stimulates the formation of carbohydrates, especially starch. Therefore, potash fertilizers must be applied under the potatoes. But potassium salts contain a lot of chlorine, which easily penetrates into the plant and has a harmful effect on it. In potatoes, starchiness, taste, keeping quality decrease, therefore it is better to use potassium sulfate under potatoes. It does not contain chlorine, and sulfur is essential for the formation of plant proteins. Chlorine-containing potash fertilizers (KCl) can be applied only for autumn digging. "
The fact is that during the growth process, chlorogenic acid accumulates in the potato tubers, which, during heat treatment, forms a strong dark compound with iron ions. In most cases, such a reaction is prevented by citric acid for the formation of which potassium is responsible in the tubers. To eliminate this problem, chlorine-free potash fertilizers are applied to the soil.
Choosing potatoes: for cooking, frying and storage
Starch content above 15% - the variety is suitable for mashed potatoes. The puree will be tender and fluffy, however, very high in calories. Varieties: Blueness, Lorkh, Sineglazka, Lugovskoy, Adretta, Elizaveta.
Below 15% for soup and salad. Such tubers do not fall apart during cooking, low-calorie: Leader, Krasavchik, Alvara, Red Scarlett, Nevsky, Luck, Nikulinsky. And the Gourmet variety - with dark blue flesh and a high content of antioxidants, is suitable for salads. It can even be eaten fresh.
Dry matter - not less than 20-24%, and reducing sugars - not more than 0.5% - such potatoes can be fried, they will not crumble in a pan or deep fryer, will not acquire a bitter taste and will not darken. These varieties have the ability to "keep" the starch from breaking down into sugars. Thanks to this property, the potato slices retain their shape during frying. Varieties: Leader, Nadezhda, Kolobok, Bryansk early, Zhukovsky early, Impala, Felox
On a note
When boiling mashed potatoes, it is better to put the tubers in boiling water, and for salad - in cold water.
Until the water boils, some of the starch is washed out of the "salad" potatoes, and it will not crumble.
Unwashed potatoes make the choice easier
The best domestic potatoes grow in Lipetsk, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov, Tver regions, in the Moscow region. Potatoes do not like heat, because of it, the quality of the tubers decreases. Potatoes brought from the Bryansk, Leningrad regions and from the north of Ryazan must be chosen more meticulously. In these regions, there are both good soils and soils that are not quite suitable for potatoes, which give goods of not the best quality.
If you buy unwashed potatoes (this one is best suited for long-term storage), consider that you have a trump card in your hands: thanks to the soil adhering to the tubers, you can understand how the potatoes will be stored and how tasty.
The worst option is sand (hard grains of sand are felt). On the sand, the tuber is "liquid", it is poorly stored, darkens during cooking.
Peat potatoes can suffer the same disadvantages if poorly cared for, but to a lesser extent. You can recognize peat by its deep black color, when it dries up, it almost does not brighten, it crumbles, it is present on the peel of potatoes mainly in the form of dust.
The easiest way to grow good potatoes is black soil and loam. Seeing potatoes with black, gray or brownish plastic "mud" adhered to the tubers, take it boldly.
Lorkh, Krasavchik, Golubizna, Nikulinsky retain their "spotless reputation" better than others.
Signs of a good potato
1. Choose larger tubers. As a rule, they have time to mature better, that is, they are tastier and have more vitamins.
2. Tubers are dense, firm.
3. The peel is smooth and without roughness, dark spots.
4. Eyes - clean, shallow, without a dark halo (a sign of decay)
5. Potatoes do not crack or split when cut.
Does it get dark during cooking?
is undoubtedly the most important vegetable on our table and the preparation of a huge number of widespread dishes is simply unthinkable without it. But sometimes housewives are faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as darkening of the tubers during cooking. Moreover, this darkening is often uneven, and the potatoes become covered with dark spots, like bruises. Not only do such roots lose their appetizing appearance, but their taste leaves much to be desired. What causes potatoes to darken during cooking?
It is worth immediately reassuring those who are afraid to eat such specimens, fearing that such darkening is caused by the large amount of nitrates they contain. Experts assure that such tubers do not pose any harm to human health. And the reasons for the browning of potatoes during cooking are mistakes made during, as well as improper conditions for collecting, transporting and storing the crop.
Housewives who buy this vegetable at the market or in a store are more likely to encounter darkening of tubers during cooking. In this case, it becomes quite difficult to predict the quality of the product, especially if it looks quite healthy in appearance. But those who grow "second bread" in their summer cottage may be able to solve this problem by raising the level of y and creating optimal conditions.
