"taters!

[rebecca100]

I just picked up a 20 lb bag of red taters for $4.99. We will never eat all of them before they go bad. Has anyone canned potatoes and how did they turn out? I am eager to try out my canner however my canning book has disappeared! Once canned what can they be used for? Roasts? I have never used canned taters before so I have no clue how they will turn out. I also have two dehydrators so maybe I can dehydrate some? Once again what can they be used for once dehydrated?

 

[lwheelr]

Canned potatoes end up with a different texture than fresh. Best for soups and casseroles.

Dried potatoes can be done as hash brown type potatoes, slices, cubes, etc. Dry them for the end purpose. They will reconstitute and fry ok, but not quite the same as fresh. If you throw them in a pot of soup, by the time they reconstitute fully, you won't know the difference.

Smaller cubes, slices, etc, dry best.

Make sure you cook the potatoes to the right point (just until they go clearish) before you dry them. If you don't, then they'll age and get all black and yucky.

Personally, I LOVE dried potatoes as a convenience food. In fact, I love dried celery, dried carrots, onions, peas, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, red and green peppers, tomatoes, etc. You can make things so fast from them.

Just toss them in the pot with the meat and water, turn it on to simmer, and an hour and a half later you have soup with half the work. If you do it in a crock pot, and throw it all in sometime in the morning, you'll have dinner with only having to stir it once or twice. Great for busy days when you are THERE, but have no time to cook, or when you can spend 5 minutes throwing stuff into the pot, leave, then come back to a meal that is ready.

Between that and a bread machine, dinner almost makes itself, and it is what you want it to be, not what came from a can.

I don't use a bread machine anymore, but when we were busy running a business and raising seven kids, it sure was handy.

 

[Wannabefree]

When I have some that will go bad like that I usually make up a bunch of mashed potatoes and freeze them in meal sized containers. Take them out about an hour ahead and let them thaw, add a bit of water to the right consistency and reheat. Can't tell they were ever frozen

 

[FarmerJamie]

Two years ago I canned 50 lb of potatoes into quart jars. MIL found a "deal" she couldn't pass up.

Cubed them small for a quick addition to to soups or as fried potatoes for breakfast (with bacon and eggs). Cut some a little larger and put in their own jars - was a great prep job for using when making mashed 'taters, since they were already skinned and cut up, pop the lid and boil for a little bit

 

[ORChick]

I have frozen potatoes succesfully. Shredded, for hashbrowns, or cubed, or sliced. Steam them for a bit (I think I did them for 5-8 minutes), dump them into cold water to stop the cooking, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and freeze. When frozen put them into a zipock bag. Worked very well. I am thinking about dehydrating some, but haven;t actually done it yet.

ETA: Mashed ptotaoes freeze really well too.

 

[Marianne]

I freeze potatoes every year. What works the best for me is to slice or cube, microwave a dish for 7 to 8 minutes, spread on sheet to cool, then freeze and bag afterwards. Then back into the freezer. I spray them w/ cooking spray and nothing sticks together. Doing pie plates of 'em, one at a time, in the microwave sure helped keep the kitchen a lot cooler. I leave the little ones whole or just cut in half (and of course, microwave till almost done) and bag them seperately. Great for dropping in with a roast.

In the past, I have also cut them into wedges, dipped in butter, then place them on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt or whatever seasoning you want and bake or slow broil until they just start to get brown. Then cool and freeze.

This year I'm going to dry some using these directions and make the mixes:

http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/potatoes.html

 

[rebecca100]

Thanks everyone! I think I am going to try a mixture of all three. I may go and get another sack if this one turns out well. Around here $4.99 is the price of a regular 8 lb sack or russet potatoes and red potatoes are even higher. They are on sale until next Tuesday. I told dh that I wanted to can some, but I left my canner at MIL's in Louisiana so we went out and bought me a new one! I thought that was awful nice of him.

 

[Dirk Chesterfield]

Canning Potatoes for French Fries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RT3rDUDBU4

This lady, "imstillworkin", has lots of other great frugal / sufficiency videos too.

 

[Marianne]

Canning Potatoes for French Fries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RT3rDUDBU4

This lady, "imstillworkin", has lots of other great frugal / sufficiency videos too.

Dirk, do you know if she has a website?

 

[me&thegals]

My husband's aunt was just telling me yesterday that she boils her potatoes with skins on, then cools them, peels and dices them, then freezes in huge bags. She brought a cheesey potato dish to our potluck yesterday, and they were wonderful! I might do this with our leftover potatoes for some fast-food breakfasts!