Potatoes?

[MommyofSeven]

OK...was told by my apartment manager I couldn't do the potatoes in a trashcan with sand thing. Long story. Anyway, I bought these racks to hold hte potatoes in so they are out of the bag and getting air. But there's really no where in the house I can keep them away from light. Closet doors are always opening and closing-and open more often than closed LOL.

 

I know if they are exposed to the light they go bad faster. So this is a problem I want to remedy.

 

Does anyone know if putting a black cotton sheet over the racks would help? It would still allow air to circulate while cutting off a good bit of the light, I would think. I am getting good deals on potatoes, and, as mentioned in another post, it takes a lot of food to grow boys LOL. I would like to be able to buy more and the cheaper prices.

 

Thanks!

 

Mo7

[Shawna]

Ahhh, what a stick-in-the-mud your apt manager is

SHawna

[MommyofSeven]

Shawna,

 

I have read in several places that canning them is an iffy thing. And I haven't canned ANYTHING LOL so I'm not going to start with something iffy.

 

They are worried about the whole dampness thing. I was told again on Saturday that I cook too much. Told the maintenance guy that he could buy my family's dinners, then. He shut up after that LOL.

 

Mo7

[Necie]

MO7-I can ALOT of potatoes. Don't really understand why they're so 'iffy'. ?? Not the best for mashed-but for fried, casseroles, soups/stews, etc., they are just like fresh. I can small ones with the skins on and peel and cube larger ones. I did 34 qts this year of just whole small potatoes with the skins on. Last year I did 65 pints of small blue potatoes with skins on-some cut in half, and 45 qts of lg potatoes that I peeled and cubed. We used all the qts last year and only have about 10 of the pints left.

 

Just prepare your potatoes for canning. Boil for 10 min. Drain. (I leave them in the water and scoop them out with a slotted spoon to put directly into jars.) Cover with FRESH boiling water. Put on lid and ring. Process.

 

There is a little 'mushy' stuff at the bottom of the jar-but not much. When I'm ready to use my taters, I drain them in a collander and rinse them. Then proceed with whatever it is I'm doing with them.

 

I think potatoes are one of the easiest things to can, saves alot of room for storage, saves on spoilage, and saves on alot of prep time peeling and preparing for use.

 

Another thing you could do is dehydrate them. Sliced or shredded. Haven't tried this, but have heard it works really well, and would like to try it sometime.

[HSmom]

You cook too much!? Good grief! I'm sorry you have to deal with this stuff from them.

 

In response to your original question, yes I do think a black sheet, or a dark thick blanket would definately help. For example I have an old dark green electric blanket-the electric part died. That would work well. You might find something at a thrift store.

 

To clarify what Necie posted, you do need a pressure canner to can potatoes, so that might be out of reach right now. I've also heard good things about drying sliced pototoes. You can rehydrate them and do a lot of homemade scalloped potato recipes.

 

I think I'll try it. I'll let you know in a week or so.

[Granny]

Hey Mo7. Tell more about storing potatoes in sand. Haven't heard of that and would sure like to try it. Thanks!

[Shawna]

I can taters all the time now. I love having them ready to usse....it's really great!! And they are pretty easy to can.

 

Ah well, I hope you find a good solution! And phooey on him for saying you cook too much....how is that even possible?!?!

Shawna

[Phatkat1956]

Canned potatoes are a hurried cooks best friend. You can open them up, I usually wash away any mushy stuff. Toss them in a frying pan with some olive oil and a little butter and onion and fry them babies up and yumo!! On the farm we canned all the potatoes that got "scarred" from digging them up during harvest. The rest of potatoes got sorted from smallest to largest. We used the smallest ones first because once they shriveled up there was nothing left. The largest ones went to the basement and were used over the winter. If you have a out of the way closet where you can store your potatoes covered with that blanket, they should do fine as long as they stay cool. If they start to sprout, they are too warm and it's time to start canning some more of them.

 

As far as that nosey old maintenace guy, tell him to go fix something and leave you alone. Or better yet, ask him if he's jealous!!!

[MommyofSeven]

OK, first, for Granny, I think I did this right, is the link for root cellar with sand in trash can Click here

 

We have major condensation and mold issues in the apartments here, and when I asked about ways to mitigate it, have been told that I cook too much. Apparently the long cooking times required when you cook from scratch are the reason I have more condensation that many others. It's a load of crap. They don't want to deal with the real issue (crappy windows, I think lack of a vapor pad, etc) so they tell me this. But now that I'm on the Board of Commissioners for the apartments, we're getting new windows LOL.

 

OK...soon as I can get the replacement part for my canner, I'll do up some potatoes and see how I do.

 

Again, thanks ladies!

 

Mo7