Solanine Quest

[Literally]

Great info @postman, thanks.

 

[postman]

According to an article at the Weston A. Price foundation and also Paul Jaminet's book, the great quantity of glycoalkaloids in potatoes are near the skin. This is because bugs must eat through the outer parts first. So by leaving, say 1/2" or more of potato near the skin you are probably avoiding most of them. Also, keep the out of the light in storage and avoid bruising them, as I believe both factors massively increase the level of toxin. Unfortunately many grocery stores really screw this up before you get to them.

The WAPF source also recommends just discarding any potato that shows visible green near the skin when cut, as well as any potato that has sprouted.

I haven't tried cutting off that much yet but I might try it. It just feels like I would throw so much away though. It's almost like you'd get one fry from each potato lol. It's probably a good idea to "peel" potatoes with a big knife and cut off hearthy portions, those little peelers that take off only like one millimeter, they are a mistake.

I seem to do fine with potatoes by peeling them and boiling for a long time - until they're very soft. Slow cooking is probably another pretty valid option.

Unfortunately boiling potatoes in water does very little to decrease the solanine content.

When I buy potatoes, I usually dig through to get a bag underneath the top bags. The top bags have a tendency to have more green potatoes, because it develops as a response to light exposure.

It's dumb that grocery stores keep their potatoes out in light, but I guess they don't really have another option.

Yeah I try to dig down and grab the bag that's not on top otherwise they start sprouting within a week.

Yeah modern society is pure idiocracy, we forgot how to even properly store and handle basic foods. I've heard from older friends that potatoes used to be completely covered in the grocery stores.

Great info @postman, thanks.

Cheers.

 

[dwide]

Yeah modern society is pure idiocracy, we forgot how to even properly store and handle basic foods. I've heard from older friends that potatoes used to be completely covered in the grocery stores.

In fairness most grocery stores do cover them at night.

 

[postman]

Has anyone here ever tried deep frying in caprylic acid? I read it has a smoking point of about 250 degrees celcius. It would be quite expensive though. Has anyone here ever tried deep frying with cacao butter? It also has a high smoking point

 

[SOMO]

Has anyone here ever tried deep frying in caprylic acid? I read it has a smoking point of about 250 degrees celcius. It would be quite expensive though. Has anyone here ever tried deep frying with cacao butter? It also has a high smoking point

Most people overcook their food.

I have deep fried with cacao butter, i.e. white chocolate and the oil seemed very stable and cooked the food evenly.

No smoking and no off-flavors with the cacao butter.

 

[postman]

Most people overcook their food.

I have deep fried with cacao butter, i.e. white chocolate and the oil seemed very stable and cooked the food evenly.

No smoking and no off-flavors with the cacao butter.

Thank you

 

[Gone Peating]

OP what effects does solanine have on you?

 

[Apple]

antitumor studies of solanine​

A number of studies have confirmed that solanine has strong anti-cell proliferation effects on leukemia (13,14), endometrial cancer (15), liver cancer (16,17), esophageal cancer (18), pancreatic cancer (19), prostate and so on (20).

A narrative review of the antitumor studies of solanine

Cancer is a major worldwide public health problem. With the popularity of medical examinations, the improvement of surgical procedures and the application of antitumor drugs, the mortality rate of cancer has declined in recent years, but the quantity ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[AinmAnseo]

Glycoalkaloids are found throughout the potato tubers, but concentrate in the sprouts, peel and the area around the potato ‘eyes' (Figure 2). In normal tubers, glycoalkaloids are concentrated in a small 1.5 mm layer immediately under the skin (i.e. 30 to 80% of the glycoalkaloids are found in the outer peel). According to a study conducted by the CFS in 2007, the glycoalkaloid content (alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine) of five cultivars of tubers available in the Hong Kong market ranged from 26 to 88 mg/kg fresh weight. While glycoalkaloids were below 10 mg/kg in the flesh of these potatoes, glycoalkaloids in the peel varied between 90 and 400 mg/kg. Peeling of potatoes will greatly reduce the levels of glycoalkaloids present.

Toxic Glycoalkaloids in Potatoes

 

[Ras]

One could make use of the solanine in a hair-growth tonic, as solanine is a potassium channel opener like minoxidil:

US5665342A - Scalp and hair care product and process of preparing same - Google Patents

A live hair and skin treating cosmetic formulation containing a mixture of biochemicals obtained by boiling in water a composition containing potato peelings and lantana leaves.

patents.google.com

 

[DanDare]

There MUST be a way to effectively lower the glycoalkaloid content in potatoes to the point where it's not even noticable. Potato is such a perfect food except for the glycoalkaloids, there must be a way to solve this problem. Peeling potatoes decreases solanine by about 30-70% but that is not nearly enough if you're sensitive to this poison.

The current leads I'm going to look at:
1. Deep frying at high heat, at least 190 degrees celcius
2. Canned potatoes
3. Extracting solanine with acid solutions

If you have any thoughts or experiences about effectively killing the solanine content in these precious tubers please share it in this thread.

One day I will write my e-thesis on high temperature cooking products such as acrylamide, and their harms, and crack the planet in two, until then I just want to caution about adding these toxins by cooking at high temperatures, in an effort to reduce other toxins. For me they have immediate and debilitating effects ( severe headache, night sweating, general ill depressed feeling but could just be the pain! ).