Should I freeze my potatoes cooked or raw?

big brown horse

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I have about 5 lbs of fingerling potatoes that I need to freeze and about another 10 lbs still growing in the garden. I am going to freeze them to use throughout the year.

Any suggestions on how to freeze them? I would mostly use them in soups.
 

miss_thenorth

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I would defintiely cook them. wouldn't they just be slimy if you froze them raw? Could you just store them in a cellar type situation> I know i can keep potatoes for months in a cool dark place.
 

big brown horse

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miss_thenorth said:
I would defintiely cook them. wouldn't they just be slimy if you froze them raw? Could you just store them in a cellar type situation> I know i can keep potatoes for months in a cool dark place.
Months? O.k. For the first time I have a cellar!! However, I washed this batch of 'tates, is it too late now to store in the cellar?
 

Blackbird

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As long as you get the outside dried thouroghly they should be ok.

Yes, months, ours have lasted through the winter and into summer, although last year we ate them all before we made it to summer.
 

patandchickens

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I am under the impression that fingerling type potatoes don't store terribly well? Or am I thinking of small new potatoes of other types? I am not sure.

Certainly the best way of putting up potatoes is cellar type storage, for as long as they will hold up. (And some will hold up well for many many months if stored well).

They don't really freeze very well, they are all weird when thawed. The only way I've had reasonable success is to freeze them as mashed potatoes - a little water will come out after thawing but they are basically just fine, especially if you were going to use them for cooking (as shepherds pie topping, or in potato stuffing, or that sort of thing) but they are fine for eating as a side dish too.

I have read that they freeze ok for soup/stew/casserole purposes if you freeze them HALF-cooked, and then finish the cooking after thawing -- but have not actually tried this myself.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat
 

punkin

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Are you opposed to canning them? We didn't have a great crop, so that's what I did to mine. We haven't tried them yet, but they sure look good.
 

big brown horse

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Thanks Pat, they have a very thin skin. Would that make them too delicate to store in the cellar for too long?


punkin said:
Are you opposed to canning them? We didn't have a great crop, so that's what I did to mine. We haven't tried them yet, but they sure look good.
Punkin, no I'm not opposed to canning them, but I gave my canning equiptment back to my Mom when I moved up here...we used to share it.
 

miss_thenorth

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I was not aware fingerling potatoes stored different, but please follow the advice of ppl more experienced. My normal potatoes store for a few months at the bottom of my garage stairwell. (wish I had a cellar :))
 

Dace

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Hey BBH....I would avoid freezing them they do not freeze well.

Perhaps you could slice and dehydrate them?
 

sweetcorn

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I've never had luck freezing potatoes , they get a weird grainy texture odd thing going on if frozen cooked ...
 
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