Potatoes need to be pre-cooked before freezing or the texture and flavor will degrade, and the cold temperature will turn the potato black when thawed. Blanching potatoes stops enzyme actions, which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.
Storing Potatoes in the Freezer
Potatoes contain enzymes that cause browning when they are left for too long—these enzymes remain active even when the potatoes are frozen. However, partially or completely cooking them helps deactivate the enzymes and prevent discoloration.
Drain the potatoes in a colander, shaking to remove excess water. Freeze the potatoes on a sheet pan. Place the potatoes on a large baking sheet, spreading them so none touch, and slide into your freezer for 6 to 12 hours, or until each piece is frozen solid. Store the potatoes.
You absolutely can freeze potatoes, and you should if you have an excess of spuds. But there's one important thing to remember: You should really only freeze cooked or partially cooked potatoes, as raw potatoes contain a lot of water.
Chop: Using a sharp knife, chop the potatoes to your desired thickness. You can dice squares for roasting later, or cut the potatoes into strips to make french fries. You can freeze potatoes with or without the peel.
No, uncooked potatoes do not freeze well. Potatoes need to be pre-cooked before freezing or the texture and flavor will degrade, and the cold temperature will turn the potato black when thawed. Blanching potatoes stops enzyme actions, which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.
The key to freezing potatoes and sweet potatoes—whether for fries, hash browns or even simple roasted wedges—is to partially cook them first. Because they contain so much water, raw potatoes don't freeze well and can turn mushy, watery or even grainy.
Freezing potatoes in advance is an easy way to cut down on the holiday meal prep. When you're ready to serve them, simply fry, boil, or microwave them until fork tender — without any need to thaw them. You'll have mashed potatoes, french fries, or crispy roasted potatoes on the table in minutes.
You should also consider when making roast potatoes that you risk the potatoes becoming mushy, soggy and flavourless by freezing the roast potatoes multiple times. This is why it's recommended that you freeze roast potatoes in smaller batches.
Blanch cubes and thin slices of potatoes for 3 minutes and fries, wedges, and other larger pieces of potato for 5 minutes. As soon as your timer goes off, remove the potatoes from heat and transfer them to the bowl of ice water using a slotted spoon. The ice water will stop the cooking process.
The Potatoes will brown if you defrost them. Freezing Diced Potatoes:Diced potatoes can be frozen for use in a variety of recipes.
It is not recommended to freeze dry raw potatoes without blanching since they will oxidize. It is best to cook diced potatoes in hot water for 5-10 minutes before freeze drying.
Potato shoots (stems) are sensitive to freezing temperatures. Symptoms of freeze damage may vary from blackening of the leaf margins (minor damage) to death of all aboveground growth (severe damage). Fortunately, severely damaged potatoes will send up new growth (shoots) within 10 to 14 days.
Try dunking your potato slices in salted water as the combination of water and salt keeps oxidation at bay. For every gallon of water, add about one teaspoon of salt to a large bowl or stockpot. Add the potatoes and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Add lemon juice or vinegar
Just like you might use a squirt of lime juice to keep guacamole from browning, a bit of lemon juice or white vinegar in the bowl with the potatoes will ward off gray hues. Use one teaspoon to a half gallon of water to get all the anti-browning impact with no noticeable flavor changes.
Just one golden rule to remember: you don't usually need to defrost your frozen potatoes before you cook them up again, so in most of the methods and recipes below, they're ready to use straight from frozen.
Freeze cooked potatoes that have been mixed with a good portion of fat, like butter, cream, or olive oil. This is typically done in mashed potatoes or stuffed potatoes. These methods will ensure potatoes that have great texture before and after freezer storage.
Frozen diced potatoes can be swapped for fresh by stirring into soups and stews in the last few minutes of cooking. Or simmer a bag of frozen potatoes in chicken stock with some garlic and herbs, then purée.
The only difference I found was that the potatoes were 'wetter' while cooking. The whole potatoes had a tendency to split when I was testing them with a fork for doneness. Based on that I think that is why the recommendation is to mash them. Mashing them in the hot pot over the residual heat also helps to dry them up.
Because you just put them into the freezer, the cell structure hasn't broken down so while the visual looks bad, they are probably still safe to eat.
Although you shouldn't put potatoes in the fridge, potatoes will still keep the longest when stored in a cool, dark place—specifically somewhere that has a cold temperature of about 50°F and 90 to 95 percent humidity, like, you know, a temperature- and humidity-controlled root cellar.