2 Excellent Methods for Storing Sliced Sweet Potatoes

When it comes to the many various dishes that you might create, you will always have to consider many different things to ensure that the food you prepare is ideal.

Of course, you’ll always want to make sure you have everything you need to chop, bake, season, and prepare your meals. At the same time, you’ll want to be sure you have the information you need to protect your food from spoiling.

It should go without saying that when you prepare food, you will ultimately have to consider how you want it to be preserved. There are a few rare times when you intend to consume the full of what you made that night, but this is not always the case.

As you gain culinary expertise, you will soon realize that particular foods need different types of storage based on their state.

For example, it is well knowledge that ground beef spoils significantly quicker than most other cuts of beef. This is because ground beef has a larger surface area exposed to the air, where germs may thrive.

This idea of a larger surface area indicates that the food spoils quicker, and it is found in a variety of foods, particularly vegetables.

Naturally produced fruit has developed to have a protective skin on the exterior through time and with human intervention. This skin may be as thick and dramatic as the skin of a pineapple or a watermelon, or it can be as thin and covering as the skin of a grape, holding all of the wet fruit within.

As you start cooking, you’ll notice that produce that has been sliced spoils quicker and frequently necessitates various types of storage.

Consider, for example, potatoes. Potato skin is widely recognized for being quite thin yet hearty. This skin keeps dirt out of the potato flesh while it develops underground and is also considered a delicacy by many cultures.

This skin is essential to the potato because it protects the softer insides from spoiling when exposed to air.

Potatoes may usually be stored on the counter or in baskets around the kitchen. Except in one case, potatoes seldom need any kind of special storage.

If you end up chopping your potatoes to prepare them for a meal, be sure you understand how to preserve them.

Since you’ve cracked the skin of the potatoes and exposed the insides, you’ll need to be extra careful while keeping them before cooking them to avoid anything unpleasant occurring to the potatoes in question.

The Condition of the Potato Matters

Sadly, there is no universal rule that governs how you should preserve your sweet potato once you’ve chopped it.

The length of time and technique you may use to keep your potatoes will be determined by two things. It will depend on whether the potato has been boiled and when you want to prepare the potatoes.

Certain methods of preserving the potatoes may need several hours before they are ready to be used again, which is something to bear in mind if you are making your sweet-potato-filled supper on a tight schedule.

Certain ways of preserving potatoes will only endure for a short period of time, so use them only if you want to boil your potatoes within a short period of time.

Some techniques of preserving potatoes will only last you a day or two, but others may easily last you a year. Sweet potatoes may be stored in a variety of ways.

The ideal method for you will be determined by what you want to do with your potatoes.

1 – Putting Potatoes in the Fridge

You may keep your chopped potatoes in the fridge for a short while. This is especially useful if you want to make a meal with the potatoes over the next few days but aren’t quite ready to include the potatoes.

For example, if you want to add potatoes to a slow roast, you may want to wait before doing so so that the potatoes do not disintegrate during cooking.

That being stated, you should exercise caution while storing your sweet potatoes in the refrigerator. Although while chopped potatoes will survive somewhat longer in the fridge than on the counter, you should not store them in the fridge for more than 24 hours.

If you leave your sweet potatoes in the fridge for any longer than this, the water may warm up to the point where the potatoes begin to turn brown on the inside.

To correctly store your uncooked but sliced sweet potatoes in the fridge, first select a big enough basin to accommodate all of the cut potatoes. If you don’t have a big enough dish, you may use many bowls, but this will take up a lot of additional space in your fridge. The potatoes should also not extend over the bowl’s rim.

Next, make sure that the sweet potatoes are submerged in cold water in the dish. For this, both filtered and tap water will suffice.

After all of the water has been put into the bowl, gently swirl the potatoes to ensure that the water has reached all sides of the sliced sweet potatoes.

You may also add some ice to the bowl to reduce the general temperature of the water if you want to ensure that the water remains as cold as possible, which will assist preserve the potatoes in the best condition for a longer amount of time.

After the water has been added to the dish, place it in the fridge, uncovered, for up to 24 hours. The cold water will assist to preserve the sweet potato’s softer and more delicate flesh while you wait to cook it.

But, the closer you get to the 24-hour mark, the more likely the potatoes will become brown. As they start to turn brown, it means your sweet potatoes are softening, which is a forerunner to their getting slimy. When potatoes get slimy, they must be discarded.

Similarly, you must avoid leaving the dish out on the counter for more than one or two hours. If you leave the dish on the counter for too long, the cold water will warm up and you will have rotting potatoes once again.

Assuming your sweet potatoes are cooked, they will keep in the fridge for approximately a week. To ensure that they keep as long as possible in the fridge, make sure you place them in an airtight container within one hour after cooking.

If you want to get the most out of your potatoes, you may store them in the fridge right after cooking.

2 – Putting Sweet Potatoes in the Freezer

You may store your potatoes in the freezer to keep them fresher for longer. Foods will usually stay far longer in the freezer than they would in the fridge or on the counter.

That being said, there are a few procedures you must take to prevent the texture and flavor of your sweet potatoes from being affected by the harsh environment of the freezer.

You should peel and dice your sweet potatoes as you normally would. Remove all of the skin from the potatoes before freezing them, since any germs on the skin might migrate onto the potato during the defrosting process. This method may also be used to preserve sweet potatoes that are about to spoil.

After peeling the potatoes, blanch the sweet potatoes for two to three minutes. Blanching a vegetable entails boiling it for a brief period of time (in this example, two to three minutes) before placing it on ice to quickly cool it down.

If you want to prevent a mess, rinse the potatoes in a strainer before placing them on ice. The potatoes should be left in the freezing water for two to three minutes more. You may now remove the potatoes to dry.

When the potatoes have been blanched, transfer them to freezer-safe resealable bags. You may either split them out so that you just take out what you need at a time, or you can freeze them all at once, depending on how many resealable bags you have.

Although not strictly essential, a vacuum sealer will help keep the potatoes fresh while they are stored in the freezer.

Sweet potatoes may be stored in the freezer for about six months before they begin to deteriorate. After you place them in the freezer, don’t put anything on top of them for the following five to six hours, or you’ll mash the potatoes. Sweet potatoes take around five to six hours to completely freeze.

Sweet potatoes will lose their flavor and texture after six months of safe storage, rendering them unfit for human consumption. When you’re ready to eat your sweet potatoes, place them in the fridge for two to three hours to thaw.

Avoid placing frozen potatoes directly on the countertop, as this may cause germs to be transferred to the potato. The texture of your once-frozen potatoes may be softer than usual, but it will be worth it if you can get your potatoes to survive this long.

If you’ve previously cooked the sweet potatoes, the storage technique will be somewhat different than if you’re keeping raw sweet potatoes. Rather of blanching the potatoes before freezing them, just put the cooked sweet potatoes in a resealable freezer-safe bag.

To ensure that there is no additional air in the sweet potato bag, press the air out of the bag or use a vacuum seal.

When you’re ready to consume your cooked sweet potatoes after freezing them, remember to thaw them before cooking them. Sweet potatoes (cooked or uncooked) normally take two to three hours to completely defrost in the fridge.

This guarantees that the texture of the potatoes is not lost or destroyed throughout the warming process. After this time, you may safely place them in the microwave, oven, or on the stovetop to cook and prepare for your next meal.

On average, frozen, sliced, and cooked sweet potatoes may be stored in the freezer for up to a year. After that year, you risk having your sweet potatoes destroyed by freezer burn, which will permanently alter the texture and flavor of the sweet potato.