Potatoes may turn black when cooked due to the fact that during growth the root crops experienced a lack of potassium, or, conversely, the potatoes experienced an excess of fertilizer and accumulated them in themselves. Or due to improper storage, for example, potatoes are stored in a place that is poorly ventilated. The reasons for the darkening of potatoes can also be attributed to its variety, soil. on which it grows, as well as weather conditions - all these factors affect the ability to blacken when boiled.

    If it is known that the potato darkens when cooked, then it can be soaked in water for an hour, and when cooking, add a bay leaf or a tablespoon of vinegar to 1 liter of water.

    I think it's all about potatoes. I had it. Planted in the country last year an unsuccessful variety. And they didn’t freeze it, they kept it normally. And she blushed just the same. I threw it out in the end. For myself - okay, I tried a couple of times, like no consequences, but I'm afraid to give this to a child. And yes, it's not pretty at all.

    In our market, you don’t take it from anyone and it turns black from everyone, and only from Tti Zoe it doesn’t turn black! She advertises like that - I guarantee that my potatoes will not turn black! I don’t know what’s the matter, I stupidly buy from no! They say that there is a lot of manure on the site, it happens from this, they grow and fertilize for sale!

    And for some reason it seems to me that all this is the use of harmful, nitrate fertilizers during the cultivation of potatoes. Now, with grief in half, I found a shop where they bring normal potatoes that do not turn black, only I buy there. Blackened potatoes are scary to eat, especially to feed a child.

    Potato when cooking turns black due to the variety, as well as improper storage conditions. When buying, it is better to choose potatoes with yellow flesh, it blackens less than white ones. Its color practically does not affect the taste of potatoes.

    This can happen for various reasons: due to the fact that the potatoes were stored incorrectly, due to a lack of potassium during growth, due to varietal features. Weather conditions, the composition and density of the soil on which it grew could affect. In any case, the browning of potatoes does not pose any harm to human health. To prevent browning, potatoes must be soaked in water for an hour before cooking.

    According to experts, such potatoes can be eaten, it will not harm health. Although the view, of course, is not very appetizing after cooking, so I want to change something.

    It is believed that this is due to an overabundance of mineral fertilizers and nitrates. Maybe, in fact, there are several reasons, this is the unusual composition of the soil, the variety of potatoes, they are different, there are a lot of them now, weather conditions, an excess of nitrogen against the background of a lack of potassium.

    To avoid such a browning of potatoes, after cleaning, you need to hold it in cold water for a couple of hours and the boiled potatoes will be light, beautiful and tasty.

    I think that the reason is either in the variety of potatoes, or in the incorrect storage. She herself bought potatoes several times, which became dark after the arch.

    My potatoes never turned dark when boiled.

    The color of potatoes after cooking can vary from the litter of the potato itself, from what it was stuffed with during cultivation, from what land it was grown on. Regarding storage conditions, I would not say that it depends. If we have our own potatoes never turned black, then after digging they did not turn black and after long storage in the kitchen in the vegetable drawer.

    The reason for the browning of potatoes after cooking is an excess of nitrates and mineral fertilizers. The reason may also be the soil, in which there is a lack of potassium and an excess of nitrogen. Different varieties of potatoes behave differently when cooked. Once they themselves tried to plant a slightly different variety of potatoes, they refused to plant it next year just because they didn’t like how it behaves when cooked, not to say that it turned black, but the color changed to some unappetizing gray.

Most people have encountered such a problem: potatoes turned black when boiled. The circumstance is rather unpleasant, especially if you do not know anything about the causes of browning and whether such potatoes pose a health hazard. Consider why this happens and how to avoid blackening.

Important! Whole tubers should be kept in water, and cut immediately before heat treatment, otherwise the potatoes will quickly lose all water-soluble and useful substances.

