Once you’ve peeled a potato and exposed the starchy white parts to the air, it will quickly begin to turn brown. This browning is due to the oxidation of the starches in the potato. Potatoes will turn gray, or brown, and eventually, even black.
Why do potatoes turn green when you peel them?
The greening of potatoes is a natural process. When potatoes are exposed to light, they begin to produce chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives many plants and algae their color ( 1 ). This causes light-skinned potatoes to change from yellow or light brown to green.
Another thing we asked ourselves was: why do potatoes turn red?
Some have found that potatoes, along with apples, pears, bananas, and peaches, contain an enzyme that, when exposed to oxygen, reacts to produce discoloration on the surface of the potato or fruit. Potato skins and fruit peels are the natural ways oxygen is blocked from reaching this enzyme. Once they are removed, oxidation begins.
You should be asking “Why do potatoes turn pink?”
The phenols and the enzymes meet the oxygen coming in from the outside world, causing a chemical reaction to take place. This chemical reaction results in – you guessed it – pink potatoes. This discoloration isn’t harmful to us and you can still eat those potatoes – it can just be a bit off-putting to serve a plate of pink potatoes!
What happens if you eat a brown potato?
Potatoes will turn gray, or brown, and eventually, even black . A brown (or gray or black) potato is perfectly safe to eat. Although the actual taste of the potato is not affected, the appearance is off-putting and, since we eat with our eyes, this will affect our perception of the potato’s taste.
Believe it or not, that lumpy, brown potato you’re holding is actually a complicated package of chemicals and enzymes . Inside the potato are little pockets of things called phenols, which are essentially an acidic chemical compound. These phenols are surrounded by enzymes (proteins), and everything is held together inside the potato cell.
Why do fruits turn brown when you cut them?
The browning reaction results from the oxidation of phenolic compounds in the fruit under the action of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (PPO), which is common in plant tissues. Once you cut the fruit, you open up some of the cells .