When I was little, we kept the potatoes in the aboveground cupboard under the stairs. Which didn't work that well in a house with central heating. At that time it was recommended that they be kept in a cool basement. Which was kind of silly, because very few houses here are built with an underground basement because of the high water table.

So after I moved out to an appartment I started storing them in the bottom drawer of the fridge without ill effects, as far as I can tell. Sacks of store-bought potatoes nowadays carry the advice to store them in the fridge.

I don't think that I've ever read anything on a bag of potatoes other than the variety --- what a smart way to figure out how to store potatoes!

As Titus mentioned over on facebook, the one downside of storing the potatoes in the fridge and the ensuing sugars is that it makes the potatoes a bit worse for you since it increases their glycemic index. However, I don't think that white potatoes are good for you in any form, so we eat them rarely. Lately, I've had more of a French mindset about food --- eat what tastes good, but take the rich foods in extreme moderation.

Lisa --- I've read about people storing potatoes and apples in the barn, but I've always assumed that's in a warmer climate than here. Looking at a zone map, you're probably either in zone 7 or 8, and we're in zone 6, so I'd be leery of trying it here.

Daddy --- We actually made a potato clamp (which is what that's called) a couple of years ago. I wasn't overly pleased with the results since quite a few of the potatoes froze and rotted. Granted, as I mentioned in the above linked page, there were quite a few things I could have done differently that might have improved our results.

Daddy --- I'll bet the cows in the barn helped raise the temperature and keep it above freezing. I've read that really old timey people used to stable their livestock under their house for exactly that reason.

I've heard about people storing cabbages that way and have always been curious about it! Maybe one day I'll try it!

Roland --- Daddy's using "white potatoes" to distinguish from "sweet potatoes", which you store (and grow) completely differently. (Sweet potatoes are in a different family and are potatoes only in that they have tubers that we eat. You may be more familiar with an unrelated but similar food called yams.)

According to the nutrient info on the last bag of potatoes I bought (a biologically grown breed called "Ditta") they contained the following nutrients (per 100 g):

If I'm not mistaken, carbohydrates are our main source of energy. And potatoes contain no fat or salt. Doesn't seem too bad to me. (That's not to say people should be living on french fries or potato chips, btw. )

Carbohydrates are our main source of energy, but everything I've been reading lately suggests that they shouldn't be (and weren't before agriculture made grains and potatoes so easy to come by.) Instead, we should be getting a much larger proportion of our energy from protein --- many nutritionists are now recommending that protein make up 20 to 25% of our daily calories. Since I like to get a lot of my daily calories from vegetables too (and butternut pies ), that doesn't leave much room for starches. I keep things simple and consider potatoes a starch since they're only about 9% protein (based on my quick math and your data --- could be wrong...) (Do be aware, though, that high protein diets are not good for folks with kidney problems.)

On a more positive note, sweet potatoes are supposed to be a little better for you since they have more nutrients to balance out all those carbs.

I think it's only 2% proteins; 2 grams out of 100. Or do you only consider the fraction of the dry weight? In that case it's 8% by my calculation.

With regard to nurtrition, I try to follow the "wheel of five".

But I'm not sure that food composition is as critical as some diet gurus want us to believe. People through the ages have adapted to many different diets (e.g. some groups can digest lactose while others can't).

You do the percentage by calories --- how many calories of protein are in the serving versus total calories.

I consider the major decline in health of people as soon as they became farmers an indication that diet is important, and that changing over to a carbohydrate-based diet is not such a good idea. I know that in the last couple of months as I've been decreasing the carbohydrates in my diet, I've been much happier!

Storing potatoes in the fridge can lead to increased levels of acrylamide:

http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/foodcontaminantsadulteration/chemicalcontaminants/acrylamide/ucm151000.htm