Store bought potatoes going bad in 7-10 days, why?

[UserNameTaken]

Has anybody else noticed when you buy the bulk potatoes in bags at the market they are going bad within a week or two. We've had this happen the last 4 times. And the potatoes are tiny, like the undersize "cartel avacados" we get out west now. I wonder if it's regional (norwest AZ) or a new thing.

We are trying to grow some winter potatoes here in AZ. Last year we started too late and they got cooked in the dirt by late May. It's just too hot and dry, I guess.

 

[Amish Heart]

They're either old, stored too warm, maybe not sprayed with that retardant as much as normal.
Anyway, home grown taste better. I love new potatoes.

 

[Tootsie]

I’ve gotten potatoes that were cold, way too cold as though they were stored in a refrigerated truck, and when they warmed up in those plastic bags they started to get funky. I know I need to lose the plastic asap, but it doesn’t always happen.

 

[Pearl]

Yes I have noticed that too! They are sprayed with retardant pre election to get people to vote demcrap!

 

[Mountain trapper]

Not here. We usually buy 10 - 20 pound bags of russet potatoes. Many are large enough for baked potatoes or french fries.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Yes I have noticed that too! They are sprayed with retardant pre election to get people to vote demcrap!

Well that's certainly a possibility, but I'm thinking we are getting old potatoes out here. When I had a cruising sailboat we'd go to the islands for 3 months and potatoes would last pretty well. Samevwith eggs, even in 80 deg temps.

 

[Amish Heart]

The amish grocery was clean out of potatoes, they usually have 5 and 10 lb bags. Someone came in and bought them out. Actually, I saw 6 people in the store that I've not seen before. Don't know where they came from. But they did have Wrights Bacon. I got three pkgs for the freezer.

 

[Pearl]

The amish grocery was clean out of potatoes, they usually have 5 and 10 lb bags. Someone came in and bought them out. Actually, I saw 6 people in the store that I've not seen before. Don't know where they came from. But they did have Wrights Bacon. I got three pkgs for the freezer.

I bet people are coming in from other places buying everything up before the election results!!

 

[Weedygarden]

I bet people are coming in from other places buying everything up before the election results!!

Do you think that that many people are as concerned about the election results as we are?

My grandparents had crappy land, and couldn't really garden in the thick clay. They would buy many burlap bags of potatoes from someone who came around selling them in the fall. I always wondered how those potatoes lasted over the winter. Beans, wheat, and potatoes were probably the main foods in their diets.

 

[Binky]

Has anybody else noticed when you buy the bulk potatoes in bags at the market they are going bad within a week or two. We've had this happen the last 4 times. And the potatoes are tiny, like the undersize "cartel avacados" we get out west now. I wonder if it's regional (norwest AZ) or a new thing.

We are trying to grow some winter potatoes here in AZ. Last year we started too late and they got cooked in the dirt by late May. It's just too hot and dry, I guess.

My guess would be they're older potatoes that may have gone through too many temperature changes since they were first harvested.

What temperature have you been storing the potatoes at when you get them home?

 

[teeceetx]

I've noticed it too.

They do not last very long at all. About half the time I would expect!.

I wonder how old they are and how they were stored previously.

 

[Pearl]

Do you think that that many people are as concerned about the election results as we are?

My grandparents had crappy land, and couldn't really garden in the thick clay. They would buy many burlap bags of potatoes from someone who came around selling them in the fall. I always wondered how those potatoes lasted over the winter. Beans, wheat, and potatoes were probably the main foods in their diets.

I knew a lady down here who had a root cellar. She had shelves of potatoes down there that seemed to last forever!! She was an old farm lady, I cleaned her old farm house! She would send me down there for potatoes once in a while. They always looked and felt great!!

 

[Weedygarden]

I knew a lady down here who had a root cellar. She had shelves of potatoes down there that seemed to last forever!! She was an old farm lady, I cleaned her old farm house! She would send me down there for potatoes once in a while. They always looked and felt great!!

Grandparents had a cellar dug in the dirt under their tar paper shack. I know that they kept food underneath, probably including their potatoes.

 

[forcast]

Yes. Cant keep then even small the bags go bad . i just gave up ordered some cans of potatoes just so i can say i have some on hand.

 

[Mountain trapper]

The wife canned a lot of potatoes from our garden 2 years ago. Potatoes grow good here. Plus every fall a friend of a neighbor brings up a truck load of potatoes and gives them away. He works for a potato farmer.
A few months ago we went shopping down south and saw an onion truck turn over. People were stopping and picking up bags of onions. Too bad they weren't potatoes.

