Put This Common Fruit Near Your Potatoes to Help Slow Sprouting

Potatoes and fruit don’t seem like natural storage partners. In fact, produce that releases ethylene gas is often separated from foods that ripen fast. Potatoes may be an exception.

Keeping an apple with stored potatoes may help slow sprouting, according to waste management experts Wheeldon Brothers. Apples release ethylene gas, and in this case, the gas can suppress the processes involved in potato sprouting.

It takes one apple and no special storage equipment, making the pairing worth considering when a bag of potatoes tends to sprout before you finish it.

Apples Release Ethylene Gas

Ethylene is best known for its role in fruit ripening. Apples produce plenty of it, which is why they’re often discussed in storage advice about keeping produce apart.

Potatoes respond to ethylene in a different way. Wheeldon Brothers says the gas can help regulate their ripening process and slow sprouting.

That turns the apple from a potential storage problem into something useful beside a batch of potatoes.

Put an Apple With the Potatoes

No cutting or preparation is involved. Store an apple alongside the potatoes rather than keeping the two foods in separate areas.

The goal is to expose the potatoes to ethylene released by the apple. This isn’t a way to rescue potatoes that have started to spoil. It’s a storage step intended to delay sprouting while they’re still in good condition.

Check both the potatoes and apple during storage rather than leaving them untouched for weeks.

Fridge Storage Is a Separate Option

The same storage advice also points to refrigeration as another way to extend the life of potatoes. Wheeldon Brothers says refrigerated potatoes can stay fresh up to three times longer.

That claim shouldn’t be confused with the apple trick. The source attributes the three-times-longer figure to refrigeration, while storing potatoes with apples is recommended as a way to help slow sprouting.

Check Potatoes Before Cooking Them

Storage can delay waste, but it doesn’t make potatoes last forever. Inspect them for signs of deterioration before using them.

The source advises against eating potatoes that have turned green or sprouted and recommends checking stored potatoes for spoilage.

For potatoes that tend to sprout before you reach the bottom of the bag, the unexpected addition to their storage spot may already be sitting in your fruit bowl.