How to tell if potatoes are frozen or not
Let's find out how to determine if potatoes are frozen.
First you need to put the potatoes in a warm place and leave them for a couple of hours. After this, cut it and if blackness is visible in the cut, then it is better to throw it away immediately.
If it was difficult to cut a vegetable, the potatoes were frozen: then they were left warm for several hours, then cut into several parts and boiled, but they would be a little sweet.
Like water, potatoes freeze when the thermometer needle drops below zero degrees. The most optimal temperature for storing vegetables is 2-3 degrees above zero.
When storing potatoes in the basement, there is often a danger of vegetables freezing. The condition of the tubers depends on the air temperature in the storage:
- At temperatures from +2 to +5 ° C, potatoes retain their taste; at higher temperatures, they germinate prematurely.
- From 0 to +1 ° C, briefly decreasing to -1 ° C, starch begins to break down, and a sweet taste develops over time. They asked, at what temperature do potatoes freeze? Consider that you have the answer.
- Potatoes freeze at -1.7°C or below and develop a distinctly sweet flavor. As temperatures rise, frozen tubers begin to rot and those intended for planting lose their germination.
How to tell if potatoes are frozen
If frosts hit sharply, and your balcony absolutely cannot cope with them, and you suspect that the potatoes stored there are frozen, you should check it. But how to do this? There are two scenarios for the development of events, the first when the potatoes are frozen, and the second when they just get frostbite.
The first option is very easy to check; you just need to bring the potatoes indoors for one to two hours, and then try cutting them. If everything went smoothly without any difficulties, and the potatoes remained their normal color in the middle, then everything is fine.
In order for the crop to be stored much longer, it must be stored in complete darkness.
If it was difficult to cut, then leave the potatoes to thaw for a longer period, about six hours. After this, take one potato, cut it into several parts and boil for half an hour. If it takes on a sweetish taste, then your potatoes are completely frozen.
If potatoes are frozen, can you eat them?
As a rule, frozen potatoes can be eaten.
Grate the frozen potatoes while they are still not melting. Add flour, egg and make cutlets. Salt, seasonings to taste. Fry on both sides in a frying pan and delicious pancakes are ready!
Spices and herbs will help mask the sweetness of potatoes: salt, bay leaf, sweet pepper, dill, parsley. Suitable mayonnaise - sour cream sauce, grated carrots. Frozen root makes delicious French fries. Children should appreciate it! Despite your best efforts, your potatoes still taste sweet and unpleasant to eat? Get rid of inventory. If there are a lot of potatoes and it’s a shame to just throw them away, give them to livestock farms to feed pigs, cows, and horses. And next time, before storing potatoes, warm the room according to all the rules so that there is no such problem in the future.
Another phenomenon of potatoes is their greening. Read whether you can eat green potatoes and how to avoid turning green.
How many calories are in French fries?
Many people believe that potatoes are a fairly high-calorie vegetable and try to exclude them from the diet during a diet. But in fact, the calorie content of potatoes is determined by the method of their preparation.
French fries - a high-calorie treat
If 100 g of raw vegetable contains 75 kcal , then French fries already contain 316 kcal . In calorie competitions, fries win among all potato dishes.
If, despite these numbers, you still decide to treat yourself to a delicious side dish, try to cook fries in the oven or on an air fryer. This frying method uses the least amount of sunflower oil, which in turn will slightly reduce the calorie content of the product.
Don't limit yourself to the joys of delicious food. You shouldn't overeat on these kinds of delicacies, but sometimes you can cut yourself some slack and treat yourself to such a tasty dish as French fries.
Freezing potatoes for the winter at home
Initially, you need to select large enough tubers without defects, wash them and remove them from the skin. Since potatoes can be frozen in several ways, further preparation steps will also vary:
- It's better to freeze the whole potato or cut it in half. For this purpose, the tubers are pre-soaked in cold water (up to 20 minutes), changing it several times. Then blanch in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and cool in a container with water and ice. After drying on a towel and packing in plastic bags. These potatoes are suitable for mashing, baking in the oven and frying;
- Is it possible to freeze potatoes in the freezer? Yes! A visual manifestation of the wit of modern housewives is frozen French fries. Freezing this way will allow you to prepare French fries in just a few minutes: just take them out of the freezer and add them to the boiling oil. 7-10 minutes - and call everyone to the table. Making such a preparation is very simple: cut the peeled tubers into small cubes, salt well, quickly and thoroughly roll in flour, place on a tray and place in frosty conditions for 10-12 hours. After this, put it into packages and continue to store in the freezer;
- You can freeze fried potatoes if they are not made from frozen semi-finished products, but from fresh tubers. Place the finished dish on a paper towel to absorb excess fat. It is then packaged and stacked on freezer shelves;
- Even mashed potatoes can be preserved in the finished form: take a pastry bag, place the potatoes in it and form small nests. Then place them on a tray and, after pre-freezing in the chamber, place them in a convenient plastic container.