The appearance of "bruises" on tubers during heat treatment can be caused by uneven and irregular watering during dry weather. It is necessary to water the plantings in a timely manner, soaking the soil over a potato bush to a depth of at least 15-20 cm.
During the period of prolonged rains, excessively moistened soil is strongly compacted. Under such conditions, the forming tubers are deficient in oxygen, which negatively affects their quality. Therefore, in wet weather, it is necessary to regularly loosen the aisles.
Often, during cooking, the one that during the growing season experienced a lack of potassium in its diet darkens. It is necessary to observe the norms for applying potash fertilizers for the autumn digging of the site intended for planting this crop in the new season, and on poor sandy soils, where nutrients are washed out very quickly, additionally fertilize with chlorine-free potassium preparations during the period of tuber formation.
During harvest and during transport, shocks from root crops should be avoided. It is the places of impacts that can cause "bruises" to appear on them during boiling.
After harvesting this vegetable, you cannot immediately place it in a cellar or basement. Before storing the tubers, you must first keep them in a cool, ventilated room until frost, where they dry and cool, and then lower them into a vegetable storehouse prepared in advance.
may darken because it was frozen during storage. Therefore, the temperature in the basement, where the crop is kept, must be maintained at an optimal level and not allowed to drop below + 1 ° C.
In a room intended for storing vegetables, with a poor ventilation system, tubers can "suffocate" from a lack of oxygen, which will also negatively affect their quality.
If any mistakes in agricultural technology or during storage were nevertheless made and a significant proportion of the stored potatoes invariably continues to darken during cooking, you can use some secrets during cooking to avoid this trouble.
Peeled potatoes must be left in cold water for at least 10 minutes so that the chemical compounds that make up them do not oxidize with oxygen.
The tubers must be immersed in already boiling salted water, and not put on the fire a pot of cold water and potatoes in it.
To avoid dark spots on root vegetables during cooking, you can add a couple of bay leaves or citric acid at the tip of a knife to boiling water.
For the same purposes, you can add 1 tbsp per liter of water in which potatoes are cooked, for example, for salad. vinegar or replace it with a little cucumber or cabbage pickle
Kudrina Irina
During cooking, the flesh of potato tubers can turn gray, black or bluish. Why is this happening and how to avoid it?
Chlorogenic acid accumulates in such tubers, which, during cooking, forms a strong complex with iron ions. As a result, the taste and culinary qualities of the tubers are reduced and they change color.
There are several reasons for the darkening of potato tubers.
1. First of all - insufficient intake of potassium... Potassium starvation can be determined during the growing season of plants. The leaves become dark green with a bronze tint. Then they turn yellow and brown, the tissue at the edges of the leaves dies off. The internodes are shortened, the leaf slices are more closely spaced, and the wrinkling of the leaves increases due to uneven growth. First, these signs appear on the lower leaves of the bush, and then throughout the bush. To prevent this, it is necessary to add to the soil per 1 sq. m not less than 30 g of potash fertilizers (according to the active ingredient).
2. Tubers turn blue and with the wrong ratio of batteries... It is known that potatoes consume more potassium, slightly less nitrogen and even less phosphorus. Depending on the soil and climatic zone, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium when applying mineral fertilizers should be 1: 1.5-2: 1.5-2.2. Only in peat bogs the nitrogen dose is increased. It is not recommended to use potash fertilizers with admixtures of sodium and chlorine.
The application of chlorine-free potassium fertilizers under the potatoes promotes the accumulation of more citric acid in the tubers, which forms a colorless compound with iron.
3. The reasons for the browning of potatoes can be injury to tubers during harvesting, loading and transportation, bulkheads. When tissue is damaged, oxidative processes are enhanced, in particular, irreversible oxidative transformations of phenolic compounds occur.
4. Insufficient oxygen supply to the soil during the growing season, and especially during the formation of tubers, can also lead to their darkening. Violation of the temperature and humidity of the air during storage of tubers, lack of oxygen and excess carbon dioxide also affect the quality of products.
Varieties are of great importance. In some early-maturing varieties, tubers begin to darken as early as April during cooking, especially at elevated storage temperatures.
So, in order to prevent darkening of the tubers when cooking potatoes, it is necessary to provide the plants with potassium, provide for good aeration of the soil, and avoid injuries to the tubers during harvesting and transportation of the crop. It is also necessary to observe the optimal storage regime for potatoes (temperature no more than 7-7.5 ° C). The addition of 1-2 bay leaves to the water reduces the darkening of tubers during cooking, while the taste of potatoes does not spoil.
