Potato Is Stem or Root
So why does this matter when you’re just trying to make mashed potatoes? Because knowing this changes how you store them. Since potatoes are stems, they are alive and full of stored energy. They hate light. Light makes them turn green and produce a nasty toxin called solanine. Roots like carrots don’t mind the light as much, but your potato stems will get bitter and sad.
Keep your potatoes in a cool, dark, and dry place—like a paper bag in a cupboard. Never in the fridge! Fridges are too cold, and cold turns the starch into sugar. You’ll end up with sweet, dark fries that burn too fast. Nobody wants that tragedy.
What Is The Black Part Of A Potato
The “Don’t Plant a Carrot” Rule
Here’s another practical reason: if you want to grow your own potatoes, you must never, ever plant a whole potato like you would a carrot seed. You cut the potato into chunks, making sure each chunk has at least one eye. That eye is a stem bud. Bury that chunk, and the stem shoots up to the sun while the buried part swells into more potatoes.
Try doing that with a carrot top—you’ll just get sad, floppy leaves. Potatoes are the overachievers of the vegetable world, turning a single stem into a whole family of stems. It’s like the stem said, “I’m too tired to stand up straight, so I’ll just get fat underground and call it a day.”