How to Store potatoes: Cellar, refrigerator or pantry?

 To prevent potatoes from sprouting prematurely and becoming wrinkly, they must be stored properly. 

We give tips so that the vegetables keep as long as possible.

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Instead of plastic bags, potatoes are better stored in jute or linen bags

Not too hot and not too cold: It is not so easy to find the optimal storage place for potatoes. 

If you grow the nightshade plants in your garden yourself, you can harvest the plants' tubers by autumn. 

A suitable cellar is available for long-term storage of the potatoes. 

But what about small quantities of potatoes that you want to cook and eat soon? 

Where is the best place to store them - especially if you do not have a cellar? 

Whether you harvest them yourself or buy them: 

With the following tips, the vegetables will stay fresh for a long time.

Store potatoes: This is the right way to do it

Potatoes require low temperatures and darkness to prevent them from sprouting prematurely, 

becoming wrinkled and green. The optimal storage temperature is between four and ten degrees Celsius. 

If you don't have an appropriate cellar available, a cool pantry is a good option. 

They are well kept in covered boxes, jute bags or special potato pots. 

Potatoes can also be stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for a short time.

Where is the best place to store potatoes?

If a dark, cool and frost-free cellar is available, the healthy, undamaged potatoes are best stored there. 

Because not only for long-term storage, but also for short-term storage, 

the following applies: the warmer and brighter the place, the sooner the tubers start to germinate. 

Darkness is also important so that they do not store toxic solanine and get green spots. 

The temperature is best at four to five, ten degrees Celsius maximum. 

The place must also be dry and well ventilated, as potato tubers breathe. 

If it is too humid, they will mold quickly. 

Well suited for storage are special potato racks, 

which allow good ventilation due to their special battens.

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Potatoes last longest when kept cool, dry and dark. So you can cook and eat them even weeks later

If you have a garage, balcony or terrace at your disposal, you can store potatoes there as well. 

To do this, place the tubers in a wooden box, which is additionally insulated with dry straw. 

This way the potatoes are not exposed to large temperature fluctuations and are protected from frost.

Where can you store potatoes without a cellar?

Also in the home, a place must be found where potatoes are protected from heat and light. 

For a few weeks, the tubers can be stored in a dining room or storage room that is as unheated as possible. 

Place the potatoes in a basket or wooden box and cover the tubers with paper or jute. 

They can also be stored in open paper bags or linen bags. 

Plastic bags or closed plastic containers are not suitable: 

Condensation water quickly forms in them, which can lead to rotting. 

It is also possible to store them in a special potato pot: the potatoes are dark, 

while slits or holes allow air to circulate in the clay or terracotta containers. 

Also make sure that potatoes are always kept separately from apples: 

The fruit emits the ripening gas ethylene, which stimulates the potato to germinate.

Can potatoes be kept in the refrigerator?

Potatoes can also be stored in the refrigerator for a short time. 

However, the right temperature is important. 

In some zones of the refrigerator it is too cold for the potato: 

at temperatures below four degrees Celsius the tubers convert 

some of the starch into sugar, which has a negative effect on the taste. 

Some modern refrigerators have a separate "cellar compartment", 

which is especially suitable for storing potatoes. 

The problem with storing potatoes in the refrigerator is that the air cannot circulate. 

Moisture can quickly collect in the compartments, which leads to the tubers rotting. 

Potatoes should therefore be stored in the vegetable compartment 

of the refrigerator for a few days only and checked regularly for possible mold growth. 

Boiled potatoes stay fresh for about three to four days in the refrigerator.