Best Way to Store Potatoes
Keep potatoes firm and sprout-free for weeks by storing them cool, dark, and dry — and knowing what the fridge really does to them.
Cool and Dark Beats Cold Every Time
Most potatoes go bad in the same two spots: the fridge, where cold turns their starch to sugar, or a bright counter next to a bowl of onions. Both give you sprouts, green skin, or a strange sweetness that scorches in the pan.
Potatoes want to be cool, dark, dry, and breathing — around 45F to 55F in a paper bag or basket, never sealed in plastic and never next to onions.
Skip The Fridge
Below 40F potato starch converts to sugar, which makes them taste sweet and turn dark brown or bitter when you fry or roast them.
Dark Or They Green
Light makes potatoes produce chlorophyll and solanine, so any green skin should be cut away deep before cooking, or toss the potato if it's green all over.
Keep Onions Away
Onions give off gases and moisture that push potatoes to sprout, so store them in separate spots at least a few feet apart.
Wash Right Before Cooking
Moisture on the skin invites rot, so leave the dirt on and wash only when you're ready to cook — a stored potato should be bone dry.
The method
- 1
Sort the bag first
Pull out any potato that's soft, cut, or already sprouting. One rotting potato speeds up the whole bag.
- 2
Leave them unwashed
Brush off loose dirt with your hand or a dry towel. Water on the skin during storage leads to mold and soft spots.
- 3
Give them air
Move them to a paper bag, cardboard box, mesh sack, or open basket. Plastic bags trap moisture and rot them fast.
- 4
Find the right spot
A pantry, cabinet, basement shelf, or unheated closet works if it stays around 45F to 55F and stays dark. Keep them off the counter and away from the stove.
- 5
Separate from onions and fruit
Store onions somewhere else entirely, and keep apples and bananas off the same shelf. Their gases wake potatoes up.
- 6
Check every week or two
Rub off small sprouts and pull anything soft. Stored right, most potatoes hold two to three months; sweet potatoes and new potatoes go faster.
Show what you know
Three quick questions — see if your potato spot is doing them any favors.
Question 1 of 3
You roasted refrigerated potatoes and they came out dark and oddly sweet. Why?
Put it to work
Grab four russets from that cool, dark spot in the pantry — firm, unsprouted potatoes bake up fluffy inside and crisp in the skin, exactly what this dish needs.
★ lunch
lunchTwice Baked Potatoes
These crispy, salty, potato skins are stuffed with creamy cheesy potatoes and your favorite additions. I could eat these for every meal - and I have. Enjoy!
Gluten Free, But GoodIngredients
- 4 Russet Potatoes (medium size scrubbed dried
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 6 tbsp Melted butter
- 1/3 cup Warm milk
- 1/2 cup Sour cream
- 1/3 cup Fresh chives
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- pinch Cayenne Pepper
- 1 cup Fresh grated cheese
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese
- 8 strips Cooked bacon - chopped
- 1/4 cup Pickled jalapeños - minced
Instructions
- 1Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
- 2Add potatoes to baking sheet and using a fork, make holes all over potato. Run potatoes in oil, salt and pepper and rub into potatoes to coat on all sides. Bake potatoes for 45-60 minutes or even longer for larger potatoes. Making sure to flip them once while baking. After cooked, let cool 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle and cut in half length wise. Scoop out inside while leaving 1/4” around walls and place skins back in oven for 10 minutes to crisp up.
- 3Meanwhile, add scooped out potato to a large mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, add butter, milk, sour cream and seasonings and milk until creamy. Then, stir in bacon, green onions, jalapeño and cheeses. Save some remaining cheese for the top of potato. Add additional milk if needing them thinner in consistency. Add extra seasoning if desired.
- 4Remove skins from oven and spoon filling into each potato half. Top with remaining cheese and bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- 5If you like it can top each potato with additional bacon and green onions. Enjoy!
P.S. Pepper keeps the recipe, the timings and your own notes in one place — so the next time you cook it, you're not starting from a search box.
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