Why the potatoes turn black inside during storage - there are a lot of reasons for this, from the choice of the variety to the conditions for keeping it in the cellar. Experienced gardeners, having learned from their mistakes, follow all the necessary rules. When the right storage conditions are created, potatoes can lie almost until the next harvest.
Why does the potato turn black inside
Potatoes are a very popular vegetable in Russia; almost every gardener grows it. But it is important not only to get a large harvest, but also to preserve it. The most common problem in this case is that the tubers turn black inside. Sometimes even vegetables that look normal in appearance have dark spots in the context.
Important! Medium-sized ripe tubers are stored for the longest.
It is necessary to timely identify the reason why the tubers begin to turn black inside during storage and eliminate it, otherwise the entire crop may be destroyed. Such signs can be caused by both the physiological disease melanosis or, in another way, gray spot, and various infectious diseases caused by fungi.
Unfavorable weather conditions
Potatoes grow well in moderate humidity and temperature. If these indicators change, then this negatively affects the yield and keeping quality of tubers:
- at high temperatures, the vegetable overheats;
- at low temperatures, potatoes grow small due to a lack of nutrients;
- with a lack of watering, the culture is dried;
- with an excess of moisture, oxygen poorly enters the tubers, provoking the development of bacterial and fungal infections.
All these conditions, individually or in combination, can lead to the fact that the vegetable begins to turn black inside. Thus, the product loses its consumer qualities.
Incorrect fertilization
Some gardeners, in pursuit of large yields, fertilize vegetable crops with too much organic matter. Herbal infusions, manure or green manure are used. These fertilizers promote plant growth due to their high nitrogen content. But during storage, such overfed tubers begin to blacken inside.
To avoid spoilage of potatoes after harvest, you need to fertilize them according to the rules:
- fresh organic fertilizers are not used, only rotted;
- manure is rarely applied - once every 2 years.
There is often an excess of nitrogen and a lack of potash fertilizers in the soil. Namely, potassium contributes to the long-term storage of potatoes. Without it, he can begin to turn black.
Mechanical damage to tubers
Potatoes can also turn black inside due to mechanical damage that occurs during collection or transportation. The deformed parts of the potato subsequently change color. And if the skin is damaged, then there is a great risk of fungi and bacteria entering the vegetable.
Potatoes turn black on the inside during storage also when they are placed in several layers. The tubers lying below are under strong pressure.
Infectious diseases
The appearance of characteristic dark spots inside the tubers is usually accompanied by diseases such as:
- Blackleg. A disease called black leg affects the tops and tubers of potatoes. Its first symptoms appear during storage of the crop. It is a rot, which inside reaches the center of the tubers, and they begin to turn black. Outwardly, it can be distinguished from gray spot. The whole fruit is affected, starting to exude an unpleasant odor. Potatoes lying nearby are also susceptible to infection. It is important to identify the disease at the stage of cultivation in order to prevent such vegetables from entering the storage.
- Late blight. The disease is common in almost all climates where potatoes are grown. Both tops and tubers are affected. The fungus spreads quickly, damaging all plants. Brown specks appear on the leaves, they rot and dry out. The disease is transmitted through weeds, it progresses when the agricultural technology of potato cultivation is violated. The tubers affected by late blight are covered with brown spots from the inside. High temperature contributes to the development of the fungus. Potatoes are infected during harvesting or from their own diseased tops. The likelihood of transmission from an adjacent tuber during storage is minimal. Late blight can also provoke diseases with other fungi.
Improper storage
The storage of the potato crop is carried out in a basement with a temperature from +1 to +4 ° C. If the indicator drops below, then the tubers become sweet and begin to turn black inside. At higher temperatures, the potatoes will sprout and the risk of gray rot increases.
Late cleaning
Timely harvesting of potatoes is the key to preserving the harvest. To prevent the tubers from starting to blacken inside, adhere to the following rules:
- When harvesting potatoes, one must be guided by varietal characteristics - a crop harvested too early is likely to turn black inside during storage. The tubers must ripen naturally.
- Harvesting must be done before the first frost. If you leave potatoes in the ground at a temperature of -1 ° C, they will freeze and then rot during storage.
- After the tops have been mowed, the tubers must be harvested as soon as possible. If warm weather starts, the vegetable may overheat.
- The harvested potatoes are stored in a dry, well-ventilated room at a temperature of +4 ° C.
Harvesting potatoes in a timely manner reduces the likelihood that the tubers will begin to blacken inside during storage.
