Potatoes are a vital part of any meal prep, comfort meal, snack, etc. There’s a reason they are one of the most popular forms of starch and have an endless roster of recipes. However, when buying them in bulk at the store, you might end up with a lot more than needed, and eventually, some of those potatoes will just end up rotting in your pantry. But freezing them provides a great way to save money, space in your fridge, and (most importantly) your potatoes from ruin.
The best part about freezing potatoes is you aren’t limited in their form. You can freeze your potatoes as cubes, shreds, etc. The most vital aspect of freezing potatoes is to blanche them, which is where you cook the potatoes in boiling water (for a shorter amount of time than usual) before dropping them in an ice bath to stop them from cooking any further. Blanching is similar to another cooking method called parboiling (which is great for brats), but they’re two different things.
The art of blanching
Freezing raw potatoes isn’t ideal because of their high water content, which will make them super mushy and almost unusable when you thaw them out after freezing. Although there are indeed a lot of options when it comes to the form you can freeze potatoes in, if you have an idea of how you will eventually use them, consider opting for that. It’s good to have the potatoes cubed and peeled if you’re planning on making mashed potatoes, for example.
Blanching time will differ depending on how small or large your potatoes are (usually anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes.) After you soak them in an ice bath for just a few minutes, you can then strain them in a colander and pat them dry with paper towels. Then just line them on a baking sheet and freeze them for a few hours before moving them to freezer bags, labeling them with a date to know when you need to use them by. This exact process will be similar for other forms, such as french fries or crispy hash browns (although you can fully cook these before freezing, if you want.) Frozen potatoes will last about a year, as long as they are stored properly.