Why do potatoes turn black after cooking

There are several possible causes, according to which boiled potatoes turns black or turns blue, the most common among them are the following:

  1. Modern agricultural practices in the industrial cultivation (for sale) of this crop may include the use of large amounts of chlorine. This element contributes to an increase in the weight of the tuber, although it negatively affects its structure: the pulp becomes watery, which can darken during heat treatment.
  2. Use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers provokes the formation and accumulation of amino acids in the tuber, which can cause spots that are invisible in raw potatoes, but manifested in boiled.
  3. Frozen tubers can change color. Under the influence of negative temperature, starch decomposes, a monosaccharide is formed - glucose, which gives sweetness and is the cause of color change during heat treatment.
  4. A possible cause may be injuries received during transportation. When the tubers hit a hard surface, dents form at the points of contact, from which potato juice, rich in starch, is released. And this polysaccharide, in turn, forms dark spots when oxidized.
  5. Another factor that can cause blackening can be improper storage preparation. After the crop is harvested (this should be done in dry weather), it must be well dried in the air, remove the remnants of the soil, sort out, and discard spoiled and rotten tubers.
  6. Storage Mismatch(relative humidity and low oxygen concentration in the air are exceeded).
  7. Varieties rich in starch are more prone to blackening during heat treatment.

How to avoid blackening

In order for the potatoes not to darken after frying or boiling, you need to follow some simple recommendations:

  1. Buy as dense and undamaged potatoes as possible. In the event that you plan to purchase a bag, examine it for moisture and odor (there should not be the slightest sign of dampness and rot).
  2. If you are a gardener, when growing, try to minimize the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers, preferring potash supplements. Thoroughly dry and sort the harvested crop, remove excess soil, discard substandard. Observe the storage conditions: the place must be dry, with sufficient ventilation, but without the threat of frost.
  3. Wash the potatoes before peeling, as the soil may contain fertilizer residue, which, if it gets on the peeled potatoes, will cause discoloration. After cleaning, rinse the tubers thoroughly in cold running water and place in the same water (you can add a little vinegar or citric acid). Water will remove excess starch, and acid is a preservative that prevents rapid oxidation.
  4. In the event that the potatoes are stored in water for some time, immediately before cooking, the water must be changed to fresh. With more or less prolonged storage (in the refrigerator), the water must be changed every 2-3 hours. During cooking, add a few bay leaves (contained in them essential oil prevents darkening).

Important! If you have boiled potatoes (for example, for a salad with mayonnaise) and are waiting for them to cool, treat them with a little vinegar or citric acid.An acidic environment prevents the formation of dark spots, but the taste of the salad will not be adversely affected. Do not overdo it with the amount: it will be enough to sprinkle with a few drops of 3% vinegar or a weak solution of citric acid.

Ways to store peeled potatoes

To avoid darkening, loss of quality and presentation, peeled potatoes should be stored in a special way.

Basic storage methods:

  • keep in cold water;
  • scald with boiling water;
  • freeze or refrigerate.
  1. The most popular way to preserve peeled potatoes is to soak them in cold water. You need to use such a potato within four hours. Otherwise, no nutrients will remain in such a product.
  2. Potatoes placed in water can be stored in the refrigerator for a day, while remaining completely edible and useful product. Only it is better to change the water periodically, and before cooking (if you will cook), fill it with fresh water.
  3. You can store peeled potatoes in the freezer as a whole or in cut form. However, remember that frozen potatoes cannot be thawed. After it is taken out of freezer, it must be immediately placed in boiling water and add salt.
  4. When using a freezer with a temperature of -30 ° C, the shelf life of potatoes is practically unlimited.

Did you know?If you drop iodine on a cut potato, its flesh will turn blue. The fact is that iodine reacts with the starch contained in the potato, which causes a color change to blue. But this property applies only to raw vegetables.

