A real housewife must be able to solve a variety of culinary problems. Storing peeled potatoes is not easy. In air in a plate, the tubers darken, harden and subsequently do not boil. Therefore, it is correct to immerse them in cold water after cleaning - this will slow down the spoilage process. Besides water, there are 4 other ways to store peeled potatoes. We suggest you study them carefully.
Why do peeled potatoes darken and lose their taste?
Tubers always darken after cleaning. This happens for the following reasons:
- Raw potatoes contain sugar (about 0.9%). When interacting with amino acids (enzymes), they are destroyed, and a change in organoleptic properties occurs: taste, color, smell. Therefore, the less sugar in the tubers, the longer the potatoes will be stored.
- Potatoes also contain microelements - iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, etc. When they interact with oxygen, an oxidation reaction occurs, the product gradually turns black and loses its taste. If you block the access of oxygen, the process slows down.
There are several ways to slow down blackening and deterioration. Some of them are acceptable only in large industries, while others can be used in a regular kitchen.
Find out how to store potato supplies in winter in a cellar, apartment, or in the ground.
Common Mistakes
Root vegetables that are not properly prepared for storage can quickly spoil. Therefore, before preparing a large amount of product, it is worth making a test portion. Common problems with freezing include the following:
- the vegetable releases too much moisture;
- The potatoes are covered with an ice crust.
This indicates that the pieces were poorly dried. Before freezing, you should thoroughly blot the potatoes to remove as much liquid as possible from their surface.
There is also a risk of the following problems:
- if the potatoes turn gray in the freezer, this variety needs to be blanched;
- if the vegetable has acquired a loose texture, this indicates a high starch content - such a product must be soaked in water.
Experts advise following the rules for storing frozen vegetables. It is not recommended to defrost them again. It is important to store potatoes in separate bags, on which it is recommended to indicate the harvest date. Temperature is also of great importance.
Methods for storing peeled potatoes in production
Since potatoes are one of the staple foods, they are used in large quantities for the production of semi-finished products. Because of this, the issue of storing the purified product is very relevant.
If there is a significant amount of vegetables, special methods are needed:
- Treatment with special substances, one of which is sodium bisulfite. This compound keeps enzymes from being destroyed. After processing, potato tubers do not lose their color and are no different from those that have just been peeled. With this method of preservation, the vegetable is stored for about 2 days at a temperature of about 7 °C. Before cooking, potatoes should be washed thoroughly, changing the water several times.
- Storage in a modified gas environment. Food bags are filled with vegetables, oxygen is pumped out of them, and instead the bags are filled with a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The special gas composition prevents the growth of bacteria that destroy the taste and color of the product. Shelf life at 3 °C is about 20 days.
- Use of vacuum packaging. The air is pumped out of the bags with a vacuum pump after they are filled with peeled potatoes. This method slows down the oxidative reaction of substances found in vegetables. Shelf life at 3 °C is about 18 days.
The main thing when storing peeled potatoes is to avoid contact with oxygen by any means.
For catering plants, restaurants, schools, such forms of saving peeled vegetables are convenient. They are not cheap, so they cannot justify themselves in everyday life.
When cooking at home, it is not possible to use production methods. And it doesn’t make sense to keep the product for so long. Therefore, housewives have different ways of storing peeled potatoes.
In a refrigerator
Peeled potatoes can be stored until the next morning in the refrigerator compartment. The air temperature inside household appliances should not exceed +6 ℃.
Regarding what treats the vegetable will be used for, you can keep the product in the refrigerator compartment using various methods:
- Root vegetables can be placed in a container with cool liquid and placed inside household appliances. This option is considered simpler and allows you to use the tubers for preparing various delicacies.
- The vegetable can be blanched. To do this, whole root vegetables must be immersed in a container with very hot liquid for a few seconds, then distributed into bags and placed in the refrigerator compartment. Hot water helps destroy the enzymes contained in the top layer of potatoes. As a result, they will not be able to come into contact with oxygen. Unlike a fresh product, blanched vegetables can be stored for a long period of time. However, it has a specific flavor and is suitable for cooking whole.
