Salvaging Your Sprouting Storage Potatoes

Up until a few days ago we had 3 baskets of potatoes in our basement. It’s not pitch black down there but it is pretty dark. No matter, the potatoes sprouted awhile back. I put a few lids from rubbermaid containers over them but they pushed the lids up, up, and up, about a foot in the air actually! What’s a poor farmer’s wife to do!? We won’t have more potatoes until fall and I just hate to buy them. So, I saved them. They turned out GREAT. I highly recommend you try this.

1. Snap off all the sprouts and discard them.  Some sources say they are toxic so I don’t take any chances.
2. Peel the potatoes.  It doesn’t matter if they’re getting soft or wrinkling up a bit.  Feed the peels to the chickens, of course.  Some say that’s a bad idea too but I’ve never had any trouble.
3. Scrub them clean, and cut in half if you prefer.  I didn’t cut mine.
4. Boil, covered in water, until a wooden spoon can mash into them a bit.  You DON’T want them falling apart.
5. Drain water and let the potatoes sit in the pot awhile to cool.
6. Cover with cold water.  Set in the fridge overnight or for most of the day.
7. Slice or shred as desired.
8. Spread on cookie sheets and freeze. Once frozen, remove from sheets and store in plastic freezer bags or other freezer containers.  Don’t forget to label them!

I did several bags of hash browns.  I spread them pretty thickly on the cookie sheets and they still broke up well for bagging.  If you’re freezing slices I suggest greasing your cookie sheet first so the slices don’t stick.   We’ve already been eating ours and they are just as good as bagged hash browns from the store.  Really they’re better without the additives!

TIP:  If you are lucky enough to have a Kitchen Aid mixer (thanks Mom!) there is a great little slicing attachment available.  I used it for hashbrowns and slices.  It made such quick work of this project!  Another handy tool would be a french fry cutter.  We don’t have one but if you do it would make great frozen fries!

Enjoy!

Find this helpful? Share to easily find it later!