Potatoes...how to store

[B00kW0rm]

What is the best way to store potatoes? We are located in zone 7 of NC.

I tried searching through the archives before posting, but I kept getting an error message...sorry if this is a repeat question. Thank you:yes4:.

[Thyme]

We can most of our potatoes because they go soft before we can get them used up. Then when you need potatoes we just open a jar even for potato salad.

[B00kW0rm]

Thanks, Thyme:-).

Do you have to blanche them before canning?

I've googled the topic...since posting earlier...and it seems there are a number of ways to store spuds. I just don't want to them to go bad before we can use them. Thanks again.

[Thyme]

peel & cut into quarters. cover with water in large sauce pan.boil 10 minutes drain hot pack into hot jars leaving 1 inch head space. ladle boiling water over potatoes. remove air bubbles. process pints 35 minutes quarts 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. red potatoes & thin skinned potatoes i do not peel & they can up & use just fine.small potatoes i dont cut up either . as long as all my pieces are about the same size.

[CanNerd]

Besides canning you can also dehydrate potato slices/shreds and also freeze in various forms.

[NCLee]

One point that may have not been mentioned on those sites with info on storing potatoes.

Wait until the vines are almost dead to dig the potatoes. This gives maximum maturity for them. And, depending on how wet your weather is, wait longer than that. "Stored" in the ground, if the weather is dry, provides ideal storage conditions.

Don't dig your potates when the ground is wet. Spread them out somewhere that's out of the sun for a few days. This lets the skin toughten and allows small cuts and bruises heal.

Pick out the damaged ones to use first.

I've stored potatoes in a wheel barrow under a shed until freezing weather threatened. Mentioned that because, if you have a decent place to keep them, don't worry about further preserving for a while. With all the other summer work, this will wait a while before you have to tackle canning, freezing, etc.

Oh, before I forget. I've stopped storing potatoes and onions in the same place. Can't remember where I saw the reference about those potato and onion storage bins. Reference said that the onions in the bin had an adverse affect on the potatoes. I stopped doing that with the potatoes that I keep in the kitchen. it did make a difference.

Hope some of these thoughts are useful.

Lee

[WileyCoyote]

Good thoughts Lee. I think I read it is the sulphur that emanates from the onions that causes the rot.

The previous owners left one of those huge old rounded-edge refrigerators in the basement. They had never used it or even plugged it in; they said that they were afraid of it because the previous owners left it and it was too heavy to get out of the basement. Plus they had no room to store it and all had newer fridges. (My thought was - good - cold storage for the milk when we get our cows, so i wasn't thinking too much about it yet.)

So today after reading this thread, DH went down and plugged up the old fridge. In two hours, he went down and checked the temp gauge he had put in it. 45 deg - perfect for potato storage. Which is a GOOD thing, because my potatoes are going INSANE this year!

So thanks for the thread!

[NCLee]

Wiley, check further on potato cold storage before using the refrigerator. I did a little research because I remembered something about air circulation needed when storing in root cellars. Here's a link that explains why your refrigerator may not work. http://oregonstate.edu/potatoes/storproc.htm
Scroll down to Ventilation and Recirculation

Even thought this is a site for commercial growers, there's quite a bit of info for gardeners, too.

Hope this helps. And, BTW, I wish a had an extra refrigerator for all those times during the year that more than one is needed. Glad to hear that yours works.

Lee

[CanNerd]

You might want to pay special attention to your electric bill after plugging in old refrigerators or freezers. Some of them will really hog the power. They didn't have energy saving qualities back then.

[bookwormom]

I learned in my youth not to store apples and onions with potatoes.
I do have a sort of cellar. My taters from last year kept until June, that is when we ate the last yukons. There is still a bucket of them out there, but all shriveled and sprouted.
My folks had a big potatoe bin in the "potatoe cellar" that was made out of battens. I would love to have one, but I make do with banana boxes. cool and dark, that is the secret. I have never canned a potatoe in my life, but I guess under certain circumstances you do what you have to. I dig my potatoes in September. They keep fresh in the ground.

[Skysoldier]

When I was much younger (many years ago) my uncle in South Carolina stored potatoes in a mound of dirt. I really don't remember how he did it but it seems he layered potatoes, then dirt, potatoes, then dirt, until he had a modified pyramid shaped mound. I searched for this method and found what I think is the basic idea. It's called "clamping", I think, and it uses straw instead of dirt, except for using dirt to hold down the top layer of straw. Is anyone familar with this method? I do remember he had potatoes through the winter.

[Thyme]

We have done the "clamping" with our potatoes in 55 gal. barrels.We have used straw, dirt, and sand. We lay a layer of newspaper under each level to know when that level is empty. Even then we dont get all the potatoes used up in time so that is why we can them.Here we cant leave them in the ground covered with straw or mulch as the ground freezes 4 foot down in the winter.

[DM]

I dig my potatoes a little at a time, eating what i dig untill fall. In the fall i dig all that's left, and put them unwashed into 5 gallon pails. I put the pails in a damp part of my basement, where they keep all winter... In the spring i sort out what's left, and plant all i want for seed, eating the rest.

Not all potatoes keep well, and that's "another" reason i like Yukon Golds! They store very well!

DM

[Jimmy7114]

Thyme - I'm completely new to this canning thing - what do you mean when you say "process"???



peel & cut into quarters. cover with water in large sauce pan.boil 10 minutes drain hot pack into hot jars leaving 1 inch head space. ladle boiling water over potatoes. remove air bubbles. process pints 35 minutes quarts 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. red potatoes & thin skinned potatoes i do not peel & they can up & use just fine.small potatoes i dont cut up either . as long as all my pieces are about the same size.

[NCLee]

I'm not Thyme, so forgive me for butting in.

"Process" is a short cut for saying (in this case)--

After reaching 10 lbs pressure, hold it there for 35 minutes if canning pints or for 40 minutes for quarts.

May I suggest that you get the Ball Blue Book, since you're new to canning? It's the second most valuable resource that you can have (first is your canner's manual) when learning to can. Oh, a be sure to get the current version. This book is updated when the recommentations are changed due to changes in safe processing times/methods. Many reasons why these are changed. For example, the reduction in the acid content of hybrid tomatoes caused a change.

On-line resources: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/preserve__fresh_preserving__home_canning_/33.php

Hope this helps.
Lee

[Jimmy7114]

NCLee - thanks - I'm going to price some canning equipment today or tomorrow. Thought I'd just check out Walmart.......or should I look somewhere more "upscale"???

Thanks again.

[NCLee]

This time of year it doesn't matter whether it's WalMart or "upscale". It's simply a matter of finding the equipment. It's near the end of the canning season so many places are out of stock or have moved the merchandise into storage. Local WalMart is currently stocking for "back to school". That'll be quickly followed by the various upcoming holidays.

WalMart, depending on the ones near you, may still have canning supplies. If so, that's usually the most economical place to buy. If you can't find what you need there, next go to the "old fashioned" hardware stores and feed/farm stores. Many of these keep canning supplies in stock year round. Although their inventory may be low now.

The alternative is to order on-line. Just do a search for a supplier of the particular item(s) that you need. You may want to check out their prices before going shopping at places other than Wal-Mart. If your local hardware store is the only one for miles in every direction, it may be more cost effective to order on line.

Just some thoughts that may be useful. Oh.... before I forget..... get the current copy of the Ball Blue Book. IMHO every canner should keep a current copy of this book. It has the instructions that a beginner needs to get started. It has the current processing recommendations for various foodstuffs. And it has lots of good recipes, to boot.

Hope this helps.
Lee