- Peeled potato tubers can be kept in a tightly tied bag. You will need to completely bleed the air out of it first. After this storage method, the product is suitable for preparing various treats.
- Peeled root vegetables can be chopped on a shredder, supplemented with chopped garlic cloves and onions. The composition must be transferred to a container and covered with cling film on top. It is recommended to store the workpiece in the refrigerator compartment and use it for preparing products from grated vegetables.
How to store peeled potatoes at home
There are several ways to preserve taste, color, and usefulness in vegetables after cleaning at home. They are quite well known and simple:
- Cold water. You can place the peeled tubers in cold water. But in this way the vegetable will be stored for no more than 4 hours. This is due to the fact that peeled potatoes lose useful substances in water: organic acids, microelements, vitamins.
- Food bags. After peeling and washing the potatoes, place them in a plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Place the bag in the refrigerator. This method will preserve the product for a day.
- Freezing. Place the peeled vegetable in a plastic bag in the freezer. If the preparation is intended for soup or frying, the tubers should be cut accordingly before freezing.
- Boiling water. Scald the finished semi-finished product with boiling water. The top layer of each potato will be protected from browning by high temperature treatment. This product can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day.
Tip of the day
Place the container with water and potatoes in the refrigerator - the storage time will increase to 24 hours.
scalding
You can preserve peeled potatoes in the open air for 6 hours by scalding them with a very hot liquid. Thanks to this method, the shelf life of root crops increases. At the same time, they will not deteriorate and darken at room temperature.
Until the next cooking, the tubers will not spoil, but the taste will change slightly. The product must be stored in the refrigerator compartment, first immersed in cold liquid. In this case, potatoes must be kept in a container with an airtight lid.
Storage time dictates the method
The storage time of the semi-finished product affects the choice of method. To preserve the maximum taste and nutritional properties of the product, you should follow simple rules:
- For a few hours. If the cooking time is delayed by 3-4 hours, feel free to peel the required amount of vegetable and immerse it in a bowl of cold water.
- For the night. When you plan to prepare a potato dish for breakfast, fill the peeled tubers with cold water in the evening and place in the refrigerator until the morning.
- For a day. Place the prepared product in the refrigerator using a bag or bowl of water. It is necessary to cover all the potatoes with water or first check the tightness of the bag. You can also pour boiling water over the tubers and place them in the refrigerator after cooling.
- For a long time. If you plan to store the peeled vegetable for a long time, then the freezing method is ideal. And when cooking, do not defrost it, but immediately put it in boiling water or hot fat. It is not recommended to use a microwave oven for defrosting.
At sub-zero temperatures, starch is converted to sugar, so the longer the potatoes are exposed to low temperatures, the sweeter they become
Peeling potatoes
The process of harvesting potatoes certainly begins with washing them. The only exception is those potatoes that have been pre-washed and packaged in separate storage bags. The more dry soil there is, the more difficult it will be to wash it. It is recommended to scrape off soil from particularly dirty potatoes with a knife or rinse under running water. To wash potatoes faster, simply place them in a container and fill with water. After a few minutes, washing the potatoes will be much easier.
To clean large quantities of tubers on an industrial scale (or for large cafes, canteens and restaurants), specialists use electric potato peelers. The device copes with the work without outside help. You just need to load the unpeeled potatoes into a special container, and in about 2 minutes you will get even peeled potatoes of a cylindrical and round shape. There is no need to use such devices for home use. In order not to bother with cleaning themselves, housewives purchase small household electric potato peelers.
People who have been peeling potatoes by hand for years use special knives or prefer regular kitchen knives. The sharper the knife, the faster the peeling process will be, but the smaller layer of peel you can remove.
From young potatoes that have only recently been brought from the garden or the nearest market, you can remove the peel in a very thin layer. Some housewives prefer to scrape the peel with a knife or remove it with a metal sponge. Just wet the tuber with water and rub it thoroughly with a sponge; the skin will come off very quickly.
From old tubers it is necessary to remove a thicker layer of peel, and also cut out all the depressions and “eyes”. If a tuber turns green during storage, it is not recommended to be used for food. But some housewives prefer to save money, so they simply cut off the green areas.
