Different from yam and potato, germination is a normal phenomenon, and no toxic substances such as solanine will be produced after germination. Therefore, yam germination is non-toxic and will not affect eating. However, the germination of yam indicates that it has begun the growth of life. Germination will lead to the reduction of nutrients in yam, and the nutrients lost by slight germination will be few, while the nutrients lost by serious germination will be much more.

How to deal with yam germination? Once the yam germinates, it shows that this nutrient is experiencing a lot, and the texture of the tuber has declined. If the buds are still short, you can peel and slice them and soak them in water to increase their brittleness, so that the use value will not be too low; If the bud is long, it is not suitable for eating.

There are two kinds of common yam in the market: common yam and railway yam. Compared with common yam, iron-dried yam is unique in that it has high viscosity, white color, less moisture, slightly more hairs, unique dark red "rust spots" and is powdery and greasy. After being broken, its cross section is white or yellowish, and it has a strong constitution, which can't be boiled in water for a long time.

The storage method of yam is short-term preservation.

Short-term preservation of yam only needs peeling and slicing yam, soaking it in water, adding proper amount of vinegar or salt in the water, and then putting it in the refrigerator separately in a fresh-keeping bag for rapid refrigeration. The optimum temperature of yam preservation is 0 ~ 10℃.

Long-term preservation

Room temperature ventilation preservation method:

If the home is well ventilated, it can be stored in a ventilated place at room temperature. Generally, it can be preserved for 3 ~ 6 months by this method. When storing, don't pack yam in plastic bags and newspapers. Better let them go.

Rice wine soaking method:

This method is not commonly used, because it will destroy the taste and quality of yam. The practice is to break the yam, then soak the incision in rice wine, then blow dry it with a hair dryer to promote fracture healing, and finally wrap it in a napkin and put it in the shade for several months.

Refrigeration method:

It is understood that Chinese yam can be preserved for about 3 years at 1 ~ 4℃. So the yam bought in summer can be put in the refrigerator immediately. Yam should be separated from fruit during cold storage, so as to avoid the deterioration of yam caused by ethylene released from fruit.

Cold storage method:

The method is suitable for large-scale preservation of Chinese yam growers or Chinese yam processing plants. When using this method, the temperature of the cold storage should be kept at 2 ~ 6℃ for many years, which can be preserved for several months.