Can You Eat Raw Potatoes?

Under certain conditions, you can eat small amounts of raw potatoes. But: Eating raw potatoes during pregnancy is not recommended. Likewise, small children and people with sensitive stomachs should avoid the uncooked nightshade plant for the sake of health.

These are the dangers of eating raw potatoes

Whether as mashed potatoes, fries, or gratin: boiled potatoes are indispensable in the kitchen. And the raw version? If you would like to eat tomatoes, peppers, and parsnips raw, that is completely harmless. With potatoes, however, the situation is different.

Whether stomach problems, nausea, fever, or impaired consciousness: Eating raw potatoes can have mild to severe health consequences. This is due to two factors.

• Raw potatoes contain a lot of hard-to-digest starch, which you only convert into digestible carbohydrates during the cooking process.
• Raw potatoes and solanine: In contrast to the cooked version, uncooked potatoes contain a particularly large amount of solanine. This chemical compound serves as a natural defense against mold and pests in the nightshade family—and is toxic to humans in large doses. And: raw potatoes are also potentially dangerous for animals. So keep dogs and cats away from the food!

Incidentally, the taste of raw potatoes is also rather off-putting. The uncooked potatoes taste floury and bitter due to the starch and the solanine they contain.

Under these circumstances, you can eat raw potatoes

Raw food fans like to refine dishes with raw potatoes and the uncooked tuber is considered a home remedy for heartburn. How do you safely consume raw potatoes in cases like these? Note the following tips for this!

• Peel the potatoes and generously cut away sprouting spots. Under the skin and in the green areas, the potato produces a particularly large amount of solanine.
• Only eat very fresh goods that have been stored in the dark. The tubers form more solanine from day to day, which is also promoted by sunlight. And if you’ve ever wondered: about buying and storing potatoes, what should you pay attention to? We have the answer for this too.
• Only eat raw potatoes in small amounts. The following applies here: Eating raw potatoes is poisonous for an adult from a quantity of three kilograms.

You can eat the tubers raw, with restrictions. However, for carefree and healthy enjoyment, we recommend that you boil your potatoes before eating them. You can process them into a variety of delicious dishes such as potato gratin or potato salad. Boiled potatoes are also an easily digestible filling side dish as baked potatoes or mashed potatoes. Try one of our many delicious potato recipes!