What to do to prevent the potatoes from turning black
Very often there are situations when the potatoes lay in the basement all winter, and by the spring they began to turn black. This could be due to poor ventilation.
With warming, the potatoes will melt into storage and germinate. The pulp darkens and becomes lethargic. There is a sharp jump in temperatures, the release of moisture and the debate continues. Thus, you can lose the entire crop.
To prevent the potatoes from turning black inside during storage, a number of rules must be observed:
- after harvest, the potatoes should be outdoors for 20 days;
- place it in wooden boxes with ventilation holes;
- maintain the required temperature in the storage;
- boxes and pallets should be moved 20 cm away from the walls;
- potatoes are sorted at least once - sprouted and diseased tubers, as well as healthy ones located next to them, are removed;
- if storage is carried out at home on the balcony, then it is recommended to cover the boxes with a warm blanket;
- potatoes can only be stored together with beets, which will take away excess moisture from them; proximity to other vegetables is strictly prohibited.
Is it possible to eat darkened potatoes
If the potato has turned black inside from rot, in case of infectious diseases, then it should not be eaten. In other cases, such tubers are allowed, but they lose their beneficial properties and taste. They are low in vitamins, protein and starch. Dishes made from such potatoes look unattractive, so tubers with black spots are not eaten.
Storage rules
How long the potatoes will last depends on the correct preparation for storage and the conditions in the cellar itself. The choice of variety when planting also affects. The main factors that must be taken into account for the safety of the crop:
- When planting, you need to think about which varieties are needed, because they are stored in different ways. Late potatoes are intended for long-term storage in the cellar. Early varieties will not last long even under ideal conditions. They are intended to be eaten directly in season.
- Before being sent for storage, the tubers are sorted and sorted - diseased, damaged, and suspicious ones are removed. Potatoes that come into contact with diseased vegetables should also be removed, they may be contaminated, but the symptoms have not yet appeared. Even a few diseased tubers can destroy the entire crop in storage. Be sure to dry the potatoes, otherwise raw tubers may turn black inside and rot.
- Constant monitoring of the temperature at the place of storage of the crop is required. Special control is needed in the change of seasons in autumn and winter, when there is a risk of temperature surges.
Important! Some varieties of potatoes contain a lot of starch and a slight browning is normal for them.
To maintain the desired air temperature in the storage, ventilation, bottles with cold or hot water, placed around the perimeter of the cellar, are used. Thus, the risk that the vegetable will begin to blacken on the inside is reduced. With timely control of humidity and temperature indicators, potatoes can be preserved.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why the potato turns black in storage. If you choose the right variety, observe the watering and feeding regime, then such a nuisance can be avoided. It is also worth harvesting, guided by the rules available for this. The final and one of the main points in the safety of tubers are the conditions of their maintenance in the cellar.
If you boiled potatoes and notice that they are dark, do not rush to throw them away. Scientists have determined that the browning of the potatoes is not affected by the presence of pesticides or chemicals.
Nitrates, which are used to process potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle, also do not affect the blackening. Blackened potatoes change their taste and aesthetic appearance, but they do not harm the body.
Why does the potato darken
- Grow in high chlorine and low potassium soil. Potato growers use high chlorine fertilizers to increase the weight of the potatoes. Chlorine easily gets into the flesh of the fruit and, changing its structure from the inside, makes it soft and watery, but large in volume.
- The use of nitrogen fertilizers for growing potatoes. Nitrogen contributes to the accumulation of amino acids inside the fetus, in particular tyrosine, which leads to staining. The stains darken when boiling or after cleaning.
- Exposure to low temperatures. After freezing, the structure of the potato changes - it becomes sweet and darkens after boiling.
- Shocks during transportation. When the potatoes are hit at the site of the hit, juice is released, which contains starch. The flesh of the fruit becomes denser and in the places where the juice is released, the potatoes turn black when starch reacts with air.
- Potatoes are poorly prepared for storage. Before placing potatoes in the cellar, they must be dried, cooled and rotted and spoiled fruits removed.
- Incorrect storage conditions. High humidity and oxygen deficiency in the storage areas of potatoes lead to the fact that the cooked potatoes turn black.
- A variety of potatoes with a high starch content.
So that the potatoes do not darken
If you adhere to some rules, your potatoes will not turn black.
Choose whole potatoes
When buying, pay attention to the peel and firmness of the potatoes. The surface must be free from damage and decay. The potato must be free of dents. If you buy a bag, pay attention to the smell and dryness of the fruit inside the bag.
