Like all root vegetables, sweet potatoes will spoil after a period of time. I collected these specimens anyway, and washed, peeled, cut off all damaged parts, and rewashed them, then used them to make sweet potato soup. Growths from the “eyes” of the sweet potato are the first sign that the quality is beginning to deteriorate. A 350° oven for about an hour, a drizzle of coconut oil, and a dash of cinnamon are all you need for a silky and sweet vegetable side dish that could rival your favorite dessert. According to McGreger, if the spots of decay are purely superficial, they can be cut away. Chicago Family, Winnetka Living, and Daily Dose of Knowledge: America. Though their name may imply "sugar-laden starch bomb,” these orange-fleshed members of the morning glory family are actually loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that fight inflammation, boost metabolism, manage blood sugar, and regulate blood pressure. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The exterior of the sweet potato probably looks normal. In fact, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has gone so far as to name sweet potatoes the most nutritious of all vegetables, scoring them higher than spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and even kale. If you notice sprouts on your sweet potato, just cut off the growths and cook as soon as possible. My husband (generally healthy) ate 2 bowls and almost immediately complained of strong nausea, and went to bed. Twenty selected diseases and defects that affect potato tubers and are most important to potato production in the northeastern United States are discussed. Last but not least, cooked sweet potatoes. (Boo.). Sweet potatoes are spoiled and past the point of no return when they appear shriveled on the outside; are soft, spongy, or discolored on the inside; or when they develop an off smell. Browse recipes, watch a video or join in a discussion. Similarly, small brown or black spots on your sweet potato do not necessarily indicate that it has spoiled. The veggie will then become mushy and turn brown or black. Do not eat sweet potatoes once they have begun to shrivel, and certainly not past this point. Better safe than sorry. After cutting the potatoes transfer them into an airtight container filled with water and put into the veggie drawer in your fridge. If the holes are all over the place, throw it away to be safe. That’s a nutrient-packed superfood flavor bomb. Since graduating from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, she has covered food, fashion, health, wellness, and beauty for dozens of outlets, including Womensforum.com, HowStuffWorks.com, BigOven.com, Hungry? Diane Bobis is a Chicago-based lifestyle writer and mom. If you want to cut your sweet potatoes beforehand so they are ready to be cooked once you’re back from work, you can do that. After you have cooked the sweet potatoes, you should store them in the refrigerator. Fortunately enough, we got you covered. I cut another wedge off and the same thing happened. ... Poke approximately 2 lbs sweet potatoes with a fork in multiple spots and microwave on high for 5 minutes. The flesh also ranges in color from white to yellow, orange or orange-red. Cotton Root Rot – See Page on Cotton Root Rot. Worms That Eat Sweet Potato Plants. A cooked white sweet potato is drier than an orange one but still creamy with a little butter mixed in. What you see: Discolored, dry-looking patches in sweet potato flesh, more toward the outside than the inside. Some people call such potatoes spongy, but the proper term to use is pithy. That sweet potato probably isn’t spoiled, but it will taste bad, so there’s no point in cooking it. You should store fresh raw sweet potatoes in a cool and dark place, preferably in the pantry. Cold Damage (physiological): Pithy, dark discolorations will appear internally on sweet potatoes subjected to low temperatures. While you can freeze raw sweet potatoes, you get better results by freezing cooked ones. Sweet potatoes with thin skins you can easily rub off will be lacking in sweetness and flavor, says the Mississippi farmer’s daughter. The sweet spot for storing sweet potatoes is a few degrees below room temperature. PINE BLUFF, Ark. Another storage option for sweet potatoes is freezing. Cold makes them hard inside and may alter the taste a bit. These can last about 3 to 5 days in the fridge. While pithy sweet potatoes are safe to eat, their quality, and therefore taste, is inferior. How to Stick to … Back in the day, our ancestors had root cellars where they stored potatoes, onions, beets, and other vegetables for the winter. Some people call such potatoes spongy, but the proper term to use is pithy. Updated March 30, 2020. There is no doubt that purple sweet potatoes have gained popularity—just open the pages of Eating Well, Martha Stewart Living, The Washington Post and O, The Oprah Magazine.Even journalist Dan Buettner, author of Blue Zones, credits these purple beauties with being part of the diet and lifestyle that has propelled the longevity of the centenarian Okinawa population. Hot temperature causes tiny holes inside the sweet potatoes to form. Sweet potato is a tropical plant and will suffer injury at temperatures below 55oF. White and purple seem more starchy and can crumble/disintegrate if overcooked Your refrigerator is actually too cool, and can change the cell structure of the potatoes, making them hard in the center with white spots. ... Red spots on potato leaves: if you are certain that the spots are not insect eggs then treat the spots as a fungal disease. Yams (often mislabeled as sweet potatoes in the grocery store) are a starchy, dry vegetable that originated in Africa and Asia. You can still cook your yams as normal and enjoy this delicious root vegetable. Boom. If you like sweet potatoes but want a milder flavor, we’d use white sweet potatoes instead—they can go savory or sweet. Temperatures that are too cold will create hard and woody white