Can You Still Eat Purple Sweet Potatoes That Have Sprouted? How to Tell and What to Do

Purple sweet potatoes are nutritious, with a soft, starchy, sweet and glutinous taste that many people love, but sometimes improper storage makes them sprout easily. So can you still eat purple sweet potatoes that have sprouted?

Can you still eat purple sweet potatoes that have sprouted?

1. Purple sweet potatoes that have sprouted can still be eaten and will not produce toxins, but their nutritional content will be damaged and their taste will decline, so it is best to cut off the sprouted part as soon as possible. If only a few sprouts have appeared, cut off the sprouted part and steam the rest before eating; if there are many sprouts, it is not recommended to eat it.

2. Many people think that sprouted potatoes cannot be eaten, and that purple sweet potatoes are the same. In fact, potatoes belong to the Solanaceae family, and after sprouting they produce solanine, a toxin mainly found in plants of the Solanaceae family, so they cannot be eaten; purple sweet potatoes, however, belong to the Convolvulaceae family and do not produce toxins after sprouting, so they can be eaten.

3. Purple sweet potatoes have a relatively high starch content. During sprouting, enzymes that break down starch are produced, and toxins can be produced during the breakdown process. Moreover, sprouted purple sweet potatoes are prone to going moldy and rotting, and eating them can easily lead to poisoning, so pay attention to this.

4. After purple sweet potatoes sprout, their nutrients are largely transferred to the area around the young shoots to supply their growth. At this point, the purple sweet potato becomes soft, loses its sweetness, and carries a slight odor like raw sweet potato leaves, making it unsuitable for eating.

5. If you do not want them to sprout, pay attention to storage in daily life. Storage requires a dark, dry environment, so after buying purple sweet potatoes, first sun them for half a day to remove moisture, then put them in a dry cardboard box and place it in a dark, dry place.

6. If sprouted purple sweet potatoes cannot be eaten and you do not want to throw them away, you can plant them: first, cut the mouth of a plastic bottle evenly, put the sprouted purple sweet potato inside, pour in water to cover half of the sweet potato, place it in a sunny spot, and change the water every day. Wait until it grows fine roots and young shoots, then transplant it into soil; once it grows many leaves, you can pick the young shoots and eat them.