Congratulations to Laura (Tutti Dolci) on winning a copy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair. We’ll be in touch shortly!
Have you ever found a full green potato or one that is spotted green? Recently I found a couple in the bag I purchased, and some turned green after a couple of days in the container where I store them. My first thought was how pretty they look. Also thinking that the ones in the bag perhaps needed a few more days to ripen. Then when a few turned green after sitting in the container a couple of days I knew it couldn’t possibly be an issue of unripened vegetables. Luckily the green potatoes had also begun softening and I discarded them. When more green potatoes appeared in another purchased bag I decided to do some research.
It turns out that throwing out the green potatoes was a good idea because they are poisonous. The green color is due to high levels of chlorophyll which in this case means an increased amount of Solanine. Solanine is a glycoalkaloid (poison found in nightshade family) toxin. When ingested it can cause any of the following symptoms* nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, headache and dizziness. In more severe cases, hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hypothermia. If ingested in high doses solanine can lead to death.
The best way to avoid ingesting solanine is to discard the green potato or for small spots completely cut away the green skin and section around it. Additionally if the potatoes have sprouted they too should be thrown out. Furthermore bitter tasting potatoes should not be consumed. You can avoid solanine from developing by storing potatoes in a cool, dry and dimly lit place with good circulation. Most of us not need be concerned with solanine because it is quite rare that a green potato is released into the market. Still keep an eye out for it and avoid.
In the photo above you can see the difference in color. The top potato is perfectly fine, the middle has a spot and I cut off the bottom halve before using. The bottom potato us green and it went right into the trash. After all the research I did I am sure glad it went straight into the garbage.
Okay, so how many of you knew this about green potatoes? Or am I the only one who didn’t know. Let’s move on to something more fun -Christmas gift! (lol) Today I put together some fun gift ideas for us foodies with a few of my favorites. The week of gift ideas continues check them out!
1. My current favorite cookbook, An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair
2.The end of the year is a good time to replace the more worn out kitchen utensils. Ones on my wish/gift list are these OXO Good Grips 15-Piece 
3.Hugo Deep Red By Hugo Boss 
4. Gift Cards for All Occasions 
5. Girls we don’t only need cute purses but also pretty camera bags to travel with our photo gear. This Jill-e 769374 Camera Leather Bag 
6. Boys have cars to drool over and us girls have KitchenAid Artisan Series Mixers
7. There are so many great cookbooks in the market right now. The Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller is among the best cookbooks of 2012. Check out the full list of Cookbooks Best Sellers of 2012
8. Lastly one of the best inventions ever, the Kindle
Have a great Wednesday everyone and I hope you are all having a great holiday season! xoxo
Lovely gift ideas and post! I always make sure to take away the green parts…
Cheers,
Rosa
Nancy, This is so interesting – I have found a couple green potatoes from time to time, but I never knew the cause. And I never knew that they were poisonous! I think I just try to cut around the green, but I will be much more careful in the future.
I LOVE your gift guide! I am so honored to have my book listed in your selections, and I’m so happy you’re enjoying it! Bouchon Bakery has been on my list for a while too…and now I’m dying to try that perfume! :)
Thanks again, Nancy! So excited about Faith’s book :).
I had no idea about green potatoes, so this was very informative. Your gift guide is filled with treasures!
Thank you Nancy that is valuable information. I’ve come across a few and tried to cut the green away. Luckily I gave up and tossed them.
i knew about the green potatoes from before. i always slice the parts which are green. liked all your christmas gifts ideas. kitchen aid mixer is a what i want to buy soon. and the camera bag looks great too.
i take away the green potatoes always as i find that they are slightly unappealing… boy!! hallucinations are scary.. and lovely gift ideas Nan
Great, informative post and so well illustrated too. Wonderful gift ideas. :)
I had no idea about the green potatoes! My attitude towards things like that is always “eh, I’m sure it’s fine” …so I’m glad I read this :)
I was brought up on a farm and we wera always warned against the green potatoes because they are toxic. Usually today, so many pesticides etc. are sprayed on potatoes that it is impossible to get a green one. But if they are organic, it can certainly happen. The problem with non-organic potatoes is that they are one of the worst vegetables for being covered in pesticides and they penetrate the potato.