spots in the flesh that really damage the flavor and texture. Lesions rarely penetrate more than 1-2 mm and easily removed by potato peeler On occasions may develop into deeper lesions Symptoms rarely develop until 3 months after storage Notes on confirmatory diagnostics On incubation at 12-15 °C and high humidity, characteristic chains of single-celled spores (2-3μm x 6-18 μm) develop from spots If I moved my finger across the spots, they absorbed back into the sweet potato . The white ooze in your sweet potato is perfectly safe to eat. Here’s one of the methods of freezing sweet potatoes: While sweet potatoes can be frozen indefinitely, it’s best to eat them within a month due to quality reasons. White are somewhat like regular baked potato in texture. As sweet potatoes begin to spoil, they will shrivel (like the one on the photo above) as they lose moisture. “They are a fraction of the cost and they keep much longer unwashed. If the temperature is lower than room temperature, they can last even up to a month. Store them in either shallow airtight containers or freezer bags. "Yams are starchy tubers that have an almost black bark-like skin and white, purple or reddish flesh and come in many varieties. Occasionally, you'll find black spots on the outside of the sweet potato before it's cooked, especially if you've had it in storage for a while. The most common yam is slightly softer (it contains more water) and has an orange colored flesh while the sweet potato is a whiter (or more yellowish) color both inside and out. “I prefer to buy sweet potatoes directly from a farmer by the bushel and before they’ve been washed,” says April McGreger, who wrote the Savor the South cookbook Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a dicot (double embryonic seed leaf) plant from the morning glory family. Mold Spots and Physical Damage. The objective of this bulletin is to aid in the diagnosis of those tuber diseases and defects that most often result in production problems. The secret is out: Sweet potatoes are no longer just for Thanksgiving. Give them some time (like 20 – 30 minutes) to cool off before chucking them into the fridge. How to know if your sweet potatoes are spoiled When stored properly, unwashed sweet potatoes from a farm will keep for months, while washed potatoes purchased from the supermarket will last for just a couple of weeks. If a roadside stand or farmers' market is not on your route (or in season), McGreger's go-to tip for the grocery store is to choose sweet potatoes without any soft spots and with well-formed skins. The exception is mold spots; if a sweet potato has begun to mold, throw it away. You can remove the spots, and cook and enjoy the rest of the sweet potato. Find the latest Sweet Potato tips, cooking advice, recipes and answers from our Chowhound community. purple sweet potato white spots inside. When it comes to cut sweet potatoes, they probably can last even a week or so in the fridge if stored properly. ", (Got that? Alternatively, you can wrap the vegetables in kitchen paper or aluminum foil, and then transfer into the fridge. And of course, everyone forgets about that bag soon enough. Don’t be alarmed if you cut off all the dark spots in sight on potatoes and then see more appear after you boil them. This variety is truly named – its tricolored leaves are green with streaks of pink and white, giving it a distinct and unusual look when compared to other sweet potato vines. Temperatures that are too cold will create hard and woody white spots in the flesh that really damage the flavor and texture. The Dosage of White Sweet Potato Extract. Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Convolvulaceae grown for its edible storage roots. The reds (can’t remember the variety offhand) are reasonable but covered in small white spots. I know I must appear frightened by sweet potatoes but this really freaked me out: I cut into this sweet potato and a few seconds later, these crazy white spots appeared. What it is: Dead and dying cells, aka “internal necrosis.” Scientists are still trying to understand why this issue strikes a common sweet potato … Wellness Habitat: Ashwagandha, Plant Therapy, Rachel Macy Stafford, Panda Planner, morning snuggles, and laughter. Get this: In their own skins, sweet potatoes cook up to only 103 calories a pop. When it comes to defrosting and reheating frozen sweet potatoes, there are a few options: Fresh raw sweet potatoes last about two weeks in the pantry. – Sweet potatoes are not very sweet when initially harvested, Shaun Francis, extension horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, said. Potatoes Small White Spots – Lenticels. Cut into my orange sweet potato, I always get the same ones, always orange inside, but this one has loads of white in it. When it comes to pithy sweet potatoes, as long as the inside of the potato has only a few holes here and there, it should be perfectly safe to eat. It’s not all good news though. Sweet potatoes generally begin to spoil by developing soft black or brown spots. The grub will tunnel through leaves and roots. You don’t have to toss your sweet potato out if you see white sap. Steaming/boiling (peeled or not, cut into pieces) ~20 min: Have not tried with orange sweet potatoes. That begs the question like “do sweet potatoes go bad?”, or “how long do sweet potatoes last?”