How Long Can Sweet Potatoes Sit Out And Do They Go Bad?

Potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C, B1, B3, B6, iron and other minerals such as phosphorous and magnesium. These are enjoyed in Hasselback potatoes, French fries, sweet potato pies etc.

All kinds of potatoes, be it new potatoes or sweet potatoes, do not sit out for long and go bad eventually. Sweet potatoes are fulling yet nutritious. You may use them in preparing your favorite crisps, sides, soups, salads or pies and enhance your test buds. Want to know more about sweet potatoes? Let’s read this article then.

How Long Can Sweet Potatoes Sit Out?

Botulism is a condition associated with the consumption of spoiled sweet potatoes. In that regard, you need to get a hold of knowledge like their approximate sit-out duration. Alright! So for how long can your most-liked sweet potatoes make in terms of quality?

If we talk about the room temperature conditions, the sweet potatoes can only sit out for two hours. However, if you wish to increase their shelf life, refrigerate or freeze them. As per your requirement later, you may defrost them. 

What Happens if Sweet Potatoes Sit Out Too Long?

The next thing to consider is; what happens if the estimated sit-out duration of the sweet flavored potatoes passes? Potatoes are perishable, and if you allow them to sit out for too long or overnight, they become more likely susceptible to the spoilage that may be caused as the bacteria begins to grow and multiply in numbers.

So, to sum up, all for you, their storage and preservation techniques are of vital importance to which you should never turn a blind eye.

What Should You Do If Sweet Potatoes Are Left Out Too Long?

Has it ever happened to you that you just forgot to keep your eatables inside the refrigerator or the freezer? Yes, it may be due to workload or any other reason. In that regard, what should your next step be? Let’s get into that.

Your next step should be to discard any sweet potato stock that has been sitting out for too long. We urge you not to risk your health and fitness by giving it even a try. Spongy sites and mold appearance are an indication that you should throw them right away.

How Long Can Sweet Potatoes Be In The Car For?

For how long can you keep your sweet potatoes in the car, and will they be able to maintain their quality after that frame of time or not? Let’s find that out now.

Well, it depends on whether the potatoes are cooked or not. The cooked ones show a lesser shelf life than the raw sweet potatoes. Cooked sweet potatoes can only be expected to sit out for two hours. However, the raw potatoes may stay well for a couple of days.

Do Sweet Potatoes Go Bad If Not Refrigerated?

Again, it depends on whether these potatoes are raw or cooked. So, the question that needs to be dealt with is; do sweet potatoes go bad if you don’t refrigerate them? If you have cooked sweet potatoes, their shelf life reduces, and for this reason, you will need to refrigerate them as soon as possible.

After cooking, allow them to rest for half an hour and preserve them using airtight containers or freezer bags. However, the raw potatoes do not need to be refrigerated as these can stay well up to 3 to 5 weeks in the pantry.

Do Sweet Potatoes Go Bad If You Lose Power?

A freezer can preserve your food items for approximately 48 hours, whereas your refrigerator can maintain the temperature conditions inside for up to 4 hours. If you lose power, you should not taste any food item ever. The same goes for the sweet potatoes.

If cooked sweet potatoes sit out above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 2 hours, simply discarding it is the correct approach.

What Temperature Is Safe For Sweet Potatoes?

Sweet potatoes are not safe in the temperature range from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Between this range, the bacterial growth is maximum. So what temperature do you need to provide your sweet potatoes with so that they can retain their quality?

In the refrigerator, the temperature should be below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to rest at safe temperatures. However, if we talk about the temperature inside the freezer, these should be placed at a temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit will keep safe indefinitely.

How to store your sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes are starchy and contain a huge amount of water content. The substance that has a large amount of stored water tends to go bad easily. The same is the case with sweet potatoes; they will go bad quickly if they are not given proper attention.

The first question striking your mind will be, “Can we store the cooked sweet potatoes or the uncooked ones?” Well, the good news is that you can do both, but each of them has its own limited store life.

Place in your pantry

If you have just brought your sweet potatoes home from the grocery store, you can keep them in your pantry. Your pantry provides the right temperature to them. The low temperature will stiffen up your sweet potatoes, changing their texture.

Your sweet potatoes will grow buds if kept in a warm environment. So, you will have to keep them away from both extreme conditions.

Refrigerate it

The cooked sweet potatoes do not last as long as the uncooked ones. They can retain their goodness for up to a week in your fridge. The sweet potatoes can absorb odor from the food items present in the refrigerator. So, they should be properly covered.

You can use an airtight container to store your sweet potatoes, so no environmental contaminants spoil your sweet potatoes. You can also use a food saver device to preserve your sweet potatoes.

Storing cut sweet potatoes

You are cooking a meal for one person, so you have used half of your sweet potato. You are left with the other half of it and do not know how to store it—confused, right?  Well, there is a very simple and easy solution to this problem. You will have to dip your sweet potato in water.

It will prevent the oxidation of sweet potato, and it will not turn black. You can only store it for a maximum of two days, but you should try to consume it as soon as you can.

Can you freeze your sweet potato?

Are you thinking of storing your sweet potatoes for the rest of the season? You can do so by freezing your sweet potatoes. The uncooked frozen sweet potatoes give a dry texture when they are cooked. If you freeze the cooked sweet potatoes, they will provide you with the same perfect texture and flavor.

You can cook, bake, boil and or steam your sweet potatoes. You can make small portions of it, so you only thaw the amount you have to eat. You can transfer your portions into a zip lock bag so they do not get freeze burn.

How long do sweet potatoes last?

The freshly brought sweet potatoes can stay for up to two months in your pantry.  If they are kept in a well-ventilated and dry area, they will not go bad quickly. They will spoil in a month if they are placed in a humid place.

The cut sweet potatoes will last for a week in your fridge. The cooked ones kept in the refrigerator stay fresh for two weeks. The frozen sweet potatoes survive the longest until they are thawed repeatedly. They will be consumed before they go bad.

How to tell if sweet potatoes are bad?

Sweet potatoes go bad after some time. You need to know about bad sweet potatoes’ signs and symptoms, so no one consumes the bad ones. The bad sweet potatoes may cause some serious ailments.

• If there is budding on your sweet potatoes, it is a sign that they will go bad soon. You can use them by cutting off the buds.
• The skin of the sweet potatoes becomes wrinkly, and there can be blisters on it too.
• The sweet potatoes become mushy after going bad. Their texture is near to that of slime.
• The sweet potatoes lose water when they are gone bad. The released water is stinky and attracts small moths. You should throw them away without any second thoughts.
• There may be molds on your sweet potatoes, indicating their rancidity; hence, they can not be used any further.
• The color of sweet potatoes changes when they go bad, turning from reddish-brown to dark brown.

Sources

• stilltasty
• seniorcare2share
• glad
• foodsafety