How one can Freeze Potatoes

Freezing potatoes is a helpful and sensible strategy to hold them recent and engaging over an prolonged time period. Learn to protect potatoes in your freezer with the following pointers.

Potatoes have been relied on for hundreds of years as an amazing crop for winter meals storage. Nevertheless, there could also be occasions when storage situations should not perfect. Possibly you don’t have a chilly space in your house for storing crops, or maybe your winter finally ends up hotter than anticipated and your potatoes are starting to melt and sprout prematurely whereas in storage.

Don’t let your potatoes go to waste. One other nice strategy to protect potatoes and candy potatoes is to freeze them.

Ideas for Freezing Potatoes

Frozen potatoes are helpful to have available when it’s good to get dinner on the desk shortly. The prep work of peeling and chopping has already been finished. Because the potatoes are partially cooked, it is going to additionally lower down the cooking time.

Scrumptious frozen potatoes are a beautiful addition to soups, stews, casseroles, or as a facet dish to meals. Learn to freeze potatoes in order that they’ve an extended shelf life, and good taste with the following pointers:

Generally Requested Questions

When you’ve got by no means considered freezing potatoes earlier than, you will have questions. Listed here are some solutions to continuously requested questions on freezing potatoes:

• Are you able to freeze potatoes? Sure, with somewhat prep, and precooking, potatoes will be preserved within the freezer. Frozen cooked potatoes can be utilized in a wide range of dishes.
• Are you able to freeze uncooked potatoes? No, raw potatoes don’t freeze nicely. Potatoes have to be pre-cooked earlier than freezing or the feel and taste will degrade, and the chilly temperature will flip the potato black when thawed. Blanching potatoes stops enzyme actions, which may trigger lack of taste, coloration and texture.
• Are you able to freeze mashed potatoes? Sure, mashed potatoes will be stashed within the freezer for a future meal. You possibly can freeze leftover potatoes, or cook dinner up a batch of mashed potatoes to protect within the freezer for a later meal.

Forms of Potatoes for Freezing

Any sort of potato will be frozen. The standard of the frozen potatoes will differ relying on the variability, how recent the tubers are, and the way nicely the flavour and texture holds up within the freezer. I recommend freezing a small batch to check the outcomes earlier than committing to freezing a big amount.

With that being stated, if I’ve potatoes in storage which might be exhibiting indicators of going dangerous, I’ll freeze these as a substitute of dropping them. Even when they end up mushy when cooked, these can nonetheless be utilized in pureed soups.

The forms of potatoes that freeze finest embody baking potatoes, waxy boiling potatoes, and candy potatoes.

• Baking potatoes include much less moisture and sufficient starch to carry up nicely when blanched and frozen with out turning mushy. Forms of high-starch baking potatoes embody Inexperienced Mountain, Katahdin, and Kennebec, Russet, Snowden, and Yukon Gold.
• Waxy potatoes may also freeze nicely. Waxy or boiling forms of potatoes are low in starch and excessive in moisture and sugar. These embody skinny skinned, freshly harvested new potatoes, spherical gold, white, and pink potatoes.
• Candy potatoes additionally freeze nicely as cubed, grated, or mashed.

What’s the Greatest Strategy to Freeze Potatoes?

Relating to freezing potatoes, there are a couple of alternative ways to go about it and the best way you select will depend on how you propose to make use of them.

That will help you determine which strategy to freeze potatoes, take into consideration how you utilize potatoes in your meals.

• Does your loved ones love roasted potatoes? Then freezing chunks or cubed potatoes shall be a sensible strategy to go for straightforward meal prep.
• Get pleasure from air-fryer fries? Then chopping and making ready freezer fries will show you how to air fry up a batch shortly for snacks or a facet dish.
• Do you’ve got leftover mashed potatoes? Go forward and pop it into the freezer and reserve it for an additional meal.
• Do you eat hash browns usually? Then freezing partially cooked shredded potatoes will show you how to put together breakfast faster.

How one can Freeze Potatoes

After getting determined easy methods to freeze your potatoes, you will have simply the fundamental kitchen gear, together with a big pot, two giant bowls, knife, chopping board, vegetable peeler, slotted spoon, field grater, sheet trays, parchment paper, kitchen towels, and quart sized freezer zipper luggage.

Listed here are the steps to freezing potatoes and candy potatoes a number of alternative ways, together with diced, fries, mashed potatoes, and shredded. You will discover a printable recipe on the backside of this text.

How one can Make Frozen Diced Potatoes

Chunks, cubed, or diced potatoes can be utilized in so some ways, together with including to soups and stews, fried for breakfast potatoes, roasted as a facet dish, and even boiled and become mashed potatoes.

Step 1: Put together the Potatoes

Scrub the potatoes nicely underneath clear operating water, after which air dry on a kitchen towel. Fill a big bowl with chilly water. Peel the potatoes and trim off any blemishes, eyes, and inexperienced areas.

Lower the potatoes 1-inch sized cubes, and place the potatoes into the bowl of water as you’re employed. After potatoes are lower, contact with oxygen can flip them brown or grey. Dropping the lower potatoes in water preserves the colour by limiting the publicity to air.

Step 2: Blanch the Potatoes

Convey a big pot to a boil over excessive warmth. Whereas the pot is heating, fill a bowl with ice water.

Working in small batches, drop the cubed potatoes into the boiling water. Blanch till the potatoes are crisp-tender, however not absolutely cooked, between 2 to five minutes relying on the kind of potato and measurement of your items.

