# Freezing mashed potatoes



## suziquzie (Nov 20, 2007)

I use milk, mayo, sour cream in my mashed potatoes. Can I freeze them? I know frozen dairy doesn't work so well. Potatoes were on sale last week so I have 2 big bags and I want to use them up.


----------



## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2007)

suziquzie said:


> I use milk, mayo, sour cream in my mashed potatoes. Can I freeze them? I know frozen dairy doesn't work so well. Potatoes were on sale last week so I have 2 big bags and I want to use them up.



They should be fine. Frozen dairy by itself doesn't work, but the mixture should be fine; food companies put mashed potatoes in frozen dinners all the time. A little googling turned up these tips: Use a plastic container, not a zip-lock bag; reheat in the oven or on top of a double boiler, to evaporate any excess liquid; add a beaten egg to help the mixture hold together. HTH.


----------



## Andy M. (Nov 20, 2007)

You should also be able to keep the raw potatoes for a long time.  Put them in a cool dark place and they should last for months.  They kept in root cellars through the winter for our ancesters.


----------



## Callisto in NC (Nov 20, 2007)

I have horrid luck keeping potatoes fresh.  I can't get them to keep for a month, let alone more than that.  I throw away more onions and potatoes in my house.  I never had that kind of problem living in California.  I can't figure it out and need to because I'm tired of throwing out so much food.


----------



## suziquzie (Nov 20, 2007)

I was just going to say that too! I have them in my bottom cupboard... but it's next to the fridge now that I think of it, maybe it's too warm there? 

So you think then if I made cream of potato soup it would freeze alright too?


----------



## Andy M. (Nov 20, 2007)

Potatoes and onions can be kept a long time if stored in ideal conditions.  Both need to be in cool, dark places with some air movement.   Bins in the cellar are good or larger amounts.  A kitchen cabinet away from the stove and fridge will do for smaller amounts.  They do not belong in the refrigerator.  They should not be stored together.


----------



## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2007)

Callisto in NC said:


> I have horrid luck keeping potatoes fresh.  I can't get them to keep for a month, let alone more than that.  I throw away more onions and potatoes in my house.  I never had that kind of problem living in California.  I can't figure it out and need to because I'm tired of throwing out so much food.



A lot of food spoilage comes from dampness; not sure where you are in NC, but in southeastern VA, the climate is quite humid, so veggies like onions and potatoes that are not refrigerated can go bad faster. I keep mine in baskets where they get lots of air circulation, which helps keep them fresh. CA's climate is much drier, so foods last longer there. HTH.


----------



## Jeff G. (Nov 20, 2007)

suziquzie said:


> I was just going to say that too! I have them in my bottom cupboard... but it's next to the fridge now that I think of it, maybe it's too warm there?
> 
> So you think then if I made cream of potato soup it would freeze alright too?



Potato soup freezes quite well.  I have done that before.


----------



## simplicity (Nov 20, 2007)

I am in a humid climate too.  Neither potatoes nor onions will keep long, more than a week or two, even in cool, dark places.

As to freezing, I've tried that.  The potatoes turned mealy.  The taste was fine.  The texture wasn't.   The commercially sold brands are fine.  I don't know why this problem exists.


----------



## miniman (Nov 20, 2007)

I grow my own onions & potatoes. We store onions in  a mesh bag that is usually kept hung up in the garage. Potatoes are stored in a paper sack and again left in the garage. 

In a good year, they are still good through the winter and into early spring.


----------



## pacanis (Nov 20, 2007)

Neither keep long where I'm at either.  I've tried various cupboards, the cellar..... the best place I've found for onions is to set them on the fridge. Potatos I still keep under the sink because they do as well there as anywhere else, nothing wet or damp goes there anyway, but I never buy one get one free anymore. I can easily go through 5 lbs in 1-1/2 weeks by myself, any longer or any more potatos and I'm pushing it.


----------



## Bilby (Nov 20, 2007)

I can only keep potatoes and onions for a month or less irrespective of where I keep them. Don't have cellars (unless you are rich) in houses here.

Suzi, I make potato and leek soup (made with cream) and freeze it all the time. Keeps for months and months!  My mum used to make huge batches of duchess potatoes and freeze them with no problems.  Shepard's pies and cottage pies keep fine too.

I also freeze shredded cheese successfully and don't even think twice about whipped cream.  I mean icecream is freezer based and that's cream/milk/eggs.


----------



## suziquzie (Nov 21, 2007)

G'Day Bilby!

I think I will at least try it, 1 batch each of mashed 'taters and soup will not break me if I have to toss it. The soup will get mostly eaten before freezing anyway!

Oh yeah, I watched Finding Nemo with the kids yesterday, now the 4 yo thinks he needs to go to Sydney! DH would go too, he wants to see the Great Barrier Reef.... he loves keeping fish, I think thats why he won't eat them. As they say in the movie, "Fish are our friends, Not food!"


----------



## Bilby (Nov 21, 2007)

Suzi, there are three things from your post I have never done -
1. Been to Sydney
2. Gone to the Great Barrier Reef
3. Seen all of Finding Nemo

Think #3 might be achievable! LOL

When I make potato and leek soup, I start it in the morning, get to have a small "trial" bowl for a late lunch, adjust the seasoning and then get seconds, then leave it to cool and what do you know?  By the time it is cool enough to package up, it's just about early dinner time, so I get to have more!  I lose half a batch before it's within cooee of the fridge!  By the time I've put some more aside for my mum so that she doesn't have to cook a meal or two, I have a couple of lunches left!! So I really truly know what you mean!!


----------

