How do you store potatoes?

[Adamsmama]

How do you store potatoes so that they don't grow bad, green, or sprout?

I find myself wanting to buy big bags (8-10 pounds) of potatoes because we save money that way -- but they don't last! What am I doing wrong? Tell me how you store them, please...

[Oonah]

I just read that if you store them with an apple they last longer.

I read that in an email newsletter that I get weekly from Cook's Country. I *think* I remember they said dark cool place...with an apple.

Here's the article in Cooks Illustrated...

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howt...asp?docid=1748

[Magelet]

In a dark place, far away from onions.

apparently, I will now be storing my potatoes with an apple, since we have a LOT of potatoes that sprout. I wouldn't store seed potatoes with apples though, I'd think it would be better not to prevent sprouting on them.

[Adamsmama]

Thanks for the info on the apple! I'll have to try that. I do store them in a cool dry place -- but maybe not dark enough (the panty closet).

[chinaKat]

I have an unfinished, unheated basement... it's around 40 degrees in there during the winter... I keep potatoes on the floor, in bags (inadvertently next to the bags of apples -- I didn't know that trick!). I still have some potatoes (and apples!) down there from my fall CSA, and the taters haven't sprouted... I guess they are about 3 months old.

[llamalluv]

Husband says cool, dark, dry. And you have to occasionally go through them and pop the eye sprouts off. Pulling the eyes off the potatoes was his and his sister's job as kids.

[MidnightCommando]

We store them in a cooler in the garage. WE put them in the cooler since it does freeze in there occasionally and that would ruin them. It works since we've been going through a 50lb bag since last fall and they are all still good.
HTH!