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Green Crisps
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Potato that are green contain an arsenic related poison called solanine and although 1 crisp won't kill you, due to the type of toxin, the body builds up the poison and it will eventually do some harm. Tatties are related to the deadly nightshade, as are tomatoes, aubergines and peppers....part of the reason you do not get 'potato greens' to eat in a salad, as the toxin is also in the leaves and shoots.
The potato turns green if exposed to sunlight - it is sometimes due to chlorophyll present in the tuber - and as in all poisons in plants is a way of stopping itself from being eaten. The general rule is if the potato is over 10% green, or green below the skin, ideally, do not use it, or at least peel 'deeply'.
Deep frying will sterilise the crisp, so most crisps have little or no bacterial infection, but frying does not affect the toxicity of the green potato. They are unusual to find as the factories have optical sensors that discard the 'off colour' products either too pale or too dark crisps - as well as generally removing the green ones.
Basically most veg, fruit and seeds have some sort of poison to stop them from being eaten as natures way to make sure the seeds survive...if it is bitter it is likely to be toxic.
See http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/nightshade.htm for a bunch of info on your food...