Sweet potatoes can also be stored for several months with the right methods, but it is necessary to adopt precise procedures to prevent them from spoiling or turning black. Here's everything you need to know about storing sweet potatoes, both at room temperature and below freezing.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Storage at Room Temperature
Step 1. Use fresh, full-bodied sweet potatoes
The best are freshly harvested ones with the roots still attached.
- Larger sweet potatoes can be stored just like smaller ones, plus there is more pulp to consume.
- If you are harvesting the sweet potatoes yourself, use a spade to dig 10 to 15 centimeters below the ground to get all the roots. Handle them with care, as potatoes are easily damaged. Remove excess soil but do not wash the roots.
Step 2. Let the sweet potatoes harden for a couple of weeks
Keep the roots in an environment that remains between 24 ° and 27 ° C, with humidity between 90% and 95%.
- Sweet potatoes need to harden for at least 7 days, but you can keep them for up to 14 days.
- The solidification process allows the potato to create a second peel on top of scratches and dents, so they keep longer.
- Use a small electric fan in the room where you store potatoes to circulate the air to prevent rot and mold growth.
- Check the humidity and temperature regularly to make sure the potatoes are in perfect condition to harden.
- For best results, the potatoes must not touch each other.
Step 3. Discard the spoiled sweet potatoes
Once they have hardened, throw away any potatoes that look bruised, black, rotten, or moldy.
The spoiled potatoes haven't hardened properly, so they won't last long and may spoil the others as well
Step 4. Wrap each potato in newsprint
They must be individually wrapped in newspaper or brown paper bags.
Newspapers and paper bags allow transpiration, allowing the necessary air circulation to prevent the potatoes from rotting in a short time
Step 5. Place the sweet potatoes in a box or basket
After wrapping them in paper one by one, store them in a cardboard, wooden box or wooden basket.
- Do not use vacuum containers.
- Add an apple to the box. Helps prevent bud formation.
Step 6. Store them in a dark and cool environment
The room temperature must remain between 13 ° and 16 ° C.
- For best results, store sweet potatoes in a basement or cellar. Alternatively, a dark, cool and well-ventilated cupboard or closet, but also away from heat sources, can work well.
- Do not store them in the refrigerator.
- Check the temperature often to make sure it doesn't go beyond the specified range.
- By storing them in this way, they will last even 6 months. Remove them from the paper gently to avoid damaging them.
Method 2 of 2: Freezer Storage
Step 1. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes
Wash them with running water and clean them with a vegetable brush. Remove the peel with a potato peeler.
- It is not enough to rinse them under running water. To clean them thoroughly, you need to brush them, but do it gently to avoid bruising and damaging them.
- If you don't have a peeler, you can peel them with a smooth-bladed knife.
- Start with fresh potatoes to increase the storage time.
Step 2. Boil the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes
Fill a saucepan with water, place it on a stove over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Add the potatoes and let them cook until soft.
- You need to cook sweet potatoes before freezing them, as raw potatoes tend to crack in the freezer, losing both flavor and nutrients.
- Boiling is the most convenient cooking method for freezing sweet potatoes. It only takes 20 minutes for a medium sized potato.
Step 3. Slice the potatoes or puree them
Use a knife to cut them into thin slices, or use a potato masher if you want to make a puree.
- Do not keep them whole.
- You can also use a blender to make mashed potatoes.
Step 4. Sprinkle some lemon juice on the potatoes
Pour a tablespoon (5ml) of lemon juice for each sweet potato over the slices or puree.
Make sure they are covered in the juice, which will keep them from discoloring, but use little so as not to alter the flavor of the potatoes
Step 5. Wait for them to cool
Let them cool before storing them.
Freezing them when they are still hot will condense in the freezer and the potatoes will spoil faster
Step 6. Move the potatoes to vacuum-sealed containers
Place the puree or potato wedges in airtight bags or vacuum-sealed containers suitable for the freezer.
Do not use metal or glass containers
Step 7. Leave them in the freezer for 10 to 12 months
On average, cooked sweet potatoes can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months.