Such preparations do not require defrosting - they are immediately placed in a frying pan or in the microwave. If you add a fresh egg inside, you will get a delicious, beautiful and original side dish.
How to properly defrost and cook potatoes after freezing
The process for cooking frozen potatoes will depend on how you prepared and stored them:
- Whole root vegetables that have been stored raw do not require thawing. They must be immediately placed in broth or in a frying pan with oil and cooked;
- French fries must be removed from the storage chamber and immediately placed in hot oil;
- Fried potatoes and mashed potatoes can be heated in the microwave for a few minutes and eaten immediately.
As you can see, freezing everyone's favorite vegetable is simple, without much hassle, but can save a lot of time. It’s always nice to take ready-made potatoes out of the freezer, quickly heat them up and use them right away.
How to defrost potatoes
If potatoes are frozen in the cellar or if potatoes are frozen on the balcony - what to do? There are several tips for properly thawing potatoes without changing the taste:
- From the potato storage, take the quantity that is immediately used.
- It is sent into hot water (about 50-60 ºC). You need to make sure that the peel begins to thaw and it becomes easy to peel.
- Peel the skin and immediately add to the dish that is currently being cooked.
What can you do with frozen potatoes?
Yes all! The tasty qualities of defrosting potatoes this way do not change. This is how the peoples of the Far North prepare frozen potatoes:
- The required amount of frozen potatoes is taken from the storage. It goes into cold water for 5 minutes.
- The skins are then peeled and the potatoes are cut in half and placed back into cold water.
- The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes. Such potatoes can not only be cooked, added to soup, but also fried. The only downside is that it gets a little dry due to lack of starch.
What to do if the potatoes froze in the cellar and became sweet? Take away this sweetness! How to remove excessive sweetness from frozen potatoes?
- To do this, again take the required number of tubers and plunge into cold water for 5-10 minutes.
- It is then cleaned, cut into pieces and boiled in boiling water with vinegar.
- For a liter of water, 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- The potatoes are cooked until tender and then drained.
- Now you can add it to the soup, second course. But, unfortunately, the sweetness will not be lost. You can add sauerkraut or borscht to cabbage soup - it will give them a special piquancy.
The potato harvest should begin in the fall. It is worth insulating the basement and building storage space. Also make sure that the humidity and air temperature correspond to the generally accepted norm. And only under such conditions can you protect the crop from chilling or sudden freezing, which can render it useless.
Article on the topic: Caring for potato seedlings: feeding and processing of bushes
In this video you will clearly see what can be done with frozen potatoes so that they can be eaten.
How to cook French fries in an air fryer?
An air grill is a device that allows you to cook food using a stream of hot air. You can also cook French fries in this electrical appliance. Naturally, this is not the only cooking option , so you shouldn’t run to the store for an air fryer if you want to savor the fries.
The advantage of this method is that in this way the potatoes are dietary and less harmful . And all thanks to the fact that the slices are cooked on a special grill, from which unnecessary sunflower oil drains. Thus, the finished product is not saturated with excess fat, which will certainly affect its taste.
The air fryer will allow you to prepare not only delicious fries, but also healthy ones.
To prepare French fries in an air fryer you will need:
- Potatoes – 1 kg
- Sunflower oil (optional) – 60 g
- Seasoning or salt
Let's look at the cooking process step by step :
- Wash, peel and cut the potato tubers into slices
- Stir in salt and sunflower oil
- Set the temperature on the device to 250C
- Place the slices on the air fryer rack
- Cook the potatoes for 10 minutes on one side and 15 minutes on the other.
After this, the French fries can be transferred from the bowl to a plate and served with salad or fish.
French fries can be served with meat, fish or salad
How to tell if potatoes are frozen or not
Let's find out how to determine if potatoes are frozen.
First you need to put the potatoes in a warm place and leave them for a couple of hours. After this, cut it and if blackness is visible in the cut, then it is better to throw it away immediately.
If it was difficult to cut a vegetable, the potatoes were frozen: then they were left warm for several hours, then cut into several parts and boiled, but they would be a little sweet.
Like water, potatoes freeze when the thermometer needle drops below zero degrees. The most optimal temperature for storing vegetables is 2-3 degrees above zero.
