This year we planted a few rows of potatoes and in return received a basket full of a variety of potatoes. Growing your own potatoes is quite simple. You can save scraps and put them in the ground and potatoes will grow. You want to plant your potatoes in early spring because potatoes are cool weather vegetables. This year we waited for the potatoes to start sprouting. You want to cut your potatoes into smaller pieces but make sure that each potato has its own sprouting eye. Let them dry for two days. This helps the area that you just cut dry up. You don’t want your potatoes to rot. When your planting your potatoes make rows and plant them eyes facing up. The more space you have for each potato the more room they have to grow larger. You want to plant them in an area where there is a lot of sunlight. Potatoes love the sun. I covered my potatoes with soil and then covered with old hay. The ideal time to harvest your potatoes is when the tops of the vines have dried up.
Potatoes will store in a cool room for a long time. We don’t have a cellar yet so one way for us to preserve our potatoes is to dehydrate some of them. You first want to wash and peel the skins. Then bring a pot of water to a boil and chop your potatoes into thin slices. Place your sliced potatoes into the boiling pot of water. You need to blanch your potatoes for six minutes. Once the six minutes is up you want to run cold water over your potatoes. Now the reason why you want to blanch your potatoes is because not only does it preserves the color but it reduces the potatoes from spoilage. If you don’t blanch your potatoes they will turn black. Most vegetables need to be blanched first before drying them. Unless you are dehydrating garlic, onion, or tomatoes. This insures that your saving the vitamin content.
You want to dehydrate your potatoes for 15 or more hours at 135 Fahrenheit. The final product will be hard and not pliable. They are not like potato chips. Now dehydrated vegetables if properly stored can last up to five years. We usually store our dehydrated items for a year. We place our dehydrated goodies in glass jars and keep them in a dark, dry, cool place. If you vacuum seal your jars then you’ll extend the shelf life of all your goodies. We place one oxygen absorber in each jar.
Once your potatoes are dehydrated you want to condition them. What that means is that you have to flip your jar upside down for three to four days. You will be checking to see if you see any moisture beads in the jar. If you see moisture then it means you didn’t dehydrate it long enough. You can simply place the dried potatoes back on the dehydrator racks and dehydrate your potatoes longer. If you don’t do the conditioning step you risk not noticing moisture which can cause mold and bacteria to grow inside your jars.
To enjoy the dried potatoes you simply put them in your soups and cook them like you would normally do or make scallop potatoes.
If you enjoyed this post you might like dried watermelon jerky.
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