A bag of potatoes can go straight from the grocery cart to the pantry without much thought. If that bag is plastic, however, leaving the potatoes inside may shorten the time you have to use them.
Even plastic potato bags with ventilation holes can hold moisture around the potatoes. Taking them out when you get home gives you a chance to move them into storage that allows more airflow while protecting them from another problem: light.
The replacement doesn’t require a special produce container. A paper bag or cardboard box can provide a better place for the potatoes you aren’t cooking yet.
Plastic Can Hold Moisture Around the Potatoes
Those small holes punched into supermarket potato bags provide some ventilation, but the surrounding plastic can still trap moisture.
Potatoes last better when kept dry, so the original package isn’t necessarily the package you want for storage. Remove the potatoes rather than leaving the unopened bag tucked into a pantry or cabinet.
It’s also a good opportunity to look through the potatoes. A soft or spoiled potato shouldn’t remain buried among the rest of the batch.
Paper Bags Solve Another Potato Storage Problem
A paper bag allows moisture to escape while blocking much of the light that reaches the potatoes. Cardboard boxes offer another reusable option if you regularly buy potatoes.
Keeping light out matters because exposure can cause potatoes to turn green. Even potatoes sold in paper packaging may have mesh sections or clear windows, so the bag itself doesn’t always provide enough protection.
Store the container in a dark spot rather than on an open counter where daylight can reach it.
Keep the Box Away From the Oven
Darkness isn’t the only consideration when choosing a pantry or cabinet. Potatoes also need to stay away from heat, making a cabinet beside the oven a poor choice.
A drawer, pantry shelf, paper bag, or cardboard box can work as long as the location remains dark, dry, and away from a heat source.
That means the best potato storage spot may be less about buying a container and more about choosing the right part of the kitchen.
Don’t Wash Potatoes Before Putting Them Away
Potatoes often arrive with dirt still clinging to their skins, but there’s no need to wash the entire bag when you get home.
Added moisture can work against the dry conditions you’re trying to create. Leave the potatoes unwashed during storage and rinse or scrub each one when you’re ready to cook it.
Check the remaining potatoes from time to time as well. If one develops soft spots, rot, or a strong unpleasant smell, remove it before the problem affects the potatoes stored beside it.
The first storage change takes only a few seconds: if your potatoes came home in plastic, don’t make that bag their permanent address.
