Sometimes the hostess has the need to pre-peel the potatoes, and not 1-2 pieces. Especially when it comes to preparing for the holiday, which will be visited by many guests.
When storing potatoes, you need to remember that the peeled vegetable darkens very quickly, becomes covered with a dry crust and loses its taste when it interacts with oxygen. There are several ways to extend the "life" of this root.
But how to keep it so that it does not darken and lose its taste? Is it possible to keep it in water? Answers further.
Why do peeled potatoes quickly darken in the air?
Peeled potatoes begin to turn black when they are in the air after a certain time.. This is due to the following factors:
- Raw tubers contain sugar (about 0.9%). Interacting with amino acids, it is destroyed, as a result of which the organoleptic properties of vegetables change: taste, color and smell. Accordingly, the lower the sugar content in potatoes, the longer the tubers will be stored.
- It is also rich in trace elements: iron, potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, etc. When interacting with oxygen, they are oxidized, and the potato begins to darken.
ATTENTION: Peeled potatoes purchased in a store that grows on an industrial scale on nitrogenous fertilizers start to get darker. Homemade potatoes from their own summer cottage may not darken in the air for about 2 hours.
To slow down the darkening of the peeled root vegetables, there are several proven methods that can be applied in an ordinary kitchen.
Storage at room temperature
Most A common way to keep peeled potatoes from darkening is to put them in a pot of cold water.. This will preserve the taste of the vegetable and fresh appearance.
It is worth knowing that the vitamins and trace elements that potatoes are rich in, gradually dissolve in water. To prevent this, the tubers should be stored in water entirely, and cut just before cooking.
Country potatoes in such conditions can be stored for 3-4 hours, and the store, about 2-3 hours. The presence of purified potatoes in water at room temperature longer than these periods will lead to the loss of all the useful properties of the product.
How to do it:
- Fill the pot with cold water.
- Clean and rinse the tubers well.
- Put the vegetables in the water so that they cover them completely.
- Cover the dishes with a lid.
Step-by-step instruction
Placing peeled potatoes in cold water will help to increase their storage time. How long can you keep peeled potatoes in the fridge? At low temperatures, it will not lose its qualities for 24 hours.. A longer shelf life of potatoes in this way will make it more watery and almost tasteless.
How to do it:
- Pour into any deep tank of cold water.
- Wash peeled fruit.
- Place the tubers in the water.
- Put the dishes in the refrigerator.
- Before cooking the vegetable should be washed again under a cold stream.
You can learn more about storing peeled potatoes here, and more details about storing raw, boiled and fried potatoes in the fridge can be found here.
Is it possible to freeze?
This can be done in several ways. Under the right conditions, the shelf life may be several months.. But remember that thawed potatoes can not be re-frozen.
Whole
For freezing whole peeled potatoes, it is better to take small tubers. But too large potatoes before freezing can be simply cut in half.
How to do it:
- Brush and wash the potatoes.
- Dry the fruit with a kitchen towel.
- Fold in a plastic bag or wrap in plastic wrap.
- Put in the freezer, in the vegetable department.
Slices
To prepare a semi-finished product, you need to do the following:
- Peel the potatoes.
- Wash in cold water.
- Dry well with a towel.
- Cut the tubers into blocks or slices.
- Salt the product to avoid blanching when frozen.
- Arrange the potatoes on a tray in 1 layer and cover with foil.
- Put a tray of potatoes in the freezer.
Important! Thawing potatoes before cooking is impossible. Pull out of the freezer, cook it immediately.
- In the cellar;
- In the apartment;
- In the vegetable store;
- On the balcony;
- In the box.
How to extend the shelf life of root vegetables?
Experienced housewives know that there are some simple ways to extend the storage period of peeled potatoes.:
- In water with peeled tubers, you can add a slice of lemon or citric acid at the tip of a knife.
- Deep shock freezing at temperatures up to -30 ° C makes the shelf life of potatoes almost unlimited.
- Vacuuming tubers before freezing also helps to store vegetables for several months.
Conclusion
Surely, many have come across a situation where it is necessary to clean up a considerable amount of potatoes in advance, because after work there simply is not enough time to do it right before cooking. In this case, the methods described above for storing potatoes without a peel will be very useful.
