Can I eat green potatoes? What is dangerous green potatoes?

Potatoes are the second most popular product in the kitchen after bread. He is like a "wand-rescue wand", when you need to quickly and well nourish the family. Agree that the potato is eaten with appetite both in the form of roasted pieces, and in the form of air purée. Dishes from potatoes can not be counted. But are you always sure about the quality of raw materials? What to do if in the total mass of root crops, when cleaning green potatoes? Is it safe to eat such a tuber? Consider what to do in this case. Is it possible to eat green potatoes and dishes from it?

Culinary innovations of Peter

It turns out that the potato was introduced into the diet of a common man in the street by a special decree of the tsar. In the middle of the XVII century, Peter I brought a new product from Holland. But an unfamiliar vegetable came to the people to taste not immediately. There were numerous riots in connection with mass poisonings. What happened, because people simply used to eat absolutely unsuitable parts of the plant - berries and sprouts. In addition, they did not know whether it was possible to eat green potatoes and how much it could be dangerous to health. As a result of non-observance of the rules of storage, the fruit was damaged. Only in time all secrets were solved, and people learned to apply them in practice. And already in the 18th century the potato became the "second bread". In our time, it is simply impossible to do without the vegetable in the kitchen.

What is dangerous for green potatoes?

Finding fruits for a long time in open sunlight, and even at room temperature, leads to irreversible consequences. Why is the potato green? The rind (the surface of the tubers) begins to change color, the vegetable becomes sluggish. In this form, the potato is completely unfit for consumption. The point is to increase the concentration of solanine (melongene). This compound is found in all the vegetables of the Solanaceae family (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, Bulgarian pepper, etc.). And the higher the degree of maturity of the fetus, the lower the concentration of the dangerous substance. Safe level - no more than 20 mg of solanine per 100 g of product. Usually in potatoes it contains no more than 2-10 g. But under the influence of diffuse or direct sunlight there is a multiple increase in its level.

Symptoms of poisoning tubers with a green

What symptoms can signal the presence of a dangerous substance? How to understand that green potatoes are poisonous? First of all, this is a bitter taste. In addition, there may appear perspiration in the throat, unpleasant sensations when swallowing, lethargy, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea. In severe cases (with 200-400 mg of corned beef per 100 g of product - one-time consumption of more than a kilogram of green potatoes along with untreated peel), there are syncope, convulsions, impaired renal function and cardiovascular abnormalities. If the concentration exceeds 500 mg, a lethal outcome is possible. Especially dangerous is the consumption of poor quality raw materials for children and the elderly. Weak immunity, GI diseases can become attendant risk factors and provoke serious poisoning. What measures need to be taken in emergency situations? First steps: washing the stomach with potassium permanganate or a solution of activated charcoal. Therefore, if you find in the total mass of root crops with a greenish color, you need to cut them carefully or, what is safer, throw them away.

Can I eat green potatoes?

But, it turns out, not only the fruits of "green" are dangerous when used. Long-term storage provokes an increase in the concentration of corned beef in potatoes. In late spring, the old tubers have the property of being covered with "eyes". Such raw materials can not be categorically used for cooking. If the potato still has a slightly different skin color, then it must be discarded. After all, the concentration of a dangerous substance in it will reach 200-250 mg per 100 g of product. This vegetable is especially dangerous for:

- pregnant women;

- children;

- the elderly;

- People with various diseases.

Heat treatment (cooking) can slightly "extinguish" the danger, reducing the concentration of corned beef. This effect is explained by the transition to a solution. Not too harmless, too young potatoes. That is why the first harvest often has a bitter taste. Already closer to the autumn you can stock up with quality, ripened vegetables, the content of substances in which fully corresponds to the norm. So, we figured out if you can eat green potatoes. But, oddly enough, in small doses of solanine can have a completely beneficial effect. Let us consider this question in more detail.

Therapeutic effect of solanine

Everything should be in moderation. Crude potato juice can be used even as a medicine, but only in the case when the concentration of solanine in it is minimal. This condition is feasible only when selecting high-quality raw materials. Green potatoes are unambiguously rejected. Take the tubers without damage, of the usual color and wash thoroughly. Then grate on a fine grater and squeeze juice through several layers of gauze. You can not keep such a drink. Use only fresh potato juice for treatment. It is useful for gastritis, ulcers (including duodenal ulcers), colds, hypertension, joint diseases. Eat juice 1/3 cup half an hour before meals 3 times a day. As a raw material, it is best to take root crops grown at home without the use of fertilizers.

Uneaten fruits - ideal material for planting

So why is the potato green, despite its dangerous properties, especially loved by truck farmers? It turns out that while the tubers are being found for some time in the room at a moderately warm temperature, along with the change in the color of the peel, a strong sprout is laid. The "potted" potato, falling into the ground, instantly gains strength and quickly grows, forming a plant that is abundantly fructifying (with due care). So there is a cycle, when from one small starch bulb you get a crop in a few fresh bunches of "second bread".

Observe the rules for storing vegetables and be healthy!