When storing potatoes in the basement, there is often a danger of vegetables freezing. The condition of the tubers depends on the air temperature in the storage:
- At temperatures from 2 to 5 ° C, potatoes retain their taste; at higher temperatures, they germinate prematurely.
- From 0 to 1 °C, briefly reduced to -1 °C, starch begins to break down, and a sweet taste develops over time. They asked, at what temperature do potatoes freeze? Consider that you have the answer.
- Potatoes freeze at -1.7°C or below and develop a distinctly sweet flavor. As temperatures rise, frozen tubers begin to rot and those intended for planting lose their germination.
How to cook French fries in a slow cooker?
You can try delicious French fries not only at McDonald's, but also cook them yourself. If you have such a miracle device in your kitchen as a multicooker , then the process of preparing this dish is greatly simplified.
French fries in a slow cooker
To cook fries in a slow cooker you will need:
- Potatoes – 1 kg
- Sunflower oil – 1 l
- Seasoning or salt (to taste)
The process of creating a delicious dish consists of the following stages:
- It is necessary to wash, peel and cut the potatoes into slices
- In the multicooker, select the “Baking” , set the time to 60 minutes
- Pour oil and heat it in a slow cooker for 2-3 minutes
- Place the potatoes in the bowl and cook for no more than 10 minutes
It is best to fry potatoes in a multicooker twice - first for 10 minutes , then take them out, blot them and put them back in the multicooker bowl for 3-5 minutes.
After this, delicious fries are ready. In a slow cooker you can also cook delicious meat that will go well with potatoes.
At what temperature should potatoes be stored? Storing potatoes at home
So early frosts will not harm potatoes, but when they occur, it is better to hurry up with harvesting. Already at 0 °C, starch in tubers begins to be converted into sugars, and the taste and keeping quality of root crops deteriorate.
If potatoes are frozen in the ground, it is better to dig them up in the fall: firstly, perhaps not all the tubers are hopelessly damaged and some can be saved, and secondly, a large number of root crops in the soil in the spring will attract all the pests from the surrounding areas.
At what temperature should potatoes be stored? storing potatoes at home
To properly store potatoes, you will first need to create the necessary temperature conditions. To do this, it is important to make the bottom, walls, and lid of the box double. The resulting air space should be filled with sheet foam or sawdust.
Thick plywood is suitable for making the body of the box. You can use clapboard or tongue and groove boards. The outside of the box must be painted or covered with sheets of plastic or linoleum that does not have a base. This will increase the moisture resistance of the structure.
How to choose the right potato
For winter storage, choose young potatoes with a low content of starch and sugar. This is explained by the fact that during the freezing process, the starch contained in the tubers is converted into sugar, as a result of which the vegetable will change its taste. The potatoes will have an unpleasant sweet taste.
It is recommended to purchase varieties with pink peel or Sineglazka.
It is important to pay attention to the condition of the vegetables: the density of the surface, the absence of eyes and depressions caused by pests indicate that the vegetable will be perfectly preserved.
Freezing potatoes for the winter at home
Initially, you need to select large enough tubers without defects, wash them and remove them from the skin. Since potatoes can be frozen in several ways, further preparation steps will also vary:
- It's better to freeze the whole potato or cut it in half. For this purpose, the tubers are pre-soaked in cold water (up to 20 minutes), changing it several times. Then blanch in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and cool in a container with water and ice. After drying on a towel and packing in plastic bags. These potatoes are suitable for mashing, baking in the oven and frying;
- Is it possible to freeze potatoes in the freezer? Yes! A visual manifestation of the wit of modern housewives is frozen French fries. Freezing this way will allow you to prepare French fries in just a few minutes: just take them out of the freezer and add them to the boiling oil. 7-10 minutes - and call everyone to the table. Making such a preparation is very simple: cut the peeled tubers into small cubes, salt well, quickly and thoroughly roll in flour, place on a tray and place in frosty conditions for 10-12 hours. After this, put it into packages and continue to store in the freezer;
- You can freeze fried potatoes if they are not made from frozen semi-finished products, but from fresh tubers. Place the finished dish on a paper towel to absorb excess fat. It is then packaged and stacked on freezer shelves;
- Even mashed potatoes can be preserved in the finished form: take a pastry bag, place the potatoes in it and form small nests. Then place them on a tray and, after pre-freezing in the chamber, place them in a convenient plastic container.
Such preparations do not require defrosting - they are immediately placed in a frying pan or in the microwave. If you add a fresh egg inside, you will get a delicious, beautiful and original side dish.
