I’m currently in the process of making a potato salad for a party, and I’m a little worried about my potatoes. They’re quite greenish; I’ve peeled them and while they’re not green through or anything, they still have a greenish tint on the outermost part (I don’t want to peel them further or I’ll greatly reduce the amount of potato-age). Internet sources seem to vary from “eh, don’t worry about it” to “sure, serve greenish potatoes…if you want to DIE!”
Can I get the Straight Dope? Should I not be serving these?
Green potatoes contain the chemical solanine which can cause nausea and diarrhea. The green is actually chlorophyll which is harmless, but the solanine develops in the same area.
The Master has spoken of this.
Short answer, yes it’s poisonous, but not very. But in the interest of safety, try to minimize the amount of green potatoes you eat.
Thanks for the responses. So, for this specific situation, should I be worried about serving a potato salad where approximately half of the potatoes have a greenish tint to the outer surface?
The solanine content of tater skins, eyes and surface flesh depends strongly on the variety of potato. Most commercial cultivars have long since been selected for low solanine content, but I’ve no idea if that’s the case for the recently available ‘fingerling’ potatoes, the purple varieties and etc.
Unless you’ve got exotic potatoes in that salad, I wouldn’t worry about it.
The potatoes I bought were the cheap, haggard-looking, sprouty red potatoes.
I recently ate a bunch of green-hued potatos that had been sitting on my shelf for a week.
I’m not dead yet.
My advice: serve your guests. (but do come back and let us know the results.)
Go to the store. Buy $3-5 worth of potato salad. Serve that.
How would you feel if the people who eat your potato salad all have the runs the next day? You won’t exactly be coming across as the Chef of Honor.
Also, I’ve noticed that potatoes with a green tint have an off taste. So the potato salad might be kinda nasty tasting.
Save your risk taking for something expensive, not for something cheap like potatoes.