The potato have to be heated by way of to stop enzymatic reactions, which may trigger the facilities to grow to be discolored when frozen. Check for doneness by spearing a chunk with the sharp tip of a knife. The knife ought to slip by way of to the middle simply with little or no resistance. Prepare dinner one minute extra if the middle remains to be laborious, and take a look at once more.

Scoop out the blanched potatoes with a slotted spoon or strainer and drop into the bowl of ice water to cease the cooking course of. As soon as the potatoes have cooled, drain, and pat dry with a clear kitchen towel.

Step 3: Freeze the Potatoes

First, flash freeze the potatoes, in order that they gained’t stick collectively. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Unfold the potatoes out in a single layer, and place the baking sheet within the freezer for about an hour till frozen, after which package deal the items up into freezer luggage. Take away air from the bag, seal, label, date, and retailer within the freezer for as much as 3 months.

Methods to Use Frozen Potatoes

Maintain the potatoes frozen till you might be able to cook dinner them. To make use of frozen diced potatoes, simply attain into the bag and seize what you want.

• Oven Roasted Potatoes: Frozen diced potatoes are an amazing shortcut for making oven-roasted potatoes. To roast the potatoes, preheat your oven to 425˚F, toss the frozen spuds with somewhat oil and seasoning, unfold out in a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast till the potatoes are cooked by way of and the skin is crispy, about 15 to twenty minutes. Toss midway by way of so the potatoes cook dinner evenly.
• Pan Fried Potatoes: Frozen potatoes are additionally an amazing shortcut to creating crispy fried potatoes to serve with breakfast or as a facet dish. Merely warmth a big skillet over medium-high warmth, add a tablespoon of butter, as soon as the butter is melted, add your potatoes, season, and fry till cooked by way of and the perimeters are crisp.
• Stews and Soups: Frozen potatoes can be used for making beef stew, chowder, and soups. Add on the finish of the cooking time, in order that they don’t overcook, and warmth till cooked by way of.
• Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potatoes will be made out of frozen potatoes the identical approach as common potatoes. Simply add the frozen potatoes to a pot of water. Convey to a boil, and cook dinner till tender. Drain, season, add butter, milk or cream, and mash.

How one can Make Frozen French Fries

We eat oven air-fryer or oven baked fries no less than as soon as per week and having pre-cooked frozen fries able to go is a good time saver. Blanching and freezing French fries allows you to to bake or air fry fries in half the time as making from scratch.

The method of making ready fries for the freezer is much like diced potatoes. This text takes you although the steps to arrange freezer fries, plus methods to cook dinner them:

Freezing Mashed Potatoes

There are not any particular methods wanted to freeze mashed potatoes. Simply make your mashed potatoes like regular, remember to add loads of butter and milk as a result of this helps the protect the feel of the potatoes when frozen.

Let the potatoes cool fully, after which package deal serving sized parts in freezer luggage or containers. Depart about 1-inch headspace to permit for enlargement, and retailer within the freezer for as much as 4 weeks.

Frozen mashed potatoes will be reheated by cooking them on the range, microwave or in an oven. If you wish to pace up the method, thaw potatoes in fridge in a single day earlier than heating. After warming, clean up the flavour by including additional butter, milk, and additional seasoning if wanted.

• Reheating on the Stovetop: Add the potatoes to a pot, and warmth over low warmth till the potatoes are sizzling Stir often to stop sticking and to assist the potatoes warmth evenly.
• Reheat within the Microwave: Place the potatoes right into a microwave protected dish, and microwave on excessive till heated by way of, 5 to eight minutes. Stir partway by way of to warmth evenly.
• Reheat within the Oven: Preheat the oven to 350˚F, and place the potatoes right into a coated casserole dish or a baking pan coated with foil. Bake in a preheated oven till the potatoes are sizzling, about half-hour. Stir half approach by way of to cook dinner evenly.

How one can Freeze Shredded Potatoes

Frozen shredded potatoes will come in useful for shortly frying up hash browns for breakfast, including to soups, and topping casseroles.

Step 1: Put together the Potatoes

Wash the potatoes nicely underneath clear operating water. Peel the potatoes and trim off any dangerous areas. Fill a big bowl with chilly water.

Grate the potatoes utilizing the big holes of a field grater. In case you are freezing a big batch, a meals processor with shredding attachment will show you how to shortly put together shredded potatoes. Lower the potatoes into items that can match the chute, activate the machine, and push the potatoes by way of the shredding disc to shred. Place the shredded potatoes into the bowl of chilly water as you’re employed.

Step 2: Blanch the Shredded Potatoes

Convey a big pot of water to a boil over excessive warmth, and fill a bowl with chilly ice water.

Working in batches, take away the shredded potatoes from the bowl with a slotted spoon, and plunge into the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Scoop out and plunge into the ice bathtub to cease the cooking course of.

As soon as the potatoes have cooled, drain and unfold them out evenly on a clear kitchen towel. Roll up the towel and squeeze to take away as a lot moisture as you’ll be able to.

Step 3: Freeze the Shredded Potatoes

Unfold the potatoes out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and flash freeze till frozen, about one hour. Pack the frozen potatoes into freezer luggage, squeeze out all of the air, seal, label, and retailer within the freezer for as much as 3 months.

To fry up hash browns, warmth a skillet over medium-high warmth, add butter to the pan, after which your frozen shredded potatoes. Season

I hope this text offers you some concepts for preserving potatoes within the freezer. The best strategy to freeze potatoes is to cook dinner till tender, pat dry, cool fully, and retailer in freezer luggage in freezer.

Different Methods to Protect Potatoes:

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