Hi Keith,



Don't be worried but take care! I started this thread because several of my
main crop potatoes had been exposed to sunlight and showed large areas of
green but I didn't want to throw them away. I have since become both
confused and, at the same time, blasé about the topic because I've read (not
really meaning to!) many articles on potatoes both before and since my
original question to the group and the answers seem to depend on where you
look and what you read.



According to this group, cutting away the green part and eating the rest,
cooked, is okay - and that's what I think, agree with, and intend to do. I
believe they to be right.



However, I would like to add some statements that I have since found and
read on various websites on the Internet. I know you really can't trust all
you read on the Internet but the following points sound reasonable to me and
do come from sources that have a certain amount of authority.



Firstly, the on-line New York Times says that potatoes (a relative of deadly
nightshade) naturally produce small amounts of solanine as a defence against
insects, but the levels increase with prolonged exposure to light and warm
temperatures. The green, caused by chlorophyll in the potato, therefore, is
an indication that the level of solanine has also increased above the normal
amount. This "greening" can occur both when the spuds are growing and lie,
uncovered, above the ground and when they are stored - so make sure you keep
them in the dark. I use the strong, lined paper sacks in which greengrocers
get their potatoes delivered and then put the bags in the garage.



The above article also goes on to say that, according to a report by a
gentleman by the name of Alexander Pavlista, apparently a professor of
agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, a 100 lb
(just over 7 st.) person would have to eat a full 1 lb of fully green potato
to get sick.



Yet another article (from Wikipedia) says that solanine can be partly
destroyed by cooking at temperatures over 170 °C (or 340 °F), which is way
above boiling temperature.



What I didn't know before was that all potatoes contain a small amount of
solanine, anyway, so the best thing to do, it seems, is to cut away the
green parts and fry the rest as chips!



I must admit, the older I get the more I realise how dangerous this eating
and drinking business is! I'd give it up but it's become a habit, now!



Regards,



John

"keith" wrote in message
...
Maybe not a proper gardening question but a lot of the potatoes we buy in
the supermarkets just now ,turn green.The green appears to be only on the
peel but I have read somewhere that green potatoes can be poisonous.Has
anyone in the group noticed this and also should we be worried ??