Basic rules for freezing potatoes
At first glance, it may seem that there is nothing easier than storing potatoes in the freezer. The storage process itself will not require any effort from you, but the vegetable needs to be properly packaged, choose the optimal freezer and configure it to the desired parameters.
Sealed packaging is an important rule for long-term storage. For these purposes, it is best to select dense, airtight plastic bags that will not tear when dragged around the freezer. However, in this case, you need to take into account: before storing the potatoes, you need to release all the air from the bag.
Excess oxygen will significantly reduce the shelf life of root vegetables, and can also spoil its taste and visual characteristics.
Foil is also a great option for wrapping potatoes. But it should be thick, since baking foil is thin and breaks without much effort.
Another important rule for preserving at low temperatures: repeated freezing is highly undesirable. It is better to cook and eat the defrosted product immediately. Experts recommend storing potatoes at a temperature no higher than -18°C. In addition, it is important to ensure that there are no temperature changes.
For these purposes, it is recommended to purchase an uninterruptible power supply along with the freezer.
Freezing of potatoes during storage
When storing potatoes on an unheated balcony or in a garage, there is often a danger of vegetables freezing. The condition of the tubers depends on the air temperature in the storage:
- at temperatures from 2 to 5 °C, potatoes retain their taste; at higher temperatures, they germinate prematurely and begin to wither;
- from 0 to 1 °C, short-term decreases to -1 °C, starch begins to break down, and over time a sweet taste appears;
- potatoes freeze at a temperature of -1.7 °C and below, acquiring a pronounced sweet taste. As the temperature rises, frozen tubers begin to rot; those intended for planting lose their viability.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO PLANT FROZEN POTATOES - VIDEO
Is it worth planting frozen potatoes?!
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Do it yourself › Useful tips › What can be done with frostbitten (frozen) potatoes
How to defrost potatoes
If potatoes are frozen in the cellar or if potatoes are frozen on the balcony - what to do? There are several tips for properly thawing potatoes without changing the taste:
- From the potato storage, take the quantity that is immediately used.
- It is sent into hot water (about 50-60 ºC). You need to make sure that the peel begins to thaw and it becomes easy to peel.
- Peel the skin and immediately add to the dish that is currently being cooked.
What can you do with frozen potatoes? Yes all! The tasty qualities of defrosting potatoes this way do not change.
This is how the peoples of the Far North prepare frozen potatoes:
- The required amount of frozen potatoes is taken from the storage. It goes into cold water for 5 minutes.
- The skins are then peeled and the potatoes are cut in half and placed back into cold water.
- The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes. Such potatoes can not only be cooked, added to soup, but also fried. The only downside is that it gets a little dry due to lack of starch.
What to do if the potatoes froze in the cellar and became sweet? Take away this sweetness! How to remove excessive sweetness from frozen potatoes?
- To do this, again take the required number of tubers and plunge into cold water for 5-10 minutes.
- It is then cleaned, cut into pieces and boiled in boiling water with vinegar.
- For a liter of water, 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- The potatoes are cooked until tender and then drained.
- Now you can add it to the soup, second course. But, unfortunately, the sweetness will not be lost. You can add sauerkraut or borscht to cabbage soup - it will give them a special piquancy.
The potato harvest should begin in the fall. It is worth insulating the basement and building storage space. Also make sure that the humidity and air temperature correspond to the generally accepted norm. And only under such conditions can you protect the crop from chilling or sudden freezing, which can render it useless.
How to cut French fries?
We have all seen ready-made French fries and enjoyed this simple and tasty dish. Few people try to cook it at home, but it’s as easy as shelling pears. First you need to peel the tubers and cut them into slices . Potatoes should be chosen large and mature .
You can make delicious French fries at home - it's much easier than you think!
new potatoes for making fries - the density and taste of the finished product will be very different from your expectations.
It is important to choose the correct thickness of the slices so that the potatoes are well fried, but at the same time are not overly dried and burnt. The optimal size for the slices would be 1x1 cm. It is best not to cut strips that are too long so that the potatoes do not break when frying and turning.
After you have cut all the planned tubers, rinse them well and dry with a paper towel - this will remove all excess starch from the product. After this, you can start frying delicious potatoes.
Options for using frozen potatoes
Although potatoes freeze at -1.7 °C, tubers stored indoors at 0 °C for long periods also become slightly sweet. To restore the taste of such potatoes, it is enough to keep them in a darkened drawer in the kitchen for 10–14 days.
If the tubers have been in the cold for a long time, then after defrosting they quickly become lethargic and begin to rot. Therefore, they are defrosted only as needed.
