If you have too many potatoes to use before they spoil, freeze them with these simple steps.

• Choose fresh potatoes about 1 to 1½ inches in diameter.
• Scrub thoroughly. Skins can be left on if you wish.
• Blanch the potatoes in boiling water for three to five minutes if smaller than 1 to 1½ inches in diameter and eight to 10 minutes if larger. The potato should be heated all the way through. Otherwise, the inside will turn dark. “Blanching” stops the natural chemicals (enzymes) that may cause the potato to turn gray or brown during frozen storage.
• Cool, drain, pack in freezer bags or containers labeled with contents and date, and freeze at 0 F.

Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist