Do you think this would work?

[Paper Roses]

Since I cook for just myself, I do not use all the potatoes I buy in the bags. Three or 4 loose potatoes, a five pound and a 10 pound bag all cost within a few cents of each other. The 10 pound bag is a best buy but is really a waste. If I buy a five pound, I use only a few before they start to sprout.

I am now looking at the balance of a five pound bag. Maybe 12 potatoes. Could I boil them up, dice, then and freeze them in patties for hash browns? Would the whole thing turn to mush?

I hate to waste but this has happened too many times.

If I had the land, I'd plant potatoes. Did so years ago and the results were great. Don't have that option any longer.

[wildflower]

1. I've frozen mashed potatoes

I'm not sure about hash browns.

[Inchworm]

2. I've found that if stored right

Potatoes last for months. Every once in a while a bad tater gets in the lot and can ruin them all. I go through the bin each time I use one and pick out the weak to eat (or toss).

I've never tried freezing them, so I can't help there.

:hi:

[daleanime]

3. Must be some way to do it....

those of some cooking for one:hi: will just have to experiment till we find a nice way. I'm think hash browns would store good for a fast oven reheat.

[The empressof all]

4. I freeze latkes

They aren't as fabulous out of the freezer but do come in handy as a great side. I freeze them on a cookie sheet then put them in a freezer bag seperated by parchment. Then I can pop one out as needed and microwave or reheat in the oven. They lose their crispy crunch but still yummy.

I also freeze my homemade "Almost a Knish" These are mashed potatoes, fried onion and butter wrapped in Phylo Dough. They are just as yummy out of the freezer as they are when fresh.

[grasswire]

5. if they turn to mush you could still use them in soup

right? A nice cheesy potato soup would be easy to fix from frozen cubes.

[Warpy]

6. Cooked potatoes freeze just fine

and can be thawed, nuked, and turned into mashed taters faster than you can use those awful instant things. They also freeze well mashed and deep fried.

Potatoes are cheap enough that I just buy 'em loose, though. I'd rather use the freezer for fish from Costco and whole grain flours from the food co-op.

[Paper Roses]

7. It is not so much the cost of the 'taters, it is the waste.

Plus there would be the convenience of pulling one hash brown from the freezer and into the toaster oven.

I was also thinking of peeling a bunch, slicing them up and freezing them on a cookie sheet. I could then bag them and remove only what I wanted to cook.

[Warpy]

8. Frozen raw potatoes don't work as well, IMO

probably because cooking removes some of the moisture and they do better when frozen drier.

[pengillian101]

9. It is not so much the cost of the 'taters, it is the waste.

Oh, I hear ya!

We buy groceries about once a month. Sometimes one bad spud makes the whole bag spoil.

I don't have a good remedy, really, but my guy used to work at a spud place and potatoes kept for months in northern MN. Spuds were brought into a HUGE oblong-tuber-dome-shaped metal garage type facility and they were piled to the ceiling. Heat build-up was a problem, so they used fans at the bottom for circulation and they kept well for months until they shipped to Ore-Ida and etc.

We keep ours in the bottom drawer of the fridge and usually that is good for the month. But, once in awhile we get a bad one that spoils the bag.

I think the moisture is the problem and now I always rip big holes in the plastic bags and that seems to work.

As far as freezing cooked potatoes - I've never met a frozen cooked one no matter how it was cooked - that wasn't just fine after freezing.

:hi:

[Paper Roses]

10. Yesterday afternoon, in an idle moment I decided to try two things.

There were quite a few taters in the bag, all sprouting,removed the sprouts.

I took 7 good sizes taters, sliced thin into french fries, spread on a cookie sheet and froze them. When they were frozen, I bagged them and placed back in freezer. I'll try in a few days to see of I can take a few at a time and cook them up in the oven.

I then grated the remaining taters, some onion, S & P and mixed that up well.
Spread on oiled jelly roll pan and baked until slightly crusty, I scored them just before turning.

When done and cooled, I froze this batch with foil between the layers.

I don't know if either attempt will work but if it does, it will make me feel better. I don't like throwing food away.

[pengillian101]

11. Good sounding experiments!

Let us know how they worked out!