I want it all!! Congratulations to the winner of the fabulous cookbook too! Nancy you make potatoes look like art. :)
I actually knew about the green. Eating some green problem isn’t a problem, but why take a chance? I always cut away the green – or if it’s really penetrated the potato, just throw the whole thing away. Good post, and excellent safety tip.
Hi Nancy! Sorry I have not been visiting you lately due to my work :( Oh, I have heard about green potatoes being poisonous. And since then I have been careful to cut off the green parts. But I guess if we accidentally ate only a small portion it wouldn’t be harmful but it’s best to check. Love the gift ideas and my ideal one is the Kitchen Aid Mixer :)
This is good information Nancy. I had heard that years and years ago, but never knew how reliable the source was. I have been known to peel around that green to only save the white part of the potato. I should probably throw them out every time. I also appreciate Suzanne’s comment about organic vs. non. I’ll think twice about buying non-organic.
I never heard about green potatoes and how they are poisonous. Unbelievable-(( Thank you for information, Nancy. I got The Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller recently and I am very happy with a book, highly recommend it! Nancy, I like to thank you from my heart for supporting me on my interview, and for your kind words. If you ever need help, please, I am here for you!
I have known about the danger of green potatoes since childhood and have actually known someone die from the poisoning. Am very careful on the rare occasion I buy potatoes even now, as I have certainly found green ones amongst our supermarket piles! I fully agree with Suzanne about the pesticide problem making potatoes a bad carb in my view! High glycaemic index AND high glycaemic load to boot [and the latter is especailly important!]! Personally have eaten them only on rare occasions over the last three decades: with so many alternatives beginning with kumara, brown rice and wholemeal pasta, why bother? :) !
Thank you so much for shedding light on this matter! I always wondered why such large sacks of them were on the clearance rack for pennies!
I actually did k ow about potatoes, green and poison. My neighbor grows them and I’ve helped her mound the dirt around them to make sure no light hit the spud, which is what turns it green. Definitely important information to know.
Great list of gift ideas!
A very informative post, Nancy.
Congratulations to Laura!
I think I heard about the green potatoes long time ago in school, and the potato’s sprout area (how do you call it) has to be removed completely because it’s toxic. I remember home and economic teacher’s word was quite frightening as I felt like I’d die if I don’t carefully remove them… Great tip Nancy!
I knew they were no good for you. More green ones seem to appear at certain times of the year. Its very annoying when you dont have any spare and have to run to the shops
I got caught up in your gift guide looking on amazon….and I dont really need to buy anything
Nancy, that’s such a good post! I do throw away the sprouted ones. Before sprouting they tend to turn greenish. Sometimes, throwing out seemed so frivolous, but now i’m glad!
Thanks for sharing -I had no idea.
Well thank you for digging up info and sharing this research. I have seen green potatoes on a few occasions but had no idea they were bad to eat. Great to know!
i didn’t know! i’m pretty sure i ate a batch of green potatoes last week! whuh oh…
I did not know all this about potatoes…I will be more careful when selecting and peeling potatoes!! Thank you (PS a wonderful shopping window…)
Those greenish potatoes just don’t look good and now we know there is a reason we shouldn’t eat them! Now, I’m getting excited for the holidays…Faith’s book is full of healthy recipes, I will be getting into those recipes come January 1 ;-)
I did not know this about potatoes, very informative :)
Well I’m glad I wasn’t the only one, lol ;)
I always knew from my folks that green potatoes are bad, but I didn’t know why. Thanks for the info.
No problem:)
I don’t like the idea of all the pesticides being used. I’m going organic, thank you for the info.
thanks
I’m with you Diane! Thank you