Saving Potatoes

sarahw89

Hi All

Hopefully this is the right place to post this I couldnt find somewhere more suited.
Basically Im trying to cut costs on food shopping and stop waste and I am living on a £20 a week budget at the minute.
So last Friday when I went food shopping I bought a bag of potatoes which already look like they are on the turn and I still have loads left even though I only bought a smallish bag.
Is there a way of making them last longer? ie is there a way to freeze them?

CLB

I think you can buy potato storage bags and then store this is a dry cool place. This should keep your potatoes fresh for a long time.

jemb

Have you got a freezer? Par-boil them, mash them, roast them beforehand and then freeze them so they dont go nasty? In all honesty, I keep mine till they're creeping our of the cupboard (their eyes anyway). I know some people say once they've grown eyes then chuck them but we're all still here in my house!

sarahw89

Ahh I will go and get the hob on now then

pinkteapot

Washed potatoes from the supermarket do only keep for 2-3 weeks at best I find.

To save money, if you have the storage space, buy the large sacks of unwashed potatoes you can get from farms, markets etc. Stored somewhere cool, they keep for ages.

If you do buy supermarket spuds, dry them when you get home. They're often sweaty and I take them out of the plastic bag and lay them out on some kitchen towel for a few hours until dry to the touch. I then keep them in a cloth potato storage bag, in our pantry cupboard which is dark and cool.

Barring that, as posted above, mashed potato can be frozen and reheated. Or make up shepherds pies etc.

I also use potatoes that have started sprouting - if you cut the sprouty bits off they're fine!

Only time I chuck them is when they're riddled with the dark bits to the point where it's more hassle than it's worth to cut them out.

Lynsey

You could make frozen chips/wedgers??
Part cook, drain and freeze on open trays loose before bagging.
Or make ready meals like cottage pies etc and freeze (if you have meat etc).

Lynsey

VoucherMan

I have a shelf in a cupboard that I put the potatoes on. All laid on a tea towel & I make sure they're not rubbing against each other.
It keeps them dry & seems to stop them going off as quick.

Sometimes I'll have potatoes in there for 4 or 5 weeks. They go a bit wrinkly but otherwise fine.

redfragglebiker

Also an old trick of my grandmothers is to put na apple in with the potatoes when you store them to make them last longer. No idea if it works but I do the same and my spuds seem to last a fair old while.

I'm also with pinkteapot and jemb - don't get rid until they've gone unusable. Even if they've gone a bit soft they generally cook up okay

Queenriderbrekke

Potato soup is good, plenty of easy recipes on line and freezes well.

roseanglaise

sarahw89 wrote: »

Hi All

Hopefully this is the right place to post this I couldnt find somewhere more suited.
Basically Im trying to cut costs on food shopping and stop waste and I am living on a £20 a week budget at the minute.
So last Friday when I went food shopping I bought a bag of potatoes which already look like they are on the turn and I still have loads left even though I only bought a smallish bag.
Is there a way of making them last longer? ie is there a way to freeze them?

As long as you keep them cool & in the dark they will keep for months. I keep mine in a spare fridge but if you haven't got that, try putting them in an old pillow case in a cool place. eg garage / shed. Hope that helps.

s_b

we keep ours in the cellar
any that sprout get stuffed into pots with flowers for a bargain meal sometime in the future

of course tatties are miles cheaper and better if you have a local market