Freezing Is the Key to Potato Storage
I purchased a 40-pound box of Yukon Gold Potatoes last week. I’ve done bulk buys in the past and find it one of the easiest and least expensive ways to purchase, and put up items for my food storage. Now I need to learn some tricks for storing Yukon Gold potatoes for the long haul.
Yukon Gold potatoes are a cross between the North American white and a South American wild yellow potato. They are fat-free, cholesterol-free, low in sodium, and an excellent source of Vitamin C; one medium potato meets half of your daily Vitamin C needs.
Plus, I find them versatile, working equally well in soups, and either baked, mashed or fried. My mother won’t use anything else for her famous (at least in our family) au gratin potatoes.
Storing Yukon Gold Potatoes
Like all potatoes, Yukon Gold will last longer if stored out of direct sunlight. No green potatoes here! Pick an area that is cool, dark and humid. Your garage or an unheated closet will work nicely. Yukon Gold is not for long term storage, so I’m going to need another way to store them, or my 40 pounds at .63 cents will go to waste.
How long do potatoes last? The ideal temperature for short term storage is 65 to 70 degrees F. They will last at this temperature for one or two weeks. For long-term storage of 2 to 3 months keep the temperature around 42 to 55 degrees F. Cook them as soon as you see any sprouting. Check first to see if they are still firm, if so, remove the sprouts and cook or process for freezing. Shriveled, wrinkled, soft potatoes with many sprouts should be discarded and not eaten.
How long do potatoes last? Eat By Date.com – Potato Shelf Life
All potatoes need a well-ventilated area so they stay fresh longer. A metal rack, wooden crate or cardboard box with holes is adequate. To prevent dry rot, handle Yukon Gold potatoes gently when storing, do not toss them into the crate or onto the rack.
Freezing Yukon Gold Potatoes
One of my favorite ways to save potatoes for later is to dice, blanch and freeze them. These diced potatoes can be used in soup, stews or any other way you would use fresh potatoes. Doing a bit of work on the front end will save you cooking and processing time in the long run.
- Peel your potatoes, or leave the skins on for added nutritional value
- Cut your potatoes into equal size cubes
- Simmer them in salt water until just tender
- Spray a cookie sheet
- Drain and spread the potatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet
- Freeze thoroughly
- Transfer to freezer bags, mark and date them. They will last for 6 to 8 months.
To make hashbrowns just follow the directions above, grating them in the large holes like you would cheese. Then drain, mound them up, and freeze on trays.
Other Bulk Buys you might be interested in:
Never Waste Another Orange – Sweet Potatoes – Walla Walla Sweet Onion – Tomatoes –
Oh! I didn’t know you could freeze potatoes like this! Thank you so much for this info! Now I can do as you did and buy in bulk without worrying about them going bad!
Thanks for stopping by vwestcamp. This is the only way I’ve been able to do potato bulk buys and not have them go bad. We didn’t have a cool place to keep them until our move in December.
We love Yukon Gold’s too. They keep very well in our root cellar – cold and dark. We sort them from the garden in three different sizes: small, medium and large. We eat the small and mediums first and resist the urge to eat the really large ones. Come spring, we’ll cut up the really large ones and use them for seed stock. Each year we get more and more boxes of larger potatoes this way. This year we harvested in early September. They’re still nice and hard. They will last us clear through mid summer until we can begin digging and eating new potatoes. Thanks for the blog.
Thanks for stopping by and for the great tips! Now that we are in the new house I have place to store by potatoes (and other root crops) and keep them cool.
Just finished prepping…using your method…50 pounds of Yukon Gold potato’s harvested straight from the field in Washington state. Now my husband can just grab a handful of his favorite diced breakfast food! I’ll be checking your web site often. Thank you!
Hi Kim, glad that was helpful!
Hey, I love eating potatoes, and this article does a good job of telling us how to freeze them properly. I didn’t know you had to simmer them in salt water before freezing them. I’m glad I know this, so now I can do it write, and not waste them.
If I am freezing shredded potatoes do they need to be cooke or can they be frozen raw?
I planted 100 pounds of these on good Friday. The tops are begging to die out. 2 questions.. how long should I wait before digging? And will they store well? We have a 4×4 hole dug out in barn for storage. Thank you.