Related article: How to increase potato yields in your home garden (dacha)
In addition, there are two more options for using frozen tubers:
- chop and add to the mash. Frozen potatoes contain a lot of sugar, so they are suitable for making moonshine. True, the quality and smell of the drink leave much to be desired; it contains a lot of fusel oils, and in its unrefined form it is only suitable for external use;
- eat.
Air Fryer French Fries Recipe
If you bought a newfangled deep fryer , but the taste of the potatoes still leaves much to be desired, use certain cooking rules:
- Be sure to rinse the cut potatoes well to reduce their starch Otherwise, the fries will be overcooked and will turn out soft rather than crispy.
- Pat the washed potatoes well with a towel. Excess moisture negatively affects the taste of fries.
- Oil should only be vegetable and refined
- Place the slices only in well- heated oil
- Do not salt potatoes before or during frying. If you fry salted potatoes, a crust will not form on them
French fries in a deep fryer - a classic cooking method
After following all the above rules, start cooking:
- Peel, cut and wash potatoes
- Dry the slices well
- Pour oil into the deep fryer at the rate of 100 g of oil per 500 g of potatoes
- Heat the oil and add the slices
- Cook potatoes for 7-10 minutes
The potatoes are ready. Carefully place the slices on a napkin to remove excess oil. After this, divide into portions, add salt, garnish with beautifully chopped vegetables and serve. Bon appetit!
Features of preparing dishes with frozen potatoes
In the old days, when people talked about hard times, they said that they had to eat frozen potatoes. However, now peeled, neatly cut potatoes are sold in supermarkets. Manufacturers recommend defrosting it very quickly. Regular frozen potatoes should be prepared in the same way.
Frozen tubers are easy to peel: if you hold them in warm water for a few seconds, the peel comes off like a film. Immediately after this, without allowing them to defrost naturally, you need to put them in boiling water or, cut into pieces, in hot vegetable oil.
Products that can neutralize unpleasant taste:
- onion;
- tomatoes and tomato paste;
- sour cream;
- pickled cucumbers or cabbage.
First meal
Frozen potatoes boil quickly, so it is recommended to cook them separately and add them to soups 5–10 minutes before they are ready. If the sweet taste is too pronounced, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the water when boiling potatoes.
The taste of frozen potatoes is neutralized in vinaigrettes, salads with pickles, sauerkraut, and mushrooms. For dressing use mayonnaise, mustard, unrefined vegetable oil with vinegar and spices.
Frozen potatoes cannot be mashed, but small potatoes (or large ones cut into 2-3 pieces) can be baked in the oven. The peeled tubers are thrown into boiling water with vinegar, after 7-10 minutes the water is drained.
The potatoes are laid out in one row on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil, the top is also greased with oil, sprinkled with salt and spices, and placed in a heated oven. To make the crust on the potatoes thicker, scrape their surface with a fork before greasing. The dish goes well with smoked sausages, sour cream and onion or tomato and onion sauce.
Also, undercooked potatoes are cut into slices, fried and added to stews, baked in pots with meat, onions, beans and tomato sauce.
Salty baked goods
Mashed boiled potatoes with onions, buckwheat and, if desired, cracklings are a popular filling for pies and dumplings, and the basis for casseroles.
- 0.5 kg of boiled mashed potatoes;
- 1 cup buckwheat;
- 3 large onions.
Buckwheat is poured with boiling water and left for 3-4 hours to swell. Then the buckwheat is mixed with potatoes, fried onions, and the mixture is salted and peppered. To improve the taste, add 2-3 tablespoons of cracklings.
If you are preparing a casserole, then the top and bottom are made from potato-buckwheat mass, and fried mushrooms with onions or stewed cabbage are placed inside. The top is poured with tomato-mayonnaise filling with egg and grated cheese.
To bake potato pancakes from frozen potatoes, you need to grind them very quickly in a blender, otherwise the potato mass will become sticky and rubbery.
Proportions for potato pancakes:
- 2 large potatoes;
- 2 large onions;
- 1 tablespoon sour cream;
- 3–4 eggs;
- 3–5 tablespoons flour;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Potatoes go well with cottage cheese. Cottage cheese and potato casseroles turn out fluffy and juicy.
- 500 g cottage cheese;
- 200 g boiled potatoes;
- 4 eggs;
- lemon;
- sugar to taste, optional raisins, vanilla sugar.
Cottage cheese and potatoes are ground until smooth, crushed lemon (zest and pulp), yolks and whipped whites are added.
