do small potatoes keep for less time than large ones?

[mystic~mama]

I can't resist getting responses to this...DP is adament that since the smaller potato has less skin to volume ratio or something it will not last as long...this sounds like hooey to me....

anyone have an opinion...?

[Thalia the Muse]

I kind of think he might have a point. It's got a HIGHER skin to volume ratio than a bigger potato (because volume increases faster than surface as you size up), plus if something does breach the skin the potato as a whole will go bad quicker, instead of just being a spot you could cut out of a larger potato.

On the other hand, he and I could both very well be misled by the fact that a smaller potato will COOK faster than a big one, and we're making a false analogy to other processes! And as a confounding factor, tender little new potatoes are tiny and also don't keep well, compared to a large baking potato -- but that's not because they're small.

[mystic~mama]

hmmm....interesting....thx Thalia

[potatofairy]

the small potatoes that i grow do not keep well, but i think it's more of a variety thing than a size thing.

[Thalia the Muse]

I yield to the Potato Fairy, who should certainly be the expert on this subject!

[LiLeon]

I agree with the Potato Fairy. smaller potatoes won't store as long as larger potatoes because the smaller potatoes have a larger surface to volume ratio than larger potatoes, and this means that it will lose water (and shrivel) sooner than a larger potato would.

[mystic~mama]

DP will be happy to hear me say he is right hahaha and I will... still curious if anyone else has any ideas