when are potatoes bad

Potatoes are “bad” when their texture, smell, color, or sprouting clearly show decay or toxin risk, and at that point they should be thrown away, not trimmed and eaten.

When Are Potatoes Bad? (Quick Scoop)

Clear signs your potatoes are bad

Toss the potato if you notice any of these:

• It’s soft, squishy, or bends easily instead of feeling firm.

• The skin is very wrinkled or shriveled all over (a bit of wrinkling can be age; extreme shriveling means decay inside).

• There are dark, black, or large brown rot spots through the flesh, not just a tiny surface bruise.

• You see fuzzy mold (white, gray, or colored) on the skin or in cracks, especially with wet or slimy patches.

• It smells bad: sour, rotten, musty, or otherwise unpleasant. Fresh raw potatoes barely smell like anything.

• It tastes bitter after cooking (a warning sign for high glycoalkaloids like solanine and related compounds).

If you see more than one of these at once (for example, soft + smelly + spots), the potato is definitely done and should be binned.

Sprouts, green spots, and safety

Sprouting and greening are about toxins, not just freshness.

• Small, short sprouts on an otherwise firm, normal-smelling potato can sometimes be cut off generously, then the rest cooked.

• Lots of long sprouts, especially with shriveled skin or softness, mean the potato is old and its natural glycoalkaloid toxins have increased; safer to discard.

• Green skin or green flesh (from light exposure) usually means higher solanine; cutting off small green patches is common, but heavily green potatoes should be thrown out, not “rescued.”

• Eating too much solanine/glycoalkaloids can cause nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, so “better safe than sorry” is the rule here.

A useful rule of thumb: if the potato looks off and also tastes bitter after cooking, don’t finish it.

Shelf life and storage basics

How fast potatoes go bad depends heavily on storage.

• Whole, raw potatoes last longest in a cool, dark, dry place with good air flow (not the fridge, not in sealed plastic). Many sources suggest they can last several weeks to a few months like this, but they’ll age and sprout over time.

• Warm rooms, bright light, or moisture speed up sprouting, greening, mold, and rot.

• Cooked potatoes go bad much faster: they should be refrigerated promptly, kept covered, and eaten within a few days; if they smell off, feel slimy, or look unusual, discard.

Food-safety guidance often repeats: when in doubt, throw it out, because harmful bacteria can sometimes be present even before the potato looks terrible.

Quick FAQ style checklist

Ask yourself these questions before using an iffy potato:

1. Does it feel firm, not squishy or hollowed-out?
2. Does it have only minor blemishes, with no deep rot or mold?
3. Is there no strong off-odor when you sniff near the skin?
4. Are sprouts (if any) small and few, and is the skin not heavily green?

If you answer “no” to any of these, especially texture + smell together, the potato is likely bad and should be discarded.