If you know anything about food, you’ll know that potatoes are one of the most nutrition-packed foods out there. They perfectly balance trace vitamins and minerals with the necessary calories you need to maintain a healthy body. If you’re considering storing potatoes for emergency use to leverage their excellent dietary value, you should strongly consider the Yukon Gold Potato. The Yukon Gold Potato is a medium starch potato, meaning it contains fewer charges than other potatoes. This lack of starch contributes to a denser overall consistency. So, the recipes you make with it will be heavier and richer. They are also quite versatile, as are most potatoes, with a wide variety of recipes and methods of preparation that are sure to keep you interested.
On top of its distinct and desirable taste, the Yukon Gold Potato also offers a lot of nutritional benefits. As previously mentioned, the Yukon Gold potato contains many vitamins and minerals, but it is particularly high in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Vitamin C is essential for your body’s functioning. Also, foods high in Vitamin C may be difficult to come by during emergencies.
If there is an extended period in which you cannot access new food, antioxidants in your diet may help you reduce your stress levels and maintain good health. However, none of these nutrients are as important as calories, and as we all know, during times of an emergency, there is nothing you want more than enough calories to support your body and ensure you have the energy to make it through the emergency alive. Yukon Gold Potatoes are also excellent for their shelf-life. They are resistant to bruising and are prone to staying in dormancy once the adequate requirements are met.
In most cases, Yukon Gold Potatoes can easily last for several months without going bad if stored properly. This is why Yukon Gold Potatoes are the recommended potatoes for food supply storage in case of emergencies. However, if you are planning on storing Yukon Gold Potatoes, there are a few things you should know to ensure your potatoes remain viable for consumption during the duration of your emergency.
1. Avoid Bruising on Your Potatoes
While Yukon Gold Potatoes are well known for their shelf-life and ability to remain viable for a longer than average lifespan compared to other food items, it is essential that you take precautions to prevent it from rotting. One of the most important precautions you can take to avoid rot is simply avoiding bruising. When a potato, particularly a Yukon Gold Potato, is bruise, it introduces bacteria and other harmful microorganisms into the fleshy insides of the potato. When you bypass the skin of the potato, these microorganisms begin to eat it, and rot occurs. To avoid bruising, simply handle your potatoes more delicately. Then, store them in a place where they will not endure any force, extended pressure, or experience any sudden and severe movements.
2. Keep Your Potatoes Out of the Fridge
Your first instinct may be to place your potatoes in the fridge. With most other food items, placing them in the fridge will lower their temperature and reduce the activity of microorganisms consuming the food, as well as other forms of natural decomposition. However, potatoes are unique in that they will be preserved better at room temperature.
When a potato is placed in an environment where it is too cold, the starch in the potato may start to turn into sugar. This process makes the potato more prone to decomposition and may encourage more microorganism activities. However, due to its lower starch content, the Yukon Gold Potato is more resilient to the effects of the cold than regular potatoes. That is why if you live in a cold environment where you cannot control the temperature of your storage area. So, you may prefer to use a potato like the Yukon Gold Potato. It will be more resistant to decomposition in the cold.
3. Keep Your Potatoes Dry
Another important way to ensure your potatoes keep the best possible shelf-life is to keep them in a dry space. As with any food item, moisture breeds bacteria and encourages the activity of other microorganisms. Water also facilitates decomposition through various other chemical means. If you leave a potato in a humid or wet place, it may begin to rot and decompose. It may also start to germinate, which will eventually make it inedible. To prevent these issues, simply keep your potatoes in an environment where there is a limited amount of humidity and wetness.
Try to control the humidity and wetness as much as possible. For example, if you are storing your potatoes in a backyard shed, try to place a dehumidifying machine in the shed for a few hours a week. This will help remove the moisture in the air and prevent it from affecting your potatoes or accumulating through condensation. You can also physically check for the accumulation of water in the area. It may leak into the storage area through various means. In some cases, it may be easier to store your potatoes with dehumidifying packets that don’t need electricity to function.
4. Encourage Ventilation and Air Circulation
Potatoes will turn faster if they don’t have enough air circulation or ventilation. This is because the natural gas produced by the potato speeds up this process. By encouraging the circulation of these gasses, you allow the potato to “breathe” more. This means the potato will take longer to begin rotting or decomposing. However, you don’t have to try too hard to encourage ventilation. By simply leaving the potatoes uncovered, you will allow for enough circulation to prevent decomposition in this manner. It is even better if you allow the potatoes to be in a loose, permeable sack.
5. Prepare Your Potatoes Beforehand
As potatoes have the potential to last for so long, months, without prior preparation, it recommends you to try the procedures above before you attempt to prepare potatoes before storage. However, if you don’t have luck with the other methods mentioned, you could try to cure or pickle your potatoes. Once your potatoes are properly prepared, you can freeze them. Also, you can store them for up to a year if done properly. That being said, you should always attempt the techniques used in one through four before attempting prior preparation. It reduces the versatility of the potato.
