Green Potatoes
Green Potatoes
I was starting to cut these up and cook them even though they had turned green. But as the water was heating, I looked up green potatoes. Snopes, Medline, and the New York Times all say green potatoes are poisonous. They have increased levels of solanine, a glycoalkaloid, which the potato develops to deter insects and other predators.
The potatoes had been near a kitchen window and were exposed to afternoon light. That apparently induced them to produce chlorophyll and turn green. The links say potatoes (Solanum tuberosum, part of the nightshade family) produce solanine along with the chlorophyll. Wikipedia says people who ingest solanine develop gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. “Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmare, headache and dizziness. In more severe cases, hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hypothermia and death have been reported.”
Green Potatoes
Green Potatoes
I was starting to cut these up and cook them even though they had turned green. But as the water was heating, I looked up green potatoes. Snopes, Medline, and the New York Times all say green potatoes are poisonous. They have increased levels of solanine, a glycoalkaloid, which the potato develops to deter insects and other predators.
The potatoes had been near a kitchen window and were exposed to afternoon light. That apparently induced them to produce chlorophyll and turn green. The links say potatoes (Solanum tuberosum, part of the nightshade family) produce solanine along with the chlorophyll. Wikipedia says people who ingest solanine develop gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. “Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmare, headache and dizziness. In more severe cases, hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hypothermia and death have been reported.”