Potatoes that have either been cooked or partially cooked typically freeze better than uncooked potatoes, so some cooks choose to make potato dishes before they freeze them. Potato dishes that freeze well include mashed potatoes and french fries. Like most other vegetables, potatoes can also be blanched before being frozen. Before freezing potatoes in this manner, they must first be partially cooked in boiling water.
Freezing potatoes that have not been cooked is not usually recommended. Fresh potatoes have a high water content. This can result in mushy, discolored potatoes after they have been frozen.
Making potato dishes ahead of time and freezing them is often recommended when freezing potatoes. This method not only preserves an abundance of potatoes, but it also saves time in the future. Instead of preparing a dish from scratch, a cook can simply thaw a dish and reheat it.
Mashed potatoes are typically one of the easiest potato dishes to freeze. A cook can simply cook the potatoes and mash them before freezing. French fries, hash browns, and baked potatoes can also be frozen.
People who are interested in just freezing potatoes and not potato dishes should blanch the vegetables first. Before this is done, the potatoes must first be washed with a brush, which will remove any dirt and pesticides. Soft or dark spots should also be removed. Potatoes can also be peeled prior to blanching, but this is not required. They should then be chopped into 1-inch (2.5-centimeter) cubes.
A pot of water should then be placed on a stove and brought to a boil. The potatoes can then be added to the boiling water. To blanch the potatoes, they should be allowed to cook for roughly five to ten minutes.
The potatoes should then be removed from the boiling water and dumped into ice water. The temperature of the ice water will stop the potatoes from cooking even further. After a few minutes, they can be removed from the ice water and drained, or dried on towels.
A single layer of potato cubes can then be spread out on a cookie sheet, covered, and placed in a freezer. Freezing potatoes is usually easier if they are frozen on a cookie sheet first. This will prevent the potato cubes from sticking together after they have frozen. After the potato cubes have frozen, they can be transferred to a freezer-safe container, such as a plastic bag or a plastic container, and frozen for several months.