 

[Duncan]

I don't buy potatoes. I have pontiac reds and yukon golds in our garden at home, and I glean russets in any of the local fields. The farmers are more than glad to let us get whatever the machines miss, and there's enough taters lying around that you can pick six months' supply in a half-hour.

We are able to keep them all in the basement, which is about 60 deg F but WE DON'T WASH THEM. Potatoes dug out of the dirt look pretty nasty, but the dirt leaves enough of a barrier against bacteria and other critters to last as long as they do. Plus, who knows the treatment these store-bought taters go through before you buy them? And sometimes that same problem is found even at your local farmers' markets.

This talk of potatoes has helped me plan dinner this evening. I know that many people couldn't even find my home on the map, but they know about our potatoes!

 

[UserNameTaken]

My guess would be they're older potatoes that may have gone through too many temperature changes since they were first harvested.

What temperature have you been storing the potatoes at when you get them home?

I didn't think about temps. They are in a bin in the pantry, so stored about 76 in summer and 60-70ish in winter. That may be why, in the summer anyway. In the desert we can't really cool any more than house temps.

Maybe I'll try refrigerating them?

 

[elkhound]

I didn't think about temps. They are in a bin in the pantry, so stored about 76 in summer and 60-70ish in winter. That may be why, in the summer anyway. In the desert we can't really cool any more than house temps.

Maybe I'll try refrigerating them?

plus moisture content/humidity plays a huge role too.

 

[Bacpacker]

As does light. Darkness is much better

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Potatoes = paper bag in fridge. Dont let them get frozen if you have one of those fridges.

Wrap romaine lettuce in paper towel and place in a zip lock with the air squeezed mostly out. It will keep up to 40 days in the fridge.

 

[joel]

Bruised, not enough air flow, past their cure & keep date/old.

 

[Amish Heart]

And wet! I see lots of potatoes in the plastic bags that are wet.

 

[Haertig]

I don't find good shelf life on much of anything coming from a grocery store produce section. So my meal planning (a loosely applied term in my case!) comes down to: Buy meats in advance and vacuum seal and freeze them. For a dinner's vege choice, I go to the store (luckily only a three minute drive for me) and peruse the produce section to see what's on sale. The sale item's become the dinner's side dishes, unless they're on sale because they're past their prime. I'll buy produce to use within the next two or three days.

I keep a few staples that last forever to use if I can't find anything good at the store. Rice. Frozen corn. Those dried mashed potato flakes. Japanese or purple sweet potatoes (those seem to last forever and a day for me, unlike white potatoes). I tend to stay away from canned stuff, except for my preps. I just don't care for it much. Canned beans are one thing that I can tolerate however, so those occasionally are used for side dishes if the grocery store produce was not to my liking.

I do wish potatoes would last longer. Every time I yield to temptation to buy a larger bag of them because they are cheap, half of them end up getting thrown out. It's false economy to buy things like that.

One thing I have been surprised with in the produce section is the lettuce. The leafy green and red varieties do not last long. Romaine lasts slightly longer, but not by much. The winner for me - in both taste and longevity - is Butter lettuce (a.k.a. Boston lettuce). That stuff is a lot more expensive, but it lasts a long time and I think it tastes vetter than all the others and has a nicer texture. I would bet that iceberg lettuce might last a long time too, but I don't buy that because it tastes like absolutely nothing to me. It's crunchy water basically. Maybe homegrown iceberg is better, but store-bought is tasteless around here.

 

[UserNameTaken]

I'm in AZ, it's definately not humidity.

Had the same thing with eggplant yesterday. Wife was all set to make eggplant parmasean. Cut into the freshly bought, firm, nice looking plant and it was all browning and unsafe to eat. I was pissed. I've thrown out $2 eggplant and $4 in potatoes just this week. The stuff looks good, but it's rotten.

 

[Binky]

I didn't think about temps. They are in a bin in the pantry, so stored about 76 in summer and 60-70ish in winter. That may be why, in the summer anyway. In the desert we can't really cool any more than house temps.

Maybe I'll try refrigerating them?

Yes, I don't think that will hurt them if you have the space in the fridge, and it will help to slow down the aging process. I don't go through a lot of root veggies to start with so I've been keeping all of my potatoes and other root veggies in the bottom crisper of my fridge, including whole garlic heads. It's dark in there and set at 40 - 45 degrees F and has just the right amount of required low humidity. I've had root veggies stay good in there for 4 or 5 months, and leafy greens, broccoli, celery, etc. stay fresh for several weeks. Good luck, I hope that works for you.

 

[kd4ulw]

Actually if you do a search the experts say not to put potatoes in the fridge or the starch turns to sugar and the texture gets gritty, But, my store bought doesn’t last too long, either.