How to time the blanching of potatoes for freezing

How to time the blanching of potatoes for freezing - Woman in Brown Coat Walking on Snow Covered Ground

I've read numerous articles on the procedure to peel, blanch then bag and store potatoes in a freezer. The procedure states to bring a big pot of water to boil than put in the potatoes and blanch 3-5 minutes. Of course when you drop in potatoes the temperature of the pot goes down. So do you start your 3-5 minute timer for blanching after the pot with the potatoes start boiling again or do you start timing 3-5 minutes as soon as you put the potatoes in?



Best Answer

If the temperature drops, you are doing it wrong. The whole point of blanching is to bring up the temperature of the vegetables up very quickly. This means

  • slice your vegetables small
  • use a very large pot
  • blanch in small portions

A 1:10 ratio is typical, so if you use a 5 liter pot, you can blanch in 500 g portions. Put your vegetables into a strainer. Submerge the strainer in the water (which should be at a roiling boil), start the clock immediately (the water should only need several seconds to get back to full boil) and when ready, plunge into iced water to stop cooking immediately.




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Quick Answer about "How to time the blanching of potatoes for freezing"

Pop the potatoes into boiling water and parboil until almost cooked, tender but still firm, the timing will depend on the size of your potatoes (a couple minutes for small diced potatoes and up to 10 minutes for larger potatoes).

How long do you blanch potatoes for freezing?

Shred the potatoes, holding them in a bowl of cold water while you finish shredding, then drain and blanch in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain again and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process, then spread in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pat dry.

How long should I blanch potatoes?

Fill a pot with room temperature water and add the potatoes. Bring the water to a simmer over high heat, then lower the heat so the water is barely simmering. Blanch the potatoes for around 12 minutes, or until they're soft on the outside but still hard on the inside.

How do you blanch raw potatoes for freezing?

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. While the pot is heating up, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. Working in batches, blanch the potatoes by dropping them into the boiling water. Boil each batch for 2 to 5 minutes, or until the interiors are crisp-tender and can be speared with a knife.

Do potatoes need to be blanched before freezing?

Since raw potatoes have a high water content, you need to blanch them before you freeze them so that they won't be mushy when you cook them. This might sound tricky, but it's a really simple process. You can blanch them whole or after they've been chopped.



How to freeze potatoes the right way - Blanche it and freeze it




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