Are you a potato lover? Have you ever faced issues while cooking potatoes? Then this is a great piece of information for you. When it comes to cooking, most people have the habit of chopping and peeling off vegetables before they start cooking. While this habit works for almost all green vegetables, but it turns out to be a problem when it comes to potatoes. The moment when you peel them off and cut them, within a few minutes, they start to change color and turn brown or grey. If you fed up with this same problem, try out these following tricks to prevent your potatoes from turning brown.
Why do potatoes turn brown?
Potatoes contain an enzyme that reacts and results in a change of color in potatoes when exposed to oxygen. The skin that we peel off works as a natural jacket that keeps that enzyme from exposing it to the oxygen. Once the skin is peeled off, the oxidation begins, and potatoes turn brown.
So now you know why potatoes turn brown. let’s start with tips and tricks to prevent them from happening
Tips to prevent potatoes from turning brown
- Wait to peel and cut them
The first tip is chop and peel the potatoes before you start cooking, we suggest you peel and slice potatoes right before cooking to avoid browning. This way, they won’t turn brown because you are cooking them right away.
This is the most popular way to avoid peeled potatoes from turning brown. You can completely submerge them in a bowl full of water and place them in the refrigerator. This will slow down the oxidation process and will help potatoes keep their original white color.
- Use a glass baking dish to store potatoes
According to food experts, metals react quickly with potatoes, and thus they suggest that you should avoid using metal utensils to store peeled potatoes. Experts say that the best container for storing potatoes is a glass baking dish. Additionally, from a medical perspective, it the safest option to store food.
If you are planning to keep the peeled potatoes for a long time like for more than 6-9 hours, then you can add a bit of edible acid and relax. You can also use lemon juice that will help lower the pH level of potato and will further help in fighting off the oxidation.
- Try vitamin c powder
You can also try to add some vitamin C powder in the water and submerge the peeled potatoes in that water. This trick also works in keeping the potatoes fresh. After you follow this, wash them twice under running water before you cook them.
You can also keep the peeled potatoes in a vacuum pack. The vacuum pack will work as a cover to the potatoes and won’t let the oxygen get to the potatoes and thus preventing the Potatoes from changing colors.
These were the six tips and tricks that you can follow to prevent those potatoes from turning brown. So, now you can also stop your peeled potatoes from turning brown and can cook them any time you want. Have a happy time cooking your favorite meal, bon appétit.
