[Photograph: Shutterstock] It's not always easy to tell varieties of orange sweet potatoes apart. How To Tell If Sweet Potatoes Are Bad? They are sometimes marketed under the names Stokes Purple and Okinawan potatoes. Some common traits of bad sweet potatoes are discoloration and growths through the skin. Purple sweet potatoes have a … Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are from the same family as regular sweet potatoes. It is well known that sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and have good nutritional value. Sources: For details about data sources used for food storage information, please click here. The sweet potato is a popular ingredient in many classic, cool-weather recipes. How To Prevent Sweet Potatoes Going Bad. We've had some sweet potatoes siting around on the counter for a while. You should store your raw sweet potatoes in a cool dark place, like the pantry.Try to avoid keeping them in hot areas, as temperatures that are too hot will cause tiny hole to form inside the potatoes.. Sweet potatoes will last for around two weeks stored like this, or up to one month if them temperature is lower than room temperature. In the case of mashed potatoes, you just have to make sure that the fluid coming out from the flesh is clear. They will begin to get soft and wet (water will leak out) and then turn brown and/or black. In the end, you can store cooked sweet potatoes in the fridge for 3 to 5 days or put them into the freezer if you want to keep them for long. Sweet potatoes fit into almost any way of eating, no matter which diet you choose. If part of the sweet potato goes bad, the whole potato should be thrown out as the flavor is affected. For our Best Baked Sweet Potatoes, we recommend passing on tan- or purple-skinned sweet potatoes (so-called dry varieties) and sticking with red or orange, which are known as “moist” varieties.These contain more of the enzyme amylase, which breaks down starches into sugars. The flesh has some yellow parts on in in addition to the usual beige/off white color, and the skin on one looks like it has like thick veins inside it. Growths from the “eyes” of the sweet potato are the first sign that the quality is beginning to deteriorate. 7 Tips to Tell if Sweet Potatoes Have Gone Bad Image: Lucky Belly. It is not a sign of spoilage, and the sweet potato still edible at this point. Purple sweet potatoes are lavender-colored on the inside and outside. However, if the liquid is a white color, you need to throw the mashed potatoes away, as this fluid will turn the food sour, making it unsafe for consumption. The thing that sets purple sweet potatoes apart when it comes to their nutritional value is that they are packed with antioxidants. Like all root vegetables, sweet potatoes will spoil after a period of time. Throw it out. I started to cut them up to roast but not sure if they're too old. If it is, you can still mix the potato with the rest of the ingredients. Just remember to eat the peel too. In most cases, sweet potatoes go bad because of the natural aging process. For example, the discoloration of the skin is a good sign that a potato is running out of time. But sweet potatoes with cuts, gouges, bruises and blemishes have already started going bad. You can cut out the bruised parts and cube the rest for roasted side dishes , but they’re not a candidate for any recipe that calls for a whole baked sweet potato. Of spoilage, and fiber and have good nutritional value is that they are sometimes marketed under the Stokes. 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