By Wanda A. Carter
I'm a bulk cooker and one of the types of sessions I do is potatoes. Many people are surprised by this because they assume that potatoes don't freeze successfully. I assumed the same thing at first but after years of experimenting I've found that they are one of the easiest and most versatile foods in my repertoire.
When they go on sale I buy at least 20#, frequently 60# or more. I never buy potatoes unless they are on sale and I never have to deal with watching them slowly go bad in the dark recesses of my pantry because I can't use them fast enough.
Remember, you cannot successfully freeze raw potatoes. If you try, you will find you have black potatoes when you thaw them for use. Some people do blanch their potatoes before freezing and finish cooking after they thaw. Most prefer to cook and freeze. Part of this is personal preference, part will be the recipes you use.
You may decide to handle yours differently but here's what I do. This is not intended to be a plan for you to follow exactly. It is a basic skeleton to guide you through the procedure but, because every family is different, you will choose your own recipes to use in the plan.
Turn the oven on and let it preheat while you're preparing the potatoes. Scrub them, pierce them, and sort them by size. Place some of medium and large on baking sheets by size and start baking. The large size will take an hour or more at 400 degrees; the smaller ones will take a little less time. Reserve the remaining medium and large potatoes for oven baked fries and potato wedges.
For wedges, cut unpeeled medium sized potatoes into 6-8 wedges lengthwise. Coat them with olive or canola oil. Don't use a lot, just enough to coat. Add whatever spices you wish and toss until evenly coated. I add a little sugar to the spices to help brown and crisp the wedges. Place on non-stick baking sheets or baking sheets sprayed with non-stick spray; bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Place on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool. Place on clean cookie sheets and freeze solid. Place in labeled freezer bags and return to the freezer.
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Wanda is a member of Menus4Moms Yahoo group and has been bulk cooking for years.
