Exact Answer: 3 – 5 Days
Potatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables that can be added to almost all types of dishes. It is an extremely tasty vegetable and is loved by all. Most children enjoy having a meal with potatoes in it as it can be made in several different ways. It can be cooked in a variety of different methods like it can be fried, boiled, mashed, roasted, baked, etc.
However, one must consume the leftover cooked potatoes as soon as possible i.e within a few days after cooking them to ensure that they do not get spoiled. Thus, to avoid spoilage, one needs to store cooked potatoes properly under optimal conditions.
How Long Do Cooked Potatoes Last?
Once potatoes are cooked, their shelf life gets considerably shortened as compared to it would have been had the vegetable was raw and uncooked. Therefore, after the potatoes are cooked, the maximum they can be stored is for about 3 to 5 days inside a refrigerator.
However, if the cooked potatoes are stored inside a freezer, they may last for a larger duration of about 10 to 12 months, but the quality of the cooked potatoes will suffer drastically. Thus, to experience the maximum flavor of the potatoes after cooking, it is always advisable to consume them hot and fresh.
As per the guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture, it is always recommended to consume cooked vegetables immediately as all cooked veggies including cooked potatoes can be kept in the refrigerator for a period, not more than 4 to 5 days. If cooked items are stored beyond that, the safety of the food for consumption might get affected.
Thus, it can be concluded that how long will cooked potatoes last depends on the method adopted for storing them. Also, it is observed that storing cooked potatoes in the fridge or a freezer helps them to last longer than they would if kept at normal room temperature.
| Condition | Duration |
| Cooked potatoes in the fridge | 3 to 5 days |
| Cooked potatoes in the freezer | 10 to 12 months |
Why Do Cooked Potatoes Last This Long?
Fresh potatoes that are raw and uncooked have a longer shelf life than any kind of potato. However, after one peels or cuts it, the potato no longer remains whole and fresh and this might shorten its shelf life. Likewise, if the potatoes are cooked, one should not expect them to last as long as fresh potatoes would do.
Uncooked potatoes can last for months inside the fridge without getting rotten or spoiled when stored properly. However, this is not the case with cooked potatoes. Even if kept inside a refrigerator, cooked potatoes will last only for about 3 to 5 days before it starts to spoil.
Thus, once the potatoes are peeled, cut, or cooked, their longevity for storage gets shortened and they do not last long. In such circumstances, keeping them at a low temperature helps in slowing the decaying process by a couple of days, and hence they need to be used as soon as possible.
After about 4 to 5 days, if one the appearance of the cooked potatoes looks off and smells a bit different than it did earlier, it means that the potatoes have gone bad. Thus, it is essential to check for indications whether the cooked potatoes have gone bad or not before consuming them after storing them for a few days.
Some of the common indicators of spoiled cooked potatoes are bad smell, mold growth, etc If such indications are visible it is highly advisable to discard those potatoes to prevent any negative consequences on one’s health.
Conclusion
Cooked vegetables, in general, do not last for a long time and potatoes are no exception to this. The thumb rule for storing any kind of cooked vegetable including potatoes is to use them within 3 to 5 days of cooking. Thus, after one has cooked the potatoes, it would maximum last for only a few days inside a fridge.
However, it is important to note that how one cooks the potatoes can make a difference in this timing, but it would not have a great impact. Thus, to minimize any risk of getting one’s food spoiled and to ensure that the cooked food’s safety for consumption is not hindered, it is advisable to use them within 3 to 5 days of cooking.
References
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1983.tb03519.x
- https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF02410102.pdf
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