Canned Potatoes?

[bobbi-j]

Has anyone here canned potatoes? My red potatoes that we harvested this fall are starting to sprout and get a tad soft, so I have peeled and diced them tonight and plan on canning them tomorrow after work. For those of you that have tried this, how did they turn out? Did you like the flavor and texture?

 

[journey11]

We love them! They taste really good and it is so handy to pop open a jar for a quick pot of soup or toss in canned new potatoes along with some home canned green beans. Yummy!

I do the same thing--can up the ones that are not going to keep long like new potatoes, ones that were cut by digging, or that have been stored but won't keep much longer. I'm sure there's probably a point you don't want to cross where they may be too smushy, but if they are still firm enough to peel, then you should get good results. Helps also to soak them in cold salted water for at least 20 minutes or overnight. That removes some of the starches and helps them hold their shape nicely.

 

[ninnymary]

Lesa cans' hers and says they are delicious. Hopefully she will chime in.

Mary

 

[bobbi-j]

Thank you for your replies! One more thing to look forward to this winter... More canned garden goodies! I'm thinking that along with my canned beef, carrots, string beans, frozen sweet corn and onions, a jar of these potatoes will make a great quick soup or stew. I'm kind of excited about it, really.

 

[MontyJ]

Dew and I can potatoes all the time. She really loves them sliced and fried up with scrambled eggs!

 

[bobbi-j]

OK, a question. When blanching the potatoes, the directions I have say to put them in boiling water for 2 min. But when I put them in the water, of course the cold potatoes causes the water to stop boiling. So my question is, (and I guess this goes for blanching in general, not just for potatoes) do I bring the water up to boiling and boil them for 2 mintues, or just keep them in the water that used to be boiling for 2 minutes? For this batch, I brought the water back up to a boil. I've always been confused about that, though.

 

[AMKuska]

Hmm, I canned potatoes last year but they looked overcooked, even in the jar. They're coming apart inside the jar! Is that normal? Are they still edible?

 

[journey11]

OK, a question. When blanching the potatoes, the directions I have say to put them in boiling water for 2 min. But when I put them in the water, of course the cold potatoes causes the water to stop boiling. So my question is, (and I guess this goes for blanching in general, not just for potatoes) do I bring the water up to boiling and boil them for 2 mintues, or just keep them in the water that used to be boiling for 2 minutes? For this batch, I brought the water back up to a boil. I've always been confused about that, though.

I always wondered about that too, but was told that it is timed from when you drop it in the water. And you don't want to put too many in at a time because it does cool things down. They shouldn't be crowded in the pot.

@AMKuska , I'm sure they're still edible, probably just overcooked. You could use them for potato soup base, just add more potatoes.

 

[Lavender2]

OK, a question. When blanching the potatoes, the directions I have say to put them in boiling water for 2 min. But when I put them in the water, of course the cold potatoes causes the water to stop boiling. So my question is, (and I guess this goes for blanching in general, not just for potatoes) do I bring the water up to boiling and boil them for 2 mintues, or just keep them in the water that used to be boiling for 2 minutes? For this batch, I brought the water back up to a boil. I've always been confused about that, though.

The water should return to a boil within one minute, then start timing. If you use 3-4 cups veg to 2 gallons boiling water it usually works.
I use this chart and directions from the U of M - Blanching Vegetables

 

[bobbi-j]

Thank you for that link. It will be very helpful!