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I have been told that green (unripe) potatoes are poisonous and that this is "common knowledge". I doubt there are any chemical properties in these potatoes that could cause any harm. AFAIK, potatoes are only a tuber that grows over time, gaining size to store greater amounts of (the same types of) nutrients.

With fruits, the maturation process makes sense because it's a "strategy" to spread the seeds (when they are ready and not before). Tubers are hidden in the ground, they are meant to store nutrients (as seeds) and not to be eaten to spread any seed (as fruits). However, as a part of the "intention" of not being eaten they may contain chemicals and their density may decrease as the tuber grows, so this could be possible.

Trylks
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    http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/1260/is-it-safe-to-eat-potatoes-which-have-sprouted – Mat Sep 08 '13 at 09:06
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    Green potatoes are not unripe. They turn green when exposed to light. – Oddthinking Sep 08 '13 at 10:05
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    Wikipedia: [Solanine in potatoes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanine#Solanine_in_potatoes) – ChrisW Sep 08 '13 at 10:41
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    Conversely, [new potatoes](http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/new-potatoes) are edible. – ChrisW Sep 08 '13 at 12:20
  • @ChrisW thank you, I think that replies the question, there may also have been some confusion in some part of the propagation of the information since "green" is polysemous. Due to that, there may be some places (in the world) where this is common knowledge and some other places where this is common misconception. – Trylks Sep 08 '13 at 14:32
  • Trylks: You added back "unripe" after an edit by @Flimzy to remove this confusion. Why? – Oddthinking Sep 09 '13 at 02:37
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    @Oddthinking Perhaps because "unripe" was the original claim, and [the larger part of] the question which you answered. It's one of the meanings of the Spanish "[verde](http://translate.google.com/#es/en/verde)". You may expect questions to show some confusion (otherwise, they wouldn't have been asked). – ChrisW Sep 09 '13 at 08:00
  • @ChrisW: I'm willing to accept "the green parts of potatoes are unhealthy" as a notable claim without further evidence, because I have often heard it myself. I am not willing to accept "unripe potatoes are unhealthy" as a notable claim without evidence that people actually say that. – Oddthinking Sep 09 '13 at 08:05
  • @Oddthinking Trylks's comment was that, whenever it's said "in some places" (which, I understood to mean "in Spanish"), then that which is said has (or, may easily and perhaps even commonly be misunderstood as having) both meanings. – ChrisW Sep 09 '13 at 08:19
  • @Oddthinking I am Spanish and I was speaking with a Russian guy, he made crystal clear that he was not referring to the color but speaking about what we agreed were "immature" (unripe) potatoes. He claimed this was common knowledge in Russia, about what I have no further idea. The terms may be confusing in more languages than Spanish, [[example](http://translate.google.com/#en/ru/unripe)]. I think the answer provided by ChrisW is very explanatory about how green-colored potatoes are poisonous and new potatoes are perfectly fine, clarifying both the truth and the misconception, which is great. – Trylks Sep 09 '13 at 17:02

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Wikipedia's Solanine in potatoes explains why some potatoes become green, and what the poison is:

When potato tubers are exposed to light, they turn green and increase glycoalkaloid production. This is a natural defense to help prevent the uncovered tuber from being eaten. The green colour is from chlorophyll, and is itself harmless. However, it is an indication that increased level of solanine and chaconine may be present.

It's not that the potatoes are "unripe"; for example, new potatoes are edible:

New potatoes have thin, wispy skins and a crisp, waxy texture. They are young potatoes and unlike their fully grown counterparts, they keep their shape once cooked and cut. They are also sweeter because their sugar has not yet converted into starch, and are therefore particularly suited to salads.

ChrisW
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