Have any of you frozen your potatoes? I've looked online and there seems to be a couple of different lines of thought. One calls for baking the potatoes then shredding and freezing. Another says to blanch for 10 minutes then shred and freeze,and still another says to shred first then blanch for 3 minutes drain and freeze.Lastly, another says to just shred and freeze. Any thoughts?
Never done it, but personally I would shred, rinse out the access starch in cold water, drain and run through a salad spinner to remove excess moisture, then vacuum bag and freeze. Shoot!! Just re-read this and forgot! Blanch before freezing....
We cook the hashbrowns first, then freeze them. No problem with quality once reheated. Of course they're not frozen for more than a few weeks/a month.
Back in my younger (read poorer) days I worked as a runner in a high class restaurant, learned lots of stuff, like every salad dressing known to mankind, and that you buy mayonnaise in a 5 gallon box, and store it at room temperature, lasts forever. The chefs would make french fries, by blanching them and then freezing, I guess if you don't blanch first they turn black.
We use Institutional DeHydrated HashBrowns, every Sunday for Brunch.... Comes in a Giant Waxed Milk Container.... Just shake a couple of cups into a bowl, and add Hot Water.... Let stand for 5 minutes, Drain, and slap in the FryPan, with a thin layer of OliveOil. Cook for 5 minutes a side, and serve, with Eggs and BACON..... Been our standard Meal for decades....
I've used(and like) the Hungry Man dehydrated hashbrowns. They sound similar to yours only in a much smaller container. Hadn't thought about looking for the food service size,honestly didn't know they made them. I'm wanting to find ways of putting up as much of our potato harvest as I can from the garden and that's what got me to the freezing line of thought. Good post BT
I ran into troubles just trying to make my own fresh hashbrowns. Here's what I found - and it has worked for me every time: Shred potatoes into a pot. Cold water rinse (I do it twice or more, until the starch disappears/water's clear) - I drain through a colander each time, so the are thoroughly rinsed. Add Cold water - enough just to cover the potatoes High heat, until they just come to a boil Drain. I also rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. They're now ready to cook or freeze without discoloration.
After posting my instructions, I ran home (and made hashbrowns) using a regular, little shredder. That worked well, too. I've also made the little cubed hashbrowns using the above (quick boil) method. However, I have an amazing shredder that's similar to a rotary grater. I've looked all over the internet and can't find one like it. I'll take a photo of it for you. It has many different slice/shred sizes and is super-industrial-amazing! I can make wavy/plain potato chips with it, as well as shred or slice any/every thing I want.
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I have (and have gone through) quite a few blender/mixer/food processors throughout this device's lifetime. If it can survive my kitchen - it'll make it through most everyone's!
Just scored one on ebay for 25bux! Just happened to see it shortly after it was posted and hit the "buy it now" option. These things are going for well over $100.00 in many cases on Ebay and amazon. They appear to be very sought after little units.
I question if you have to dry them after the boil but pre-freeze. I would think they would be prone to freezer burn if you freeze them wet. Does anyone know? Example- when you freeze berries, you put them dry on a pan freeze then bag.
An off grid, hand operated shredder is definitely a plus. Now....replace the hand winder with a drive belt doo-hickey, powered by a pelton wheel and you'd definitely be in business....