• Question: Why do potatoes go green when left out in the sun

    Asked by Eoin C to Gonzalo on 10 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Gonzalo Delgado-Pando

      Gonzalo Delgado-Pando answered on 10 Nov 2017:


      They go green because they are generating a substance called chlorophyll that is green. This substance is the same the plants have in their leaves. THe problem with green potatoes is that apart from that chlorophyll they are generating other substances that can be toxic and have a really nasty taste called glycoalkaloids. So you shouldn’t eat green potatoes and never store them outside so sunlight cannot reach to them.

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