Potato Bins

[Sephora]

My potatoes don't last long in my house. There is no "cool, dry" place to store them and it seems within a week they've started to rot. I was looking for a potato bin and can't seem to find them in stores that I've been to. Any suggestions? Maybe I'm looking at the wrong stores.

 

[GB]

You could try what I saw Alton Brown do once. He took a large bin (any kind will do) and filled it with clean sand. His root veggies just got buried in the sand. They stayed nice and cool and dark. The only problem is that you can not see what you have in there. You just need to reach in with your hand and see what you can feel.

 

[Sephora]

Alton Brown is a god! I bet you can buy sand at Lowes too. That is an awesome idea. Better than these things going bad all the time. At $4 a bag, I can't keep throwing out food that could be saved if stored differently. Could the bin be plastic or did it need to be wood?

 

[urmaniac13]

We also have the problem, as during the peak of summer, there is no such place as "cool and dry" on a constant basis inside our flat. We try not to buy so much at a time, and keep them on the net sack, which potatoes are often sold in at supermarkets, and hang it, instead of putting them in a closed bin or plastic bag etc. this way at least the potatoes get some air circulation. It helps and they usually keep up to about 3-4 weeks.

 

[GB]

The bin can be made of anything you like. The one he used was plastic. It looked like something you might keep dry dog food in.

 

[Sephora]

The bin can be made of anything you like. The one he used was plastic. It looked like something you might keep dry dog food in.

I've seen those at Walmart. Might be a real good alternative.

Here even if the air circulates, it's very humid and that doesn't help the potatoes at all. The humidity is what is killing them according to what I can find online about potatoes. Cool and dry in North Carolina in August don't go hand in hand. If we get cool, we get wet. Our humidity today is 100% and would probably be higher if there was a higher number they could go to.

 

[Gretchen]

I store mine in a basket. BUT store the potatoes away from the onions. Makes the potatoes sprout/rot.

 

[Sephora]

I store mine in a basket. BUT store the potatoes away from the onions. Makes the potatoes sprout/rot.

I tried the basket, they got rotten. It's the darn humidity in the south. They got rotten in an open mesh bag and in a plastic bag. That was the worst. I like having potatoes on hand so I really think I'm going to try the bin and sand trick.

 

[FryBoy]

DUMB QUESTON ALERT! DUMB QUESTON ALERT! DUMB QUESTON ALERT!

Why can't you store potatoes in the refrigerator? I don't do it, but I have no idea why!

 

[GB]

You can, but you need to let them come to room temp before you use them. In the fridge the straches turn to sugars. They change back when they warm up again though.

Another reason is space. Some people buy a lot of potatoes at one time. It could take up too much space in the fridge.

 

[mudbug]

Sephora, do you not live in an air-conditioned house? We get killer humidity here in northern Virginia too, but it's not that bad inside. I keep mine in a basket in the cabinet under the microwave counter and it hasn't wrecked my potatoes yet unless I buy too many at one time like you might be doing.

The sand thing sounds like a good idea. Let us know if that works for you.

 

[Sephora]

Space is definitely the answer in my house and when you get home at 6 you don't want to wait for things to get to room temp before cooking. I'd be eating at 8:30 at night.

I do admit, I was told by my 7th grade home ec teacher to never put a potato in the fridge unless it was cooked. Never asked her why, just never did it. I'm betting GB's reasons are why. My mom had space to keep them under one counter but the only under counter area I have that might hold them gets direct sunlight all day and is about 90 degrees by mid day. It's also next to the dishwasher so that can't be good.

 

[mudbug]

Do you have a basement?

 

[Sephora]

Sephora, do you not live in an air-conditioned house? We get killer humidity here in northern Virginia too, but it's not that bad inside. I keep mine in a basket in the cabinet under the microwave counter and it hasn't wrecked my potatoes yet unless I buy too many at one time like you might be doing.

The sand thing sounds like a good idea. Let us know if that works for you.

My house is air conditioned, but I have a high vaulted ceiling and my kitchen never cools down like the rest of the house. No one's home during the day so it gets to be about 77 before my daughter comes home and turns on the air. The kitchen is always the warmest room.