Raw potatoes should smell earthy, nutty, and starchy . Once it starts to go bad, a potato will have a bitter, musty, and moldy scent. Sometimes, it can be tricky to know if the potato is still in good condition because it will look fine on the outside, but it is already rotten on the inside.
So, why do potatoes smell?
Some believe that the rotten potatoes smell toxic because of glycoalkaloids. Glycoalkaloids are a group of natural compounds that are commonly found in the Solanaceae family, including potatoes. It is needed by potatoes to protect themselves from pests attacks and diseases .
My chosen answer is to me, a raw potato smells flat . It doesn’t have the deeply loamy scent of the freshly dug potato or the lighter, washed but not cooked scent of loam that lingers on the skin of the potato. After baking all of the scents come together in a glorious melange of taste, mouth feel and aroma.
Moreover, where does the smell of putrefying potatoes come from?
My first guess was that it was putrescine and other polyamines—but the smell of putrefying potatoes actually comes from methyl mercaptan , dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide., and check it:.
Do potatoes go bad if they smell bad?
A foul- smelling potato dish, along with the presence of mold is a clear sign of spoilage. Cooked potatoes that smell bad and have mold should not be eaten anymore and be thrown away immediately. In some cases, cooked potatoes may already have bacteria present on them without any visible signs.
One way to consider this is if the potato still smells fresh, with no presence of dark spots and blemishes, it is still safe to eat. When to discard: Discard the potato once it gets too soft and mushy, along with the presence of a rotten smell.
Is it normal for potatoes to be soft and mushy?
While it is normal for potatoes to be soft and still safe to eat, there’s a limitation on this. If the potato still smells fresh, with no presence of dark spots and blemishes, it is still safe to eat. When to discard: Discard the potato once it gets too soft and mushy, along with the presence of a rotten smell.
Why do potatoes rot?
1 Rotting of potatoes by bacterial infections . The disease affects tubers, stems, leaves, and stolons. When the tuber is cut, rot is visible, which is 2 Rotting of potatoes by brown bacterial (quarantine disease) 3 Potato wet rotting. 4 Dry rotting of potatoes. 5 Ring rotten potatoes.