Extending the Life of Potatoes

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Selkie

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Aug 20, 2009
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Packaging for some products has never been "single person" friendly, like potatoes for instance. Unless you're buying a "baking potato", any other varieties have to be purchased by the bag - a bag larger than I need in order to use them before they go bad.

I like Yukon Golds, new potatoes, little reds and fingerlings. Except for the fingerlings (which come in smaller amounts), I just don't eat enough potatoes to use a 5 lb. sack very quickly.

Besides keeping them in the cool dark, can you freeze potatoes? What do you do to extend their useful life as long as possible?
 
You cannot freeze them successfully raw.

Potatoes do quite well stored in a dark, cool, dry place. Back in the days of early America, people had root cellars to store their root vegetables. Some used a bin full of sand in which they buried fresh root vegetables for storage over the winter,

I'm not suggesting you build a root cellar. Just giving you an idea. Store excess in a cool dry basement or in the coolest area of a pantry or kitchen cabinet.

As an alternative, find a market that sells loose potatoes by the pound. Then you can buy just what you need.
 
In the summer and fall you can try a farmers market. Usually they'll sell potatoes in smaller quantities. You can also usually find interesting varieties, including the ones you mentioned above. Spring and winter...it's tough. We just store them in a cool, dark place and hope for the best.
 
I can't wait, the end of the month they will bring some fresh Russetts down from Idaho $15 for 55lbs.

YUM!!
 
Some used a bin full of sand in which they buried fresh root vegetables for storage over the winter.

This is KEY! Get a 5 lb bucket and playground sand. It wicks away excess moisture. It works for carrots, sweet potatos, parsnips, beets, turnips...
 
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