Do Sweet Potatoes Go Bad? How Long Do It Last? [Best Answer] in 2023

Sweet Potatoes are one of our favorite starchy foods. It can also be made into plenty of different recipes that make it an optimal kitchen companion. I always have plenty of sweet potatoes in my kitchen. However, sometimes I forget them in the pantry for a long time and then ask myself; Do Sweet Potatoes go bad?

We are planning on answering this question clearly in the following g article. We will also help you understand how to store sweet potatoes as well as how to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad. So, follow along!

Do Sweet Potatoes Go Bad?

Considering that it’s a sweet starchy Vegetable that is filled with natural sugar. it Does go bad. but it depends greatly on plenty of stuff.

Cooked sweet potatoes can go bad way faster than uncooked and raw ones. Also, the storage and the quality of the potatoes can play a big role in How fast it can go bad.

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How Long Do Sweet Potatoes Last?

To determine that, we have to take into account the type of sweet potatoes as well as the conditions of storage of it. But we can give a general estimate of how long it can last.

Uncooked sweet potatoes

Fresh sweet potatoes can have a long life, around 2 to 3 weeks in the pantry to be exact. this because it’s usually hard and the skin of it protects it from plenty of microbes.

However, the quality of it degrades the longer you wait on it. This is why I would say to consume it as soon as possible. You can store it longer if you put it in the fridge even up to a full month, but I wouldn’t do that cause it wouldn’t be fresh after all.

Cooked sweet potatoes

This is hard to tell cause it can vary based on the ingredients that you have put in the dish. Some ingredients can cause the dish to go bad fast such as dairy products, others can be slightly lighter and won’t impact the period much such as seasoning.

But we can say that 3 to 5 days is how long it can last in the fridge. Leaving the dish outside the fridge is a big no-no as room temperature encourages bacterial infestation. If you need it for longer, the freezer is your resort with a good wrapping to ensure it won’t be contaminated.

Canned sweet potatoes

You can rely on the manufacture dates for this one. But the canned packages can have the longest shelf life, lasting you up to a full year if stored properly in a cool and dark place in the pantry.

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Sweet Potatoes Shelf Life [Full Chart]

How to Store Sweet Potatoes?

Now that we know that Sweet potatoes do go bad, here are how to store it probably. Storing it the right way can easily extend its shelf life for long periods of time.

Let’s just make this clear beforehand, raw sweet potatoes don’t enjoy cold or hot temperature. and both aren’t the best way to store it.

• Hot temperatures create holes inside of it. making it soft and spongy, maybe you think that this is a good thing, but the taste will say the complete opposite.
• For cold temperature, it’s kinda more merciful, the potatoes last longer, but the water content inside hardens and makes the taste slightly off compared to the fresh ones.

Knowing that fresh and raw potatoes don’t require much, a temperature slightly below room temperature can be optimal for such storage. which we now know that the pantry fulfills such conditions. just tuck them in a cool and dark area in the pantry and your potatoes will thank you for it.

As for cooked sweet potatoes, Fridge is the way to go. All you need is to wrap it well and then put your dish in the fridge and you are done.

Canned sweet potatoes should be stored as the manufacture advises, closed cans can last quite well in the pantry, while opened one would do better in the fridge.

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How to Freeze Sweet Potatoes?

If you have a lot of Sweet potatoes that you want to store for a really really long time. Freezing them sounds like the best thing to do.

I wouldn’t suggest freezing them raw for the reasons stated above. but cooked one is a good way to do so. Here are how you can freeze them properly:

• Cook all of the potatoes the way you enjoy it.
• Start to divide the cooked potatoes into smaller portions for each meal.
• Wait for the portions to cool down a little, it’s not smart to throw it in the freezer immediately while it’s boiling hot. Wait 30 minutes till it cools down.
• Get some freezer bags and tuck your freshly cooked potatoes in them, then seal them tightly.
• Put the bags in the freezer and now you are done.

How To Tell If Sweet Potatoes Have Gone Bad?

We already established that sweet potatoes do go bad after a period of time as well as how long it takes to spoil. But here comes the big question: How to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad? This is what we are answering here.

Just like ordinary potatoes, the most obvious factor of sweet potatoes’ freshness is how it looks. Generally speaking, most potatoes eventually have sprouted from the eye of it. It’s small grown green parts due to them being root vegetables.

While sprouts might seem off, they aren’t a sign of spoilage. but they indicate that it’s coming close to spoiling. So, cut them off and then cook it as soon as possible.

The second sign is black spots, while not the safest, they still don’t indicate spoilage. simply cut them and cook your sweet potato.

Mold is what should worry you, a sign of mold is never good and it can easily tell you that you have a bad sweet potato. as soon as you see the mold, discard the potato immediately.

the last sign is the shriveling. Shivering happens as the root vegetable starts to lose its moisture. when this happens, it’s definitely a spoiled potato you should throw it in the nearest trashcan.

If it looks okay from the outside but it feels spongy, cut it open. the inside probably has some holes and this okay. But if the holes are all over the place, discarding the vegetable sounds like the right thing to do.

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Wrapping Up

If you love potatoes, then you have surely learned a lot by knowing if it go bad or not, as well as how to store it probably and the right method of freezing It.

If you have any questions that you would want us to answer them, leave them in the comments and be sure we will reply to them. Thanks for reading!

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