Two questions about canning potatoes

[Rockergirl]

Hi! I pressure canned red and gold potatoes. Everywhere I read, said only white potatoes. Also, instead of blanching them for 3 minutes, I put them in the fridge overnight, in water. These were diced, not whole potatoes. I had read somewhere that the only reason blanching is needed was because of starch but soaking them overnight in water (fridge) does the same thing, but makes them less mushy. Also, red & gold potatoes are less starchy. My question - is this bad, will I get sick from these potatoes? I read that the white potatoes are just the rule to make them less mushy.....

 

[Wooleybooger]

Perhaps these links will help answer your questions.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE04_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf

Pressure Canning Potatoes

Canning potatoes is a great way to preserve an abundant harvest for long-term food storage. The shelf-stable jars are handy for quick additions to meals.

growagoodlife.com

Canning potatoes

Canning potatoes is a great way to store a glut of potatoes, to ensure they don't go bad. In exchange, you get jars of delicious-tasting potatoes that are ready to use in an instant for quick meals. A pressure canner is required.

www.healthycanning.com

 

[larry_stewart]

Im no expert, and have only done it a few times ( 2 or 3). I did pre-boil my potatoes as directed.
I used Red Norland, Yukon gold, Huckleberry gold ( which has a purple skin) and Russet. I have tried them all, and all have the same consistency. The water clouded up a bit on all except the Russet.

 

[GotGarlic]

It's really not a good idea to freelance the process of making low-acid canned goods. Stick with recipes approved by the National Center for Home Food Preservation - nchfp.uga.edu - for good, safe results. Blanching is done to soften the food and reduce the amount of bacteria going into the jar. Softening food for canning is necessary to make sure the heat penetrates to the center of the food. As blissful mentioned in another post, it's a matter of density.

You just don't know the background knowledge level of random people writing blogs on the internet, so it can be dangerous to alter best practices based on that.

 

[Rockergirl]

Perhaps these links will help answer your questions.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE04_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf

Pressure Canning Potatoes

Canning potatoes is a great way to preserve an abundant harvest for long-term food storage. The shelf-stable jars are handy for quick additions to meals.

growagoodlife.com

Canning potatoes

Canning potatoes is a great way to store a glut of potatoes, to ensure they don't go bad. In exchange, you get jars of delicious-tasting potatoes that are ready to use in an instant for quick meals. A pressure canner is required.

www.healthycanning.com

Thank you. These are very helpful links! I think I'll throw away the 20 jars I already canned :-( It sounds like my problem isn't the type that I canned but the fact that I set them overnight in the fridge with water instead of pre-boiling....they were cut very small (probably smaller than I should have), so they are probably okay...I have eaten a couple of jars and survived but I don't know if bacteria, etc grows over time. So, I'll toss and do the pre-boil next time. I feel like such a waste :-(

 

[Rockergirl]

It's really not a good idea to freelance the process of making low-acid canned goods. Stick with recipes approved by the National Center for Home Food Preservation - nchfp.uga.edu - for good, safe results. Blanching is done to soften the food and reduce the amount of bacteria going into the jar. Softening food for canning is necessary to make sure the heat penetrates to the center of the food. As blissful mentioned in another post, it's a matter of density.

You just don't know the background knowledge level of random people writing blogs on the internet, so it can be dangerous to alter best practices based on that.

Thank you for the reply. I'll go with the pre-boil but go with larger cuts than I have. Another worry I had with pre-boil is making them even more mushy. But my original batch, I think I cut too small. If I go to full small potatoes or 2 inch cuts, it should be better, hopefully.

 

[Rockergirl]

Im no expert, and have only done it a few times ( 2 or 3). I did pre-boil my potatoes as directed.
I used Red Norland, Yukon gold, Huckleberry gold ( which has a purple skin) and Russet. I have tried them all, and all have the same consistency. The water clouded up a bit on all except the Russet.

Thanks! Is there one type that you found to taste better and have better consistency?

 

[larry_stewart]

Thanks! Is there one type that you found to taste better and have better consistency?

Taste and consistency have been the same among all of them. I did some jars cubed and others whole potatoes ( a little smaller than golf ball sized), and consistency was the same whether cubed or whole. In general, it tastes a little different than if you would have used a fresh, unmanned potato ( there definitely is a canned taste element to it, not that its bad, just different). My only other alternative was letting all my potatoes rot, so canning was a good option for me.