Sounds to me like they will work fine. (I wonder how the frozen fries will be).

If they don't work, next time fry them in oil first before freeing, is what I'm thinking.

Anyway, it's always fun to experiment and then share your findings - think if all good cooks died with their secrets - where would we be today?

:hi:

[Paper Roses]

19. Oh, my diet!! Tonight I tried the frozen French Fries.

You remember I just sliced them and froze them on a cookie sheet.

Tonite I took out a portion, let defrost a while, tossed in a little corn oil and placed them on a jelly roll type cookie sheet. 350 Degrees for--however long it took--20 Minutes in hot oven? Turned once after a crust appeared on the bottoms.

Worked great. Just the same as oven fries. No difference because they were frozen.

I now know what do do with sprouted potatoes.

[Love Bug]

21. I keep my taters in the fridge in one of those green bags

I cook only for myself, too, and find that keeping my spuds in the crisper drawer of the fridge in one of those green bags keeps them well. Holes in the bag as well as a paper towel tucked around them should help with any moisture problems.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. Supermarkets have mass quantities of frozen potato products, from fries and hash browns to...

latkes and pierogies, so I would imagine freezing them is no big deal.

I freeze cauliflower, squash, and a few other things I get fresh through the growing season around here, but never bothered with potatoes. I would assume (and a little goggling confirms) that light cooking, like blanching, would be the trick to freezing. Too much cooking could turn them to mush, which can be used but may not be what you want.

Like some others around here, I don't eat that many potatoes myself, and usually just cook for me, so the days of bags of potatoes no longer exist unless someone asks me to make a tub of something-- I just buy a potato for a quarter and cook it up that night if I want one.

FWIW, I used to be able to buy 50 pound bags of culls for $3 out here. Big mistake when 20-30 pounds went bad because I couldn't eat or give them away fast enough, but a bargain is still a bargain.

(Worse were the 50# bags of onions for $2.50)

[Paper Roses]

13. Years ago, when I was a kid, my parents shopped at a local farm.

Great fruit and veggies as they were ready. In the fall, you could fill a bushel basket of all kinds of veggies for next to nothing. Tomatoes were available by the basket. I still see that basket with the handle in my minds eye. Sometimes we would bring a salt shaker with us and ate them on the way home in our '53 Chevy coupe. No worry about things like salt or pesticides.

Now that I think about it, those were good times in the 'real food' department

[Warpy]

14. I always braided my onions from the garden

and hung them from hooks in the ceiling. My kitchen was a hazard area for anyone over about 5'10" tall.

[GoCubsGo]

15. Here are some good suggestions...

http://www.ehow.com/how_4597270_can-freeze-potatoes.html

You can also peel, cube and blanch them in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Then, cool the in ice water 5-10 minutes before draining and placing in a zip-lock bag or storage container. Be sure to leave as little air space as possible.

[Paper Roses]

16. Thanks for your tips. I saved the site.

Now we'll see how what I did comes out.

I am defrosting some of the hash Browns now. Maybe I'll try the French Fries later in the week.I think the Hash B's will be OK. The FF's--not so sure. When I cook then, I'll just take some from the freezer, toss w/oil and bake on sheet pan. I didn't blanche them, never thought of it.

[Paper Roses]

17. Hash Browns just fine! French fries later in the week.

Will report in.

[Little Star]

18. Question....

If I washed them and boiled them whole, then after letting them cool off. Can I freeze them?

If I threw them back into boiling water just till they are hot, can I use them for mashed potatoes?

If this would work sure could save some time from doing them with every meal I want to serve mashed potatoes.


Or, am I just nuts?

[csziggy]

20. I like to make "twice baked" potatoes and freeze them

Bake the potatoes until just done, slice in half, scoop out the middles, leaving potato skin 'boats'. Mix the insides with whatever you like: bacon, cheese, sour cream, onions, etc (cook the bacon and onions before mixing in). Stuff the insides mixture back into the skins. Lay out on cookie sheets, put into freezer until frozen, then throw into a freezer bag to store. To reheat, microwave about 90 seconds, let sit for a few minutes, then microwave for another 90 seconds. You can also bake them in the oven, but I haven't done that in so long I don't remember the amount of time.