Is it possible to eat darkened potatoes

Darkened potatoes can be used as food, although, of course, there is less benefit in such a product. If you still have to use such potatoes for cooking, just cut off the blackened places, and then everything is as usual: fry, boil or bake. If for any reason after cooking your potatoes have darkened - this is just a minor nuisance that does not entail absolutely any negative consequences for Your health. And how to prevent such an unpleasant circumstance, you already know.

The pulp of potato tubers during cooking can turn gray, black or bluish. Why does this happen and how to avoid it?

Chlorogenic acid accumulates in such tubers, which forms a strong complex with iron ions during cooking. As a result, the taste and culinary qualities of tubers are reduced and they change color.

There are several reasons for the darkening of potato tubers.

1. First of all - inadequate 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 turn brown, the tissue along the edges of the leaves dies off. The internodes are shortened, the leaf lobes 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 at least 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, somewhat less nitrogen and even less phosphorus. Depending on the soil-climatic zone, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium when applying mineral fertilizers should be 1:1.5-2:1.5-2.2. Only in peatlands the dose of nitrogen is increased. It is not recommended to use potash fertilizers with impurities of sodium and chlorine.

The introduction of chlorine-free potassium fertilizers under potatoes contributes to 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 intensify, in particular, irreversible oxidative transformations of phenolic compounds occur.

4. Insufficient supply of oxygen to the soil during the growing season, and especially during the formation of tubers, can also lead to their darkening. Violation of the regime of temperature and air humidity during the storage of tubers, lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide also affect the quality of products.

Varieties are of great importance. In some early-ripening varieties, tubers begin to darken during cooking already in April, especially at elevated storage temperatures.

So, in order to prevent darkening of tubers when cooking potatoes, it is necessary to provide plants with potassium, provide for good aeration of the soil, and avoid injury to tubers during harvesting and transportation of crops. It is also necessary to observe the optimal mode of storage of potatoes (temperature not more than 7-7.5 ° C). Reduces the darkening of tubers during cooking by adding 1-2 leaves of bay leaf to the water, while the taste of potatoes does not deteriorate.

Potatoes that have darkened after cooking cause danger to housewives and many questions about the reasons for this phenomenon. The article discusses the provoking factors why potatoes turn black when cooked, and also gives recommendations regarding the storage and preparation of vegetables.

Factors that cause darkening of color after heat treatment root crop, there are several. In addition, the reasons are not always associated with cooking technology errors. Most of them are allowed in the process of growing and storing potatoes.

  • Potassium deficiency in the soil where the tubers grow. It is recommended to use high-quality fertilizers produced by a trusted manufacturer.
  • High content of chlorine in the soil. The chemical penetrates into the pulp, changing the structure of the vegetable. As a result, the root crop is large in volume, but watery and soft.
  • Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers. The active substance contributes to the accumulation of amino acids (including tyrosine) inside the pulp, which provokes the formation of spots.
  • Inaccurate harvesting. When a vegetable is struck or transported hard, its structure is disturbed. As a result - blackening of the deformed areas after cleaning or cooking.
  • Violation of the temperature regime in. Indicators below +1 ° are considered dangerous for the root crop. A frozen vegetable loses its color even after cleaning.
  • Loading potatoes immediately after digging into storage. The harvested crop must first dry well, after which it is sent to a cool place for gradual cooling. Only when frost sets in, the workpiece is transferred for wintering to cellars or other specially equipped rooms.
  • Lack of oxygen in winter storage. The problem is solved by arranging the ventilation system.
  • High humidity in the cellar or other. In a humid environment, mold actively develops, which destroys oxygen. Periodically, it is required to conduct an audit in the cellar in order to eliminate the problems that have arisen. Wet tubers need to be dried well, separating them from the common workpiece.

What to do so that the potatoes do not darken

Experts and experienced gardeners advise adhering to the following rules, which will eliminate the change in color of the root crop during the cooking process.

