this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2024
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[–] mortimer 23 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I've never heard of anyone ever being poisoned by a potato. I know you're not supposed to eat potatoes that have turned green in the sun or started sprouting, but I've always ignored that rule, cut off the green bits or peeled away the sprouts before cooking. Never had an issue.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I've heard they are poisonous if you eat them raw, but nothing about turning green in the sun or not eating them after they sprout.

[–] mortimer 3 points 4 days ago

If you've ever grown your own potatoes, when you come to harvest them you might find the odd one or two poking through the soil that have been sun exposed and thus green. Apparently you're not supposed to eat them. I just peel the skin off them and eat them anyway. No issues. As for eating them raw, I'm not sure why you'd want to. My mother always ate a chunk of raw potato when she was chopping them, to no ill effect. I've tried it, but it's not tasty like a piece of raw carrot or turnip.

I'm really not understanding this whole "poisonous potato" thing. As far as I'm concerned you just boil, roast or fry the damn things and eat them with skin on or off.

Maybe they're poisonous the same way alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are considered poisons. I think you'll find every vegetable is poisonous to some degree.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Good argument. However minecraft:poisonous_potato /s

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

Things are definitely only poisonous if they kill you outright /s

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Lectins, anti nutrients, oxalates (though these are not really in potatoes)

From an evolutionary perspective, animals can run away, hide, fight - to survive and reproduce. Plants, however, can't do any of those things, what they can do, is be toxic so that animals won't eat them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

That's my strategy, too!

[–] Retro_unlimited 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Photo of the back of my chips bag. There are a lot of foods that become poisonous when cooked or heated.

You can read more about it on wiki https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide

[–] vane 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] Retro_unlimited 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Wow that is a Ton of information!

[–] vane 2 points 4 days ago

there are project details https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/506820/reporting, official website is down but there is also this one if you're interested in this topic

"guidance on the measures to be taken by food manufacturers and consumers in order to reduce the acrylamide content of food products"

https://web.archive.org/web/20110405192401/http://www.ciaa.eu/documents/brochures/ac_toolbox_20090216.pdf

[–] shalafi 2 points 4 days ago

Money says this turns out like engineering tomatoes. They decided consumers wanted a more consistently colored skin, more spherical fruit. Yeah. Tweaking those genes took out the sugars and acids, which is why tomatoes taste like cardboard today.

"Let's take a non-issue and tweak it!"