Canned Potatoes – a staple of the deep pantry
Potatoes are not very sexy.
Remember Matt Dillon in “The Flamingo Kid?” – he is asked by the antagonist “How many potatoes do you think you’ll eat before you die?” The implication is they are ordinary, humble, pedestrian.
To me potatoes provide a healthy base of many a meal. I don’t believe potatoes are nutritionally shallow culprits of American obesity. Oh, if you deep fry them and that’s the only way you consume them, well then, my guess is you’re also chowing down on burgers too. But in their basic form potatoes are packed with nutrition!
If you followed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Hobbits were quite fond of “taters.” Sam (the real hero in my opinion) trying to explain ‘taters to Gollum declares “Boil’em, mash’em stick’em in a stew!” Oddly this phrase became the source of a You-Tube mash-up Boil’em, Mash’em Stick’em in a Stew
However, sometimes baking a potato, or peeling then boiling takes a little more time than I can afford. So potatoes that are readily available for a soup or quick oven roast, or weekend breakfast are an ideal addition to the deep pantry.
Keeping thrift in mind, I waited until after the Thanksgiving holiday, assuming the price of potatoes would drop. And did they ever – from $2.99/10 lb to a mere 99 cents for the same amount. I bought a bag. I should have bought more but I expect the same pattern will repeat after Christmas.
Canning potatoes is pretty simple – peel, chop, par-boil 10 minutes then pressure can for 35 minutes at 10-11 lbs. For complete instructions check this out great resource at Pickyourown.org
I have to say it was my first go at this… I boiled the cubes 10 minutes and as I packed the jars the potato pieces were already quite soft. Checking other resources indicates I probably should have only par-cooked the potato cubes for 2 minutes! Oh well, it’s not like they will be inedible, but perhaps I have a lot of potato soup in my future!
For 99 cents, I now have 12 pints of ready to go potatoes in the pantry!
Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!
December 2, 2012
I tend to only cook them to boiling and then put them in the jars. I also use large chunks and can them in quart jars (mainly because I usually use two quarts per meal). I also like to put onions and garlic in with them because we like them that way.
Yours look very good and I know you will enjoy how convenient they are.
December 3, 2012
Thanks for the tips Becky! Next time I make’m I’ll try that! Waiting for the next sale…
December 2, 2012
ha! i was going to send you the ‘boil ’em, mash ’em, stick ’em in a stew’ thing! i love it! and i love canned taters – they make everything so much easier. i’m totally sold on doing all the work at one time. great work!
😀
December 2, 2012
I have never thought of canning potatoes. My folks buy a 50# bag and then leave it in the cellar all Winter. No worries. I agree about their nutrition. I am a fan. Maybe its the Irish in me? Could you can them with the skins on? We eat them with the skins most of the time.
December 3, 2012
I don’t have cold enough storage Spencer. I think you take the skins off to reduce soil borne bacteria getting into the canned product. If I’m eating fresh, I agree – leave the skins on!
December 3, 2012
This is a new one on me, David. I’ve never heard of canning potatoes. I don’t think I use enough to warrant canning them. The carb of choice around here is pasta, as you can probably guess. Now, if you ever come up with a way to can fresh pasta … 🙂
December 3, 2012
I figured John pasta was your main choice John! As far as I know, canning pasta is not something to be done at home.
January 12, 2014
This is amazing,I have never heard of canning(or bottling is the term we use) potatoes. This is going to be so so handy for me , it will mean throwing away the peelings all in one go onto the compost heap .
January 13, 2014
It works quite well. Just be sure that you are pressure canning . Plain water canning (as done for tomoatoes or pickles) won’t be safe. Glad you joined us Rita.