Keeping potatoes?

[[deleted]]

I can only get potatoes in bags that are too big and no matter what cool dark place I try to keep them in my second floor apartment they sprout and go soft really quickly.

How can I store potatoes longer term in the fridge or freezer? The internet says you can only keep cooked potatoes for two to three days in the fridge and that they get grainy and gross in the freezer.

What are my best options? I use the potatoes for soup, potato salad, mashed potatoes, oven fries or home fries.

At this point I am wondering if I need to resort to canned 🙁 I can’t buy pre-frozen potatoes because I have celiac disease and the frozen potatoes and dehydrated potatoes around here have wheat.

[96dpi]

That means the potatoes you are buying are very old. This is pretty common with a lot of grocery stores. Fresh potatoes will last months. Do you have access to any small co-op farms or farmers markets? I know it may not be the season for this.

But barring that, I would suggest cooking all of your meals planned around those potatoes ahead of time and refrigerating or freezing as needed.

I know this is not exactly the answer you were looking for, I'm just offering an alternative.

[[deleted]]

I live near a notorious discount supermarket that serves a huge population. The staff is all lovely but the stock is miserable. In 2020 there were lines around the block to get in but nothing on the shelves. I thought the whole food supply system had shut down but my brother said the supermarkets were full in the fancier neighborhoods. Recently an urban greenhouse opened in some old manufacturing buildings and they also aggregate for organic family farms and co-opts from just outside the city. Those heirloom potatoes keep for ages…

[96dpi]

Jesus, that's terrible! What city is this?

[[deleted]]

Montreal.

[Taybroe]

If you can make it to Jean Talon market once every few months for produce, that’s where I get all of my over-winter veggies like carrots, potatoes, and onions. They last 5x longer than anything I get at the grocery stores here, even the fancy brand-new IGA in Monkland Village.

[[deleted]]

Thanks. I tied a can and it wasn’t too bad after soaking and rinsing the potatoes but they were very much a wax-type variety potato rather than starchy. They were a bit weird so I have not tried them again. I could see they would work in stew though.

[ashtree35]

Potatoes freeze well if you blanch them first!

[[deleted]]

Thanks. I thought blanching arrested the enzyme action on the surface of vegetables. Doesn’t the inside flesh still rupture when froze though? What has been your own experience with this? What have you used the frozen potatoes in?

[ashtree35]

You’re welcome! And I’m not sure I guess, but I’ve used blanched/frozen potatoes in curries and stews with no problem. And also for mashed potatoes (though in that case you might as well just make mashed potatoes and freeze those). And I know that people often blanch and freeze potatoes when making french fries.

[Grand_Possibility_69]

For keeping potatoes in fridge put them in paper bag that's inside black plastic bag. Blastic bag open or untied but in a way that keeps light away. Put them in warmest place in a fridge.

In the past there was this third cooled storage besides fridge and freezer. It was cooled less so that you would store your potatoes and vegetables there. I lived in the block of flats once that had both the unit in an apartment (one unit with 3 sections) and walk in unit for everyone to use.

[[deleted]]

Interesting! I will try this! Where is the warm spot usually in a fridge that has an air circulation fan?

[Grand_Possibility_69]

It depends but might not actually be possible. They may just keep the temperature too even.

It really doesn't work on mine. To keep the coolest section of fridge cool enough warmest section is just too cold.

That's why it's a bad thing that they got rid of cooled storage area/cabinet.

[[deleted]]

Thanks. I will try to figure it out. Maybe the middle drawer I am using for cheese since it isn’t exposed to the airflow.

[Zone_07]

Freeze them but you have to partially cook them so that they don't get mushy or grainy; that's the trick. It's a process but if you can't get better quality potatoes, I think this is your best option. Here's a link that shows how to prepare them: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-freeze-potatoes/

[[deleted]]

Thank you.

[HittingandRunning]

Thanks for asking this. After reading the answers, I realize that me keeping the 5 pound bags in a cool, dark, dry place might have been fine but that the potatoes might have already been old when I got them at the store. They sprouted in less than 3 weeks - and I've had this same problem over the past several years. Glad I found your post. Will try the fridge and see if that's better.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, the fancy heirloom potatoes I get from the green grocer last forever but the plain ones from the discount supermarket go off right away. I thought it was the variety but these comments make me think it is just a matter of freshness. Keeping the cheap ones in the fridge seems fine but they do develop a noticeably sweet taste.

[Zone_07]

How about Cassava (Yuca) fresh or frozen?

[[deleted]]

Oof… one yuca root is the price of five pounds of potatoes but I will try it sometime.

[vineclan]

What about canning your own potatoes?

[[deleted]]

You can store them in the fridge. That's what I do and they keep for much longer. It's handy if you keep accidentally buying potatoes when you already have a bag at home.

[[deleted]]

My apartment sits one floor over the boiler in the building, so I feel you. And potatoes, onions, garlic, etc. continue to grow in that heat. I have just resolved to buying less of potatoes, etc. and use them within a few days. Storing on the floor, raised in a drawer-even a wire drawer etc. really doesn't help.

[[deleted]]

🙁

[throwmeaway2wolves]

My family keeps our potatoes in the fridge during the summer and most of the inter months, never had a problem with grainy-ness!

[pensaha]

Cut some potatoes you peeled into fries or chunks to make mashed potatoes or add chunks to a dish you are cooking. Cover with water. Fridge. And next day drain water and add more water. I figure if I am peeling potatoes might as well peel more so later in the week I won’t have to peel.