The right choice of potatoes

When buying, it is important to carefully examine and feel the tubers. They should be firm with no signs of damage. Potatoes should be discarded if they have dents, cuts, putrefactive formations. The low quality is also evidenced by the compression of the peel and sprouted eyes. If for homemade a vegetable is purchased in bags, then it is worth looking inside it to check the dryness of the potatoes.

The high starch content in the pulp can provoke the appearance of dark spots after heat treatment of the vegetable. When making a purchase, you should be interested in the name of the variety. Varieties of potatoes that differ in their starchy structure should be discarded.

Reference! Root crops with a high starch content are forage crops. Among them: Minerva, Lorch, Voltman, Korenevsky, etc. You should not buy such vegetables for cooking.

Fertilizer

When growing root crops on your own, it is important to monitor the composition of the fertilizers used. The advantage is given to potassium-containing dressings. Do not overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers and chloride nutrition for the soil.

Feeding the soil with organic matter, you need to take into account that it also contains nitrogen and chlorine. Therefore, you should not violate the recommended consumption rates per 1 m2. All top dressings are made according to the schedule developed by agronomists for certain crops.

Storage

The harvested crop is lined in the fresh air or under a canopy to dry. It is important that the sun's rays do not fall on the potatoes, otherwise it will quickly turn green.

Dried tubers are stored in a cool place before the onset of cold weather. Further storage is carried out in a prepared winter hut (cellar, basement and other specially equipped rooms). It is systematically required to control the following indicators of the microclimate: humidity (moderate), temperature (within 1-8 °), oxygen supply (natural or forced ventilation).

How to boil potatoes so that they do not darken

So that the potatoes do not change color during the cooking process, the vegetable should be peeled with high quality. To begin with, it is worth washing the tubers thoroughly, so dirt and residues of chemical fertilizers will not get on the pulp. You need to peel off to a light pulp, leaving no greens or traces of the peel.

Immediately after peeling, the potatoes are stored in a container with cool water. Lack of contact with oxygen inhibits physical and chemical processes. Before cooking, the workpiece is again well washed under running water.

Reference! Ignoring sanitation standards when preparing potatoes for cooking provokes not only a decrease in the aesthetic and taste qualities of the vegetable. Remaining chemical particles are a health hazard.

In the process of preparing root crops for cooking and directly during heat treatment, it is important to ensure that the potatoes are completely immersed in water. If the workpiece is not immediately put on fire, then the water in which the potatoes settled must be replaced.

Experienced cooks add bay leaves to the pan when cooking. This trick helps prevent black spots on the flesh.

Processing after cooking

After the root crop has been boiled, it is placed in warm water, to which several granules of citric acid were previously added. Beautiful light flesh retains color in a salad or other dish where several ingredients are combined.

Reference! Instead of citric acid, you can use 2-3 drops of vinegar.

Is it possible to eat darkened potatoes

Potatoes that have changed color during heat treatment are considered quite suitable for consumption, since blackness is not a sign of a high concentration of nitrates or other dangerous substances in the vegetable pulp. The product loses only aesthetic and taste qualities, and these factors cannot harm health.

Before deciding to eat blackened potatoes, you should understand the reasons. If we are talking about cooking green tubers, then it is better to refuse such a dish. The peeled peel does not relieve the vegetable of the solanine accumulated in it. The highest concentration of the toxic substance is located around the circumference of the potato in a centimeter layer.

An experienced housewife will not lose a single product. Potatoes with a high starch content can be ideally deep-fried, fried or baked. You should not stew, boil or use a vegetable for first courses, as well as salads.

If the cooked root crop has darkened, it can be used for dishes that include mushrooms. This combination skillfully masks unsightly spots on the potato pulp. In addition, the mushroom aroma compensates for the lost taste of potatoes.

Another secret about cooking potatoes is the correct laying of peeled tubers. They are placed in boiling or boiling water, previously salted. When preparing a vegetable for salads, you need to cook it in a peel. To avoid blackening of the pulp, cucumber or cabbage pickle is added to the water. The acid provides a whitening effect.