Another way to use sweet potatoes in desserts is dumplings. Knead the dough from 0.5 kg of mashed boiled potatoes, 2 eggs and 3-4 tablespoons of flour. Any fresh or frozen fruits and berries are suitable for the filling.
How to cook French fries in the microwave?
are well suited for cooking potatoes in the microwave . To do this you will need:
- Potatoes – 1 kg
- Sunflower oil (optional) – 40 g
- Seasoning or salt
It's very easy to cook French fries in the microwave.
To cook French fries in the microwave, it would be nice to have a special form . It looks like a sieve, only the holes are larger - about 1x1 cm. In this case, the slices need to be inserted directly into these holes.
If you don’t have such a device, then you can use a regular plate . Place the potato slices in one row on a plate. It’s better not to pile up several rows of potatoes, so they won’t get fried .
After you have cut the potatoes into slices and placed them in a mold or on a plate, set your microwave to maximum power and bake the fries for about 7 minutes . You can also use fresh potato slices for microwave cooking using the same recommendations.
Using relief cutting you can prepare a real masterpiece from potatoes
Cooking French fries in the microwave may be simple, but it is not entirely healthy. Since the microwave itself is a harmful thing, you should not overuse it , especially if you are preparing a treat for children.
Options for using frozen potatoes
So early frosts will not harm potatoes, but when they occur, it is better to hurry up with harvesting. Already at 0 °C, starch in tubers begins to be converted into sugars, and the taste and keeping quality of root crops deteriorate.
If potatoes are frozen in the ground, it is better to dig them up in the fall: firstly, perhaps not all the tubers are hopelessly damaged and some can be saved, and secondly, a large number of root crops in the soil in the spring will attract all the pests from the surrounding areas.
Although potatoes freeze at -1.7 °C, tubers stored indoors at 0 °C for long periods also become slightly sweet. To restore the taste of such potatoes, it is enough to keep them in a darkened drawer in the kitchen for 10–14 days.
If the tubers have been in the cold for a long time, then after defrosting they quickly become lethargic and begin to rot. Therefore, they are defrosted only as needed.
In addition, there are two more options for using frozen tubers:
- chop and add to the mash. Frozen potatoes contain a lot of sugar, so they are suitable for making moonshine. True, the quality and smell of the drink leave much to be desired; it contains a lot of fusel oils, and in its unrefined form it is only suitable for external use;
- eat.
- Natural products . It is unknown what they sell in stores now and where vegetables and fruits come from. And, having bought a bag of potatoes in a neighboring village, or picked them from your garden, you can be sure that there are no harmful additives in them.
- Room for vegetables. If there is a good basement, an insulated balcony, where the potatoes will lie at the optimal temperature all winter, then this is an additional incentive to think about this issue in the fall.
- Saving. If you harvest from your land at the dacha, then pay only for fertilizer (most often it is natural manure), and, if there are no potatoes left from last time, also for seeds with sprouts. And when you buy a bag of potatoes, in any case it will cost several times cheaper than small bags several times a week from supermarkets.
Captivated by the idea of saving money and buying potatoes and other vegetables for the whole winter, many simply take them out onto the balcony. And they forget that our Russian winter is unpredictable. And not everyone has well-insulated cellars, balconies and basements.
Result: the potatoes are frozen. Some will immediately say that they need to throw it away, that it will now be unfit for food: soft and sweet. There is logic in these words.
The fact is that potatoes freeze if the air temperature drops below 0°C. The optimal air temperature in the room where potatoes are stored is 3-5°C.
Above 8°C – sprouts appear. When the air gets too cold, potato enzymes convert starch into sugars. That's why it becomes sweet.
- The potatoes lay for a long time at low temperatures (from 0 to 3 o C). The process of converting starch into sugar has already begun, but when the tubers are transferred to a warm room, the sucrose will turn back into starch. It will take 5 to 8 days. The quality of the vegetable will remain the same.
- Sudden freezing of potatoes. This is where things get a little more complicated. All the pulp is already frozen and such potatoes cannot be taken to a warm place. It will become soft, slippery and you will no longer want to eat it. Therefore, to prepare food, take the required amount of potatoes from the balcony (basement), and leave the rest unchanged.
How to fry frozen potatoes
Can you cook frozen French fries in a skillet?
Just fry it?
Of course, you can simply fry them like regular potatoes.
Frozen French fries are cut into thin slices, so they can be fried without defrosting; they thaw directly in the frying pan under normal frying mode very quickly.