. Last but not least, if you notice that there is anything wrong with the sweet potato that wasn’t described above, get rid of it. The flesh is part orange and part white, marbled. Nevertheless, for quality reasons, I suggest using these within a day or two. Sweet potato vine is widely regarded as toxic to small animals, including dogs and cats. While you may be tempted to toss that 3-pound bag of sweets in the refrigerator, that's the number one sweet potato storage mistake you don’t want to make. When stored properly, unwashed sweet potatoes from a farm will keep for months, while washed potatoes purchased from the supermarket will last for just a couple of weeks. So, the best recipe might be to just buy them and bake them. The tubers can be as small as regular potatoes or grow upwards of five feet long," AOL explained. The same thing goes for baked sweet potatoes – they have to be refrigerated. A Web Experience brought to you by LEAFtv, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Health.com: 7 Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes, North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission: 52 Ways to Love Sweet Potatoes, Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission: Nutrition Information Per Serving of One Medium Sweet Potato, The University of North Carolina Press: Sweet Potatoes by April McGreger, Center for Science in the Public Interest: Home, Allrecipes: Louisiana Sweet Potato Pancakes, Weelicious: Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas, How to Tell If Brussels Sprouts Are Moldy. The sweet potato plant is a branching, creeeping vine with spirally arranged lobed, heart shaped leaves and white or lavender flowers. Symptoms of these diseases and disorders, as they appear on the tubers, are described and illustrated. Poke a few holes into each potato with a fork or knife, and then bake in an oven preheated to 350-375 F (175-190 C) until a fork goes in easily (this takes approximately 45-90min – exact time depends on how large the potato is). It is not a sign of spoilage, and the sweet potato still edible at this point. Larva of sweet potato weevil is a white, legless grub with a pale brown head about 3/8 inches long; the adult beetle has a reddish snout. It is made up of polysaccharides, a type of edible starch that your body can use as energy. There's no blending, just spots and patches of white everywhere. Pick off weevils. Precisely the same rules apply to prepared dishes with sweet potatoes like casseroles. Lenticels are minute organs used by the tuber to breathe but … The swollen lenticels means the potato is more susceptible to soft rot and, at best, you’ll need to use quickly and check frequently for rot in store. Also, these sweet potatoes had been lying on the ground in the sunlight for more than a week. How about sweet potato pancakes or sweet potato and ginger soup or sweet potato and black bean enchiladas? These aren’t yet another problem thank goodness, but lenticels. Dirty sweet potatoes = good sweet potatoes.). Farmers should cure their sweet potato crop for a period of time to ensure the correct taste and a longer shelf life. Sweet potatoes and yams are from two completely different flowering plants (while white potatoes come from a root plant), but are often labeled as each other. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are warm-season root vegetables used in all types of dishes from entrees to baked desserts. So, now that they’ve claimed a seat at the year-round grownup table (minus the marshmallows), what do you need to know about selecting and storing sweet potatoes, and maybe more importantly, how do you know when they’re past their prime? Temperatures do not have to reach the freezing point to cause damage. Sweet potatoes don’t do well in either cold or hot temperatures. While pithy sweet potatoes are safe to eat, their quality, and therefore taste, is inferior. If you notice your pet has eaten sweet potato vine or is exhibiting any of the below symptoms, contact a … The veggies should be fine there for a few days, but it’s best to use them within 24 hours. Plus they are already cooked, so you can defrost and reheat them, and they’re ready to go. According to sweet potato experts including the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, refrigerating sweet potatoes is a no-no. Then, there are these 52 ways to love sweet potatoes from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission. In this article, we go through storage methods, shelf life, signs of spoilage and even freezing sweet potatoes. February 7, 2021; ... (the okinawan sweet potatoes that are usually deep purple inside/pale tan outside). Just know that sprouts do pull nutrients from the sweet potato, so you’ll end up with a cooked spud that’s of inferior nutritional value. The potatoes are perfectly edible despite the white spots looking like a bad dose of potato acne! As for any developing sprouts, those can be cut off too. The vine has toxic ingredients similar to those found in LSD, which can impact the kidneys, brain, heart, or liver. To maximize your sweet potatoes’ modern-day shelf life, your best bet is to store them in a well-ventilated produce basket and a cool, dark spot where the temperature doesn’t dip below 55 degrees, like your basement in the summer or your garage in the winter. The sweet spot for storing sweet potatoes is a few degrees below room temperature. One tip: We did find that our white sweet potato didn’t stay firm and fresh as long as other potatoes, so eat fast! The plant has enlarged roots called tubers which act as an energy store for the plant. Baking purple sweet potatoes tends to make them dry and starchy, hard to eat without adding liquid. Hot temperature causes tiny holes inside the sweet potatoes to form. Refrigeration can diminish the flavor of sweet potatoes as well. There are many varieties of sweet potatoes with skin colors that can range from white to yellow, red, purple or brown. Sometimes it's because the potato was damaged in harvesting or storage, allowing mold spores or bacteria to enter. If you need to store them for longer, transfer them into the freezer and make sure you wrap them properly. It tends to be a little less tolerant of cooler temperatures, and needs protection if the temperature drops too low. If you are interested in any of these topics, read on. It’s easy to buy that five-pound bag of sweet potatoes, and then realize that it’s going to take far more than a few meals to go through them all. Or, wrap in foil and bake at 450 °F (232 °C) until edges are tender but the center is still hard about 30-35 minutes.