Why do my Traditional Mashed Potatoes Taste Tangy and Sour?
Why do my traditional mashed potatoes taste tangy? That’s one question that may have been tormenting you for a long time. Numerous factors can influence how potatoes taste, from the condition of the tuber itself to the ingredients employed in the recipe. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of tangy flavor in potatoes, a few of them are the typical culprits.
Traditional mashed potatoes often taste tangy if they are spoiled, have been out of the fridge for too long after being cooked, are green, have lots of sprouts, or have been prepared using too much sour cream. Although you may need to pay attention, you can prevent mashed potatoes from tasting tangy or bitter.
Before you can avoid that tangy flavor in your potatoes that keeps haunting you, it is essential to know the top reasons responsible for the problem. Armed with the knowledge, you will be able to understand how and when the unwanted pungency shows up and, more importantly, how to stop it.
Top 5 Causes of Bitter Taste in Mouth After Eating Potatoes and how to Solve it
Not knowing what is messing up your potatoes is a serious issue. If you are clueless, you may spend days, weeks, or even months trying to figure out where the unusual savor is coming from while your family and friends keep their distance to avoid your meals at all costs.
Luckily, you only have to look at the top causes that make potatoes tangy and sour to determine the origin of that taste in your mashed potatoes. Study them carefully, and you will be on your way to making your potatoes edible again!
1. The Potatoes are Spoiled
If your potatoes are rotten, they will likely have a tangy flavor, to say the least. More often than not, they will taste sour, bitter, and even have a vinegar-like aftertaste. So never use spoiled tubers for cooking mashed potatoes or anything else for that matter.
You can tell when a potato is no longer edible because it is much softer than usual for not saying extremely mushy. It may also look moldy with lots of black spots. But more importantly, it will possess a foul odor that you won’t be able to ignore.
2. Your Potatoes Have Been on the Counter for too Long
It is normal to forget a recently prepared dish of scrumptious mashed potatoes over the counter when unexpected events show up out of nowhere. Sadly, your meal won’t forgive you!
Leaving cooked potatoes over the table, counter, or any place outside the fridge for several hours, especially if it’s in a warm room, may result in the growth of bacteria that can add an undesirable tangy flavoring that can ruin your lunch or dinner.
3. You Have Been Eating too Many Green Potatoes
That shade of light green on your potatoes is a bad sign. It’s an indication of too much chlorophyll being produced due to prolonged exposition to light. Now, chlorophyll by itself is not the problem; however, the presence of the solanine and chaconine compounds, which also appear, can be an issue.
These chemicals have a strong, unpleasant bitter flavor that can turn mashed potatoes into a disaster, but that’s the least of your problems. They are also poisonous when eaten in large amounts, and their consumption is known to cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
So cut all green patches you find on the tubers, or toss them away if you want to be on the safe side.
Remember, that tangy burning sensation you may experience after eating green potatoes is not a new seasoning!
4. There are too Many Sprouts on the Potatoes
A potato covered in sprouts must be avoided whenever possible. These sprouts contain significant amounts of solanine and chaconine, which may make mashed potatoes taste tangy and bitter. Of course, they are also poisonous.
Thankfully, they have an easy fix. You can just cut the sprouts off, and problem solved. Still, if you don’t want potatoes growing sprouts any time soon, don’t store them in a warm room for a long time.
5. You Overdid the Amount of Sour Cream on Potatoes
Sometimes your potatoes may taste tangy and sour because, well, you used too much sour cream. Yep, an excessive amount of sour cream can make mashed potatoes too sour!
One way to address the problem is by throwing in a bit of salt. Just add it little by little until the desired flavor is achieved. If you overdo it, pouring milk might balance things out.
Your traditional mashed potatoes can taste tangy for various reasons. However, you can avoid the pitfalls of preparing terrifyingly bitter-tasting mashed potatoes as long as you pick the right tubers, measure the ingredients, and remember that potatoes should go inside the fridge if you are not eating them.
Don’t use potatoes that seem rare. When in doubt, toss them out! Pay attention to each of these factors and understand them, so you can end the tangy-tasting potatoes that have been wreaking havoc in your life.