At first, you can cover the frying pan with a lid for a very short time so that all the slices will defrost quickly; the potatoes turn out fried, but soft, they don’t quite look like fries - they don’t crunch. The taste with this method is also not very good, but you can add spices. This method is very convenient if you don’t have time to cook everything else; it takes the same amount of time to prepare as dumplings and can be found in any store.
You can also cut these potatoes yourself and keep them in the freezer as a reserve just in case.
I bought frozen French fries by weight at the store just for fun. I can’t find a recipe for how to fry it? do I need to defrost? how much oil to pour?)) how many minutes? can anyone tell me?
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Ziganshin Vladimir Vladimirovich
Psychologist, Psychotherapy Sexology Supervision. Specialist from the site b17.ru
Spiridonova Nadezhda Viktorovna
Psychologist. Specialist from the site b17.ru
Inna Kravtsova
Psychologist, Gestalt consultant. Specialist from the site b17.ru
Zverev Denis Vladimirovich
Psychologist, Child psychologist. Specialist from the site b17.ru
if you have a deep fryer, then everything is simple, but you can also use it in a frying pan, pour in more oil to cover the potatoes and fry directly from frozen until crispy.
More oil, but not so much that it covers the potatoes, this is too much, frying pan on the stove, heat the oil, put frozen potatoes in there, fry according to the rules from the package for 12 minutes. Turn over so it doesn't burn. We buy this and often fry it, but only in the package, it says to fry it for 12 minutes. Look at the fact, sometimes you need to fry for 13-14 minutes.
We often cook fries in the oven. You don’t need a lot of oil; semi-finished fries usually already contain oil. In general, a little oil, and into a preheated oven until golden brown.
4 How many minutes in the microwave?
4 How many minutes in the microwave?
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Infectious, but in micro it’s not soft ***?
Infectious, but in micro it’s not soft ***?
After watching a program about fast food, which these potatoes belong to, and also studying the contents on the label. I practically don’t eat it and don’t recommend it to others) Fry normal potatoes.
Guest 4, how many minutes in the microwave? I cook for 3-4 minutes. The package should say how much for micro.
After watching a program about fast food, which these potatoes belong to, and also studying the contents on the label. I practically don’t eat it and don’t recommend it to others) Fry normal potatoes.
IT WORKED)))) warmed up the frying pan. I poured the oil so decently, 1 cm maybe a little less))) and 5 minutes on high heat)). I don’t understand what 12 minutes are. it would turn into coal)) tastes better than in Mac)) all ruddy and beautiful)) plump))
We eat with the dog and are shocked, she’s damn harmful
That’s why you fried it faster over high heat, look here: https://demo.utkonos.ru/item/0/1007070/
I bought frozen French fries by weight at the store just for fun. I can’t find a recipe for how to fry it? do I need to defrost? how much oil to pour?)) how many minutes? can anyone tell me?
Kalina, well, the author writes - BY WEIGHT. )))
After watching a program about fast food, which these potatoes belong to, and also studying the contents on the label. I practically don’t eat it and don’t recommend it to others) Fry normal potatoes.
Freezing of potatoes during storage
When storing potatoes on an unheated balcony or in a garage, there is often a danger of vegetables freezing. The condition of the tubers depends on the air temperature in the storage:
- at temperatures from 2 to 5 °C, potatoes retain their taste; at higher temperatures, they germinate prematurely and begin to wither;
- from 0 to 1 °C, short-term decreases to -1 °C, starch begins to break down, and over time a sweet taste appears;
- potatoes freeze at a temperature of -1.7 °C and below, acquiring a pronounced sweet taste. As the temperature rises, frozen tubers begin to rot; those intended for planting lose their viability.
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Features of preparing dishes with frozen potatoes
In the old days, when people talked about hard times, they said that they had to eat frozen potatoes. However, now peeled, neatly cut potatoes are sold in supermarkets. Manufacturers recommend defrosting it very quickly. Regular frozen potatoes should be prepared in the same way.
Frozen tubers are easy to peel: if you hold them in warm water for a few seconds, the peel comes off like a film. Immediately after this, without allowing them to defrost naturally, you need to put them in boiling water or, cut into pieces, in hot vegetable oil.
Products that can neutralize unpleasant taste:
- onion;
- tomatoes and tomato paste;
- sour cream;
- pickled cucumbers or cabbage.
First meal
Frozen potatoes boil quickly, so it is recommended to cook them separately and add them to soups 5-10 minutes before they are ready. If the sweet taste is too pronounced, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the water when boiling potatoes. The unusual taste is practically not felt in cabbage soup with sauerkraut, rassolnik, borscht with tomatoes or tomato paste.