If you are going to peel a lot of potatoes at once, then prepare two containers of water at once. In one you will store potatoes with peels, and in the other you will put peeled ones. Be sure to pour water into the container with clean potatoes so that it completely covers all the tubers. Otherwise, its surface will begin to darken, and the potatoes themselves will rapidly lose their taste properties.
You can store potatoes in such a container with water for at least 3.5-4 hours. But only on the condition that you did not cut it into slices or cubes. This way, each tuber will save more nutrients.
How to determine the suitability of peeled potatoes
If storage conditions are not observed, peeled potatoes will spoil. This can be seen by the appearance of the tubers and the water in which they are stored:
- If the water just turns cloudy, it means starch has been released from the potatoes. This is normal.
- If a container of water is filled with air bubbles, this is a sign that the process of fermentation and breakdown of useful substances has begun.
- If the tuber becomes slippery to the touch, soft, or has an unpleasant odor, these are clear signs of spoilage.
In the last two cases, potatoes should not be eaten.
Why are peeled potatoes immersed in water?
Potatoes with skins are definitely stored differently from their peeled relatives. The peeled fruit has a much longer shelf life, and the conditions are slightly different. Raw peeled potatoes will not be able to sit for a long time, since they will quickly deteriorate and lose not only their presentable appearance, but also their taste.
Why keep peeled vegetables in water? Of course, so that they do not darken. Contact of tubers with air will lead to the fact that after 30-40 minutes they will become darkened, with a pronounced dark gray coating.
We will also answer you why this happens. The thing is that potato fruits contain tyrosine - a special nitrogenous compound that is an amino acid - and enzymes. In contact with oxygen, all these substances oxidize, which leads to darkening of the surface of the potato.
There is an opinion that if potatoes change color from lighter to darker shades soon after peeling, this means that they are literally filled with harmful nitrates.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
Advantages of storing peeled tubers:
- cooking time is reduced;
- you can make a large stock.
But there are also disadvantages of storing vegetables in the form of a semi-finished product:
- it is required to strictly adhere to the processing technology;
- you need to monitor the expiration date;
- peeled potatoes darken - the polyphenols and chlorogenic acid they contain oxidize in air.
For this harvesting method, varieties with a low sugar content are selected.
Preparation rules
Fresh tubers are selected for harvesting. They are thoroughly washed from dirt and cleaned. Remove all eyes and dark spots.
Attention!
It is worth refusing to cook greened tubers for food. These vegetables contain solanine. It accumulates in the body and causes poisoning.
This toxic substance is not destroyed by cooking and freezing. There is a lot of solanine in potatoes that were stored incorrectly and have already sprouted.
After sorting and cleaning the tubers, they are cut into pieces. The shredding method depends on how the potatoes will be cooked. For fries - straws, for stewing and cooking - slices, quarters or cubes.
What is the shelf life of boiled potatoes?
It’s not always possible to guess the quantity, so housewives often boil more than necessary. But it’s definitely a pity to throw away a delicious finished product in the trash, what should you do in this case?
To keep potatoes without skins unspoiled, you need to place them in a container that closes tightly. Next, place everything in the refrigerator. But even if all conditions are met, you can keep the dish in the cold for no more than 2 days.
After 48 hours, eating boiled potatoes will be dangerous to health - there is a serious risk of poisoning.
However, if you cooked the potatoes with additional ingredients, such as onions, the shelf life will be shorter. This is important to remember. Also, to avoid negative consequences, it is better to fry the boiled potatoes before serving.
Of course, it is better to peel and cook the potatoes right away, then the result will be tasty, fresh and safe for health. But if you don’t have time to peel the tubers (for example, in the morning before work or before the arrival of important guests), then you can do everything in advance and leave the peeled vegetables until tomorrow, so that you can quickly and without any hitches prepare your favorite signature dish.
If you do everything correctly and do not violate storage technology, you will not have any problems. Take our advice to heart and become the most experienced and all-knowing housewife, whose honor and respect is guaranteed.
