Can you freeze raw and cooked potatoes at home in the freezer? TOP 10 ways

Freezing is a great way to preserve food for future use. Most home cooks preserve vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the winter. Few people know this, but potatoes can also be frozen, which significantly saves time during cooking. Frozen peeled potatoes can be prepared in a variety of ways: whole, sliced, fried, and even boiled. However, certain precautions must be taken during pre-preparation to prevent them from spoiling.

Can you freeze potatoes for the winter?

Of course, this vegetable can be stored in the freezer. However, there are certain conditions that must be observed when preparing to freeze. If these rules are ignored, the potatoes will simply spoil. Furthermore, not all potato varieties are suitable for freezing.

How to choose the right potatoes

For winter storage, choose young potatoes with low starch and sugar content. This is because the starch in the tubers converts to sugar during freezing, which alters the potato's flavor. The potato will acquire an unpleasant sweet aftertaste.

It is recommended to purchase varieties with pink skin or Sineglazka.

It's important to pay attention to the condition of the vegetables: a firm surface, the absence of eyes, and any pits left by pests indicate that the vegetable will keep well.

Preparing vegetables

Preparation begins with cleaning the potatoes. To do this, place them in water to soak. Then, use a brush to thoroughly wash the vegetables.

Then, after peeling the potato, immediately place it in cold water. This prevents the tubers from browning and also helps reduce the starch content (which is released into the water).

How to freeze potatoes?

Depending on your home's conditions, you can preserve potatoes for the winter not only whole but also in a prepared form, such as frozen mashed potatoes. Below are several step-by-step instructions for freezing potatoes.

In its entirety

To freeze whole potatoes, purchase small tubers. Larger potatoes are cut in half or quarters, depending on their size.

• First, wash and peel the raw potatoes and blanch them. To do this, place two pots on the stove, bring one to a boil, and fill the other with ice-cold water.
• First, the tubers are dipped in boiling water and blanched for 4-5 minutes. Then, the vegetables are immediately transferred to a pan of cold water and left until completely cool.
• Place the cooled potatoes on a towel to dry. Paper towels will speed up the drying process.

Important! Before placing the tubers in the freezer, be sure to dry them completely to prevent them from forming an ice crust during the freezing process.

• Cooled and well-dried vegetables are placed in bags and put into the freezer.

With straws

Potatoes prepared in this way speed up the process of preparing various dishes.

1. Clean and peeled tubers are chopped into strips with a knife or a special grater.
2. To prevent browning and remove excess starch, place the sliced ​​potatoes in cold water. Rinse them in a colander, then place them back in clean, cool water.
3. The next step is blanching. Since the potatoes are cut into strips, it's easier to use a colander for blanching. Place the chopped vegetables in a colander, then plunge them into boiling water, then into ice water.
4. The straws are laid out on a towel until completely dry. Then they are placed in bags and placed in the freezer.

Important! To prevent the sliced ​​potatoes from sticking together, first place the dried strips in a tray, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 1.5-2 hours. Once frozen, separate them into plastic bags.

For fries

For freezing semi-finished products for deep frying, the following instructions are recommended:

1. Clean the tubers, remove any dirt and skin, and chop them into strips.
2. To prevent potatoes from turning dark, they need to be salted.
3. Place the chopped potato pieces in a prepared bowl with wheat flour and mix thoroughly to ensure all the pieces are coated with flour. This ensures the potatoes acquire a golden crust during frying.
4. As in the previous case, the potato strips are first laid out on a tray and placed in the freezer to freeze. Then, they are packaged into bags and placed back in the freezer.

Puree

It is becoming increasingly popular among housewives to place potatoes in the freezer to store them as mashed potatoes.

When the dish is fresh, you need to wait until it cools completely. If you freeze a warm product, the steam particles remaining in the puree will turn into ice. This will release excess liquid when defrosted.

The cooled potatoes are placed into containers and sent to the freezer.

Important! Only dishes that are no more than two days old will keep well.

Fried

Fried potatoes also store well when frozen.

1. The peeled product must be cut into several pieces.
2. Fry the potatoes in a frying pan using oil, salt and spices.
3. The dish must be cooled, then, using paper napkins, remove excess fat.
4. Place into containers and place in the freezer.

Boiled

Vegetables cooked whole are frozen using the same method.

1. Select small tubers, wash and peel.
2. Boil in salted water, then let cool completely.
3. Place the cold potatoes into bags and store in the freezer.

How and how long is it stored?

Refrigerated potatoes do not require defrosting; they should be cooked immediately (fried or boiled). Shelf life varies depending on the freezing method. For example, mashed and fried potatoes retain their flavor for 10-15 days. Whole frozen vegetables have a shelf life of 3-6 months.

Defrosting rules

Potatoes stored in cubes, strips, halves, or whole don't need to be defrosted. Simply remove the bag from the freezer and immediately add it to a pot of boiling broth, fry it in a pan, or spread it on a baking sheet and bake in the oven, after tossing the potatoes with spices, salt, and oil.

The only difference between cooking raw and frozen potatoes is the cooking time. Frozen potatoes take 5-10 minutes longer to fully cook.

It's recommended to defrost a tray of mashed potatoes either in the refrigerator or in the microwave using the "Defrost" setting. If you don't have a microwave, you can easily thaw the dish on the stovetop with a little water added to the pan.