Blanched Potatoes
I love the convenience of frozen foods. As a busy mom of four young kids, being able to grab ingredients from my freezer to prepare instead of washing, peeling, and/or chopping is always a relief. Some foods I can buy already prepped and frozen. Vegetables are widely available, and often in both conventional and organic selections. However, other foods would be nice to have on hand, but I'm not all too thrilled about the ingredients.
Like potatoes.
I've yet to find a brand of frozen potatoes that don't contain a seed oil of some kind, although it's usually canola. We try to avoid those here, so I miss out on the convenience of throwing some fries on a pan to go with burgers, or mixing some hashbrowns in eggs for a breakfast casserole.
Until....I learned I can just make my own. You can't just chop them and freeze them, because it would ruin the texture. But if you blanch them first, they will be good to go. (blanch just means to scald a food quickly in hot water and then cool it down immediately)
It takes time, I'm not going to lie. More time than grabbing some bags from the freezer section. But with just a little bit of make-ahead prep, you, too, can have frozen potatoes, ready for your next recipe or meal.
Blanched Potatoes
Ingredients-
Potatoes
Filtered water
Directions-
Wash or peel your potatoes. Cut them into your desired shapes. My favorites to freeze are cubes or French fries.
Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water, until it's about an inch about the potatoes.
Place the pot on the stove and heat on medium-high until it begins to simmer.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 7-12 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Check them with a fork. You want the fork to just barely pierce the outside; there should still be some resistance.
Once they are finished, drain the hot water and put the potatoes in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Drain the potatoes again and lay them out on a clean dishtowel to dry.
Use immediately, or freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, you can put them into a bag for storage.
To use, simply add to recipes or bake as usual.
Notes-
Depending on how many potatoes you are preparing, you may need to break this up into a few batches.
I've read that you can toss blanched French fries in oil before freezing for better results, but I never have and they are always fine. I just add the frozen fries and my fat of choice (usually lard) to a baking sheet when I need them and bake until golden and crispy.