What you see: A potato that squirts while you’re chopping. What it is: A potato packing lots of water!Eat or toss: Eat! This potato is just fine. Is it OK
Squishy, foaming, leaking potatoes — eeek!
What you see: Your RAW potatoes are foaming. And/or, when you squeeze one, it’s as soft as mashed potatoes. Other potatoes may be sitting in pools of
Creepy black holes inside potatoes
What you see: Black-lined caverns inside your potatoes. What it is: An injury of some kind. Possibly from pressure or from being stored too cold.Eat or
Long brown lines or arches in potato?
What you see: Brown lines in an arch-like or ring pattern inside your potato.What it is: Evidence of a potato virus!Eat or toss: Cut around the brown areas and
Black or brown just under potato peel
What you see: A blackish, dark area under your potato’s skin; the surface may or may not appear damaged. What it is: The blackish coloration pictured above is a
Why do some potatoes leave a white mess on cutting boards?
What you see: Your potato has left a lot of white stuff on your cutting board. What it is: Potato starch!Eat or toss: Please do not eat your cutting board.
White area under potato peel
What you see: A strikingly white area just below the potato peel. What it is: A white “knot,” basically a bruise that didn’t turn dark colors, as bruises
Shallow blackened holes on potato’s exterior
What you see: Blackish spots or holes on your potatoes like those pictured above; they may go below the peel. What it is: Likely pores that were damaged and
Little holes in potatoes
What you see: Little holes in your potato, like the above photo. What it is: Wireworm damage!Eat or toss: As long as the holes are dry, you should be able to
Red potato with dark patches and green under the peel
What you see: A red potato with dark patches on its skin; below the skin the potato has turned green.What it is: In response to light exposure, the potato is
Black stuff on raw, peeled or chopped potatoes
What you see: Black stuff on your chopped or peeled potatoes. What is is: Oxidation after cells were damaged by chopping or peeling. Eat or toss: Eat! You can
Gray areas on your boiled potatoes
What you see: Grayish areas on your boiled potatoes.What it is: The technical term for this is after-cooking darkening, ACD for short.Eat or toss: Eat! Gray
Brown spots on potato chips? (Plus, lasers!)
What you see: Brown or black areas on your potato chips. What it is: Minor imperfections that don’t impact the safety of the chip—they could be bruises or the
Black pattern inside a raw potato?
What you see: A black pattern inside your potato. What it is: A number of issues cause black areas to form in potatoes; the potato pictured above most likely
Potatoes with stems?!?
What you see: A papery, dried stem-y bit attached to your potato. What it is: The remnants of a stem that should have fallen off. Eat or toss: Pinch or cut it
Gasp! Weird spots on your potato
What you see: Spots on your potato’s skin; they likely each have a larger outer circle and a dot at the center. What it is: An infection of the little
