A: NO! This is the wrong way to do it and is not food safe. Cooked starch foods like potatoes can grow germs if not kept either refrigerated and cold or hot over 140º F.
Make sure the potatoes are eaten within two hours of being cooked, or keep the potatoes at 140 degrees F or hotter. Or put them in the refrigerator within two hours of being cooked. This would apply to dishes such as mashed potatoes, potato soup, boiled potatoes, and potato salad.
Eating a baked potato that has been left out overnight is not recommended. The potato can become a breeding ground for bacteria, such as staphylococcus and bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning. What is this? If a baked potato has been left out overnight, it should be discarded.
Cooked potatoes should be reheated to a minimum of 165 F before eating to kill any bacteria. At room temperature, potatoes that have been cooked quickly grow bacterial colonies that cause them to spoil after 2-3 hours.
Once cooked (whole or cut) potatoes can be stored in water (with or without vinegar) without becoming discolored or mushy. But, water storage isn't necessary. Refrigerate the boiled potatoes in a sealed container and use within a couple of days.
After you've cooked potatoes, you can store them in the fridge for up to three days. You can also freeze cooked potatoes. Boil them for at least five minutes before freezing.
Do cooked potatoes go brown? No. Once the starch is cooked, the potato won't go brown even if it is exposed to air for a while. If you have lots of potatoes that need to be used up, the best option is to peel and cube them, then cook them and freeze them in portions.
How Long Can Boiled Potatoes Sit Before Mashing? If you want to boil your potatoes in advance of mashing them, leave them sitting in about 1-2 inches of the cooking water for up to 2 hours. Then when it's time to mash them, you can bring the water to a simmer to reheat the potatoes.
“When these are stored in the fridge, the starch in the potato is converted to sugar. When baked or fried, these sugars combine with the amino acid asparagine and produce the chemical acrylamide, which is thought to be harmful.”
You can prepare the spuds up to 24 hours before you need to cook with them. Then, on the evening you're planning to serve them, you can make creamy potatoes at the drop of the hat.
Cooked potatoes and other cooked vegetables can be safely kept in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.
If a perishable food (such as meat or poultry) has been left out at room temperature overnight (more than two hours) it may not be safe. Discard it, even though it may look and smell good. Never taste a food to see if it is spoiled. Use a food thermometer to verify temperatures.
Peeled potatoes left out by themselves at room temperature, on a refrigerator shelf or wrapped in foil or plastic wrap will still get dark overnight, so submerge them in a bowl of water, cover and refrigerate. Cubed peeled potatoes can sit in water overnight, but they need to be refrigerated.
When stored in a cool, dark place, (warmer than the fridge but colder than the average temperature of your kitchen) whole, uncooked potatoes can last up to two months. At room temperature, on the counter, for example, potatoes will last up to two weeks.
Gray areas on boiled potatoes are OK to eat
That ghostly gray coloring on your boiled potatoes is a harmless chemical reaction that won't affect taste, nutrition, safety or texture.
Yes, you can boil potatoes ahead of time for your potato salad up to 24 hours before serving. Just make sure to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Storing cooked potatoes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
They can sit for an hour, or two, like this, Foster says. When you are ready to continue, set the pot over low heat and the simmering water will heat the potatoes back up so you can mash them.
If you're here, you'll probably be glad to know that yes, you can peel and cut potatoes the day before you plan to serve them — and that it's super easy! All you have to do is submerge the bare potato pieces in water and refrigerate (more on that later).
Here's the deal on those spuds. When cooked potatoes are left out at room temperature or warmed up for a second time, they can take a toxic turn for the worst. Why? Warm temperatures promote the growth of the rare bacteria, botulism, that is commonly found in potatoes.
TWO HOURS is the MAXIMUM time perishable foods should be at room temperature (ONE HOUR at temperatures 90 degrees F and higher). This INCLUDES the time they're on the table during your meal. Just ONE bacterium, doubling every 20 minutes, can grow to over 2,097,152 bacteria in 7 hours!
Myth: You shouldn't put hot foods in the refrigerator.
If you leave food out to cool and forget about it after 2 hours, throw it away. Bacteria can grow rapidly on food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
The USDA says food that has been left out of the fridge for more than two hours should be thrown away. At room temperature, bacteria grows incredibly fast and can make you sick. Reheating something that has been sitting at room temperature for longer than two hours won't be safe from bacteria.
Check for soft spots, dark spots, sprouts, or green color. If the potato has little sprouts remove them, then prep potato for your dish. If there is a little green cut that off. If the potato has long spouts, is soft, wrinkled, or has lots of dark spots get rid of it.