The taste of frozen potatoes is neutralized in vinaigrettes, salads with pickles, sauerkraut, and mushrooms. For dressing use mayonnaise, mustard, unrefined vegetable oil with vinegar and spices.
Frozen potatoes cannot be mashed, but small potatoes (or large ones cut into 2-3 pieces) can be baked in the oven. The peeled tubers are thrown into boiling water with vinegar, after 7-10 minutes the water is drained. The potatoes are laid out in one row on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil, the top is also greased with oil, sprinkled with salt and spices, and placed in a heated oven.
Also, undercooked potatoes are cut into slices, fried and added to stews, baked in pots with meat, onions, beans and tomato sauce.
Salty baked goods
Mashed boiled potatoes with onions, buckwheat and, if desired, cracklings are a popular filling for pies and dumplings, and the basis for casseroles.
- 0.5 kg of boiled mashed potatoes;
- 1 cup buckwheat;
- 3 large onions.
Buckwheat is poured with boiling water and left for 3-4 hours to swell. Then the buckwheat is mixed with potatoes, fried onions, and the mixture is salted and peppered. To improve the taste, add 2-3 tablespoons of cracklings. Now the mass can be used as a filling for an open pie, pouring a mixture of 50 g of mayonnaise, 50 g of tomato sauce or homemade adjika, 2 eggs and 100 g of grated cheese on top.
If you are preparing a casserole, then the top and bottom are made from potato-buckwheat mass, and fried mushrooms with onions or stewed cabbage are placed inside. The top is poured with tomato-mayonnaise filling with egg and grated cheese.
To bake potato pancakes from frozen potatoes, you need to grind them very quickly in a blender, otherwise the potato mass will become sticky and rubbery.
Proportions for potato pancakes:
- 2 large potatoes;
- 2 large onions;
- 1 tablespoon sour cream;
- 3–4 eggs;
- 3–5 tablespoons flour;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Potatoes go well with cottage cheese. Cottage cheese and potato casseroles turn out fluffy and juicy.
- 500 g cottage cheese;
- 200 g boiled potatoes;
- 4 eggs;
- lemon;
- sugar to taste, optional raisins, vanilla sugar.
Cottage cheese and potatoes are ground until smooth, crushed lemon (zest and pulp), yolks and whipped whites are added.
Another way to use sweet potatoes in desserts is dumplings. Knead the dough from 0.5 kg of mashed boiled potatoes, 2 eggs and 3-4 tablespoons of flour. Any fresh or frozen fruits and berries are suitable for the filling. Form balls and boil them in salted water. The finished dumplings are sprinkled with bread crumbs fried in butter and mixed with cinnamon. When serving, pour over sour cream.
At negative air temperatures, paralysis occurs of the stomata on potato leaves - microscopic channels through which moisture evaporates. When a frosty morning gives way to a warm sunny day, moisture begins to evaporate from the entire surface of the leaves. As a result, the plants die from dehydration. This can be prevented.
What to do if potatoes are frozen?
During the sprouting period of potatoes, frosts and recurrent colds are often observed.
Then potato growers need to monitor the weather forecast and take measures to save the seedlings. Using smoke, as in the garden, is very troublesome and ineffective, because the smoke rises above the potato shoots. It is more effective to hill up the seedlings by covering even their tops with 2–3 cm of soil. Seedlings covered in this way do not die even when frozen at minus 3–5 °C.
But what to do if the seedlings are already tall, and frost is expected at night? Immediately you need to bend each plant and carefully pour soil, first on the top, so as not to injure the bush, and then on the entire plant. After the freezing is over, carefully dig up the plant by hand, preferably during the day, when the soil has warmed up and the turgor (cellular pressure) of the plants has decreased. After this, wash the plant with water from a watering can at room temperature. Into this water you can add 15–20 g of urea and 30 g of nitroammophoska per watering can.
If frosts damage the potatoes during the budding period (mid-June), and even worse in the flowering phase, then you can help them get stronger by temporarily darkening them in sunny weather with opaque film or plywood boards along the rows. When frozen plants are exposed to the sun, their leaves evaporate a lot of water due to paralysis of the stomata.
This leads to wilting and death of plants. If, after freezing, the plant is darkened for 1–2 hours, then the evaporation of water occurs more slowly and its loss does not reach critical levels. During this time, the paralyzed stomata will begin to function and the leaf tissues will not die. Shades from the sun and smoke.
You can increase the resistance of potatoes to frost and quickly revive them after freezing by increasing potassium nutrition, since this is a potassium-loving plant. When feeding large frozen plants, instead of potassium, you can add 0.5 cups of wood ash per bush.