Storing Sweet Potatoes without a Root Cellar/Basement

I have found several ways to store up my sweet potatoes this winter.  Aside from the potato bin indoors, and the burlap bags in another cool/dark room, I am stocking them up in other recipes.

Ginger-Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Butter.

This is a Better Homes and Gardens canning recipe, but it is not boil canned. It goes in the freezer.  Recipe is not online, but is in their magazine (Canning, preserving, freezing and drying) and book I believe.

Frozen Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  I had been told by so many people "you can't freeze potatoes."  I beg to differ.  You can, but you bake and mash them first.  I add nothing to them.

I have been very successful with this process (this works well with white potatoes as well).  I bake the sweet potatoes, mash them, and freeze them on a baking sheet in 1/2 cup servings.  I take them out, and place them in container or freezer bags and simply heat in the oven when needed for meals.  I used foil the last time to line my sheets and the foil stuck to the potatoes.  I used parchment paper this year, and it worked perfect.

Aside from enjoying these with a meal, I can also thaw them to use for sweet potato breads, muffins, and even brownies.

Also, freeze the white mashed potatoes (or red), in 1/2 cup servings.  I utilize this for making rolls too vs. using "potato flakes" in the recipe I use.

You can always dehydrate sweet potatoes as well.  This will be my first year and test tasting them this way.  I have dehydrated (and canned) white potatoes in the past, but the texture after dehydrating is not the best tasting.

And for the first time, I will wrap a few up in newspaper and attempt at growing my own slips without a root cellar/basement.  I'll be storing them in the refrigerator or in a burlap bag of their own.   According to my research, the larger the sweet potato, the longer it will keep in a cool/dark location.


As for storing white/red potatoes?  Canning (pressure canning) has been the best option for me, along with freezing them mashed in single servings.  The taste is much better than dehydrating. 

You can pressure can sweet potatoes too, but I have yet to purchase a pressure canner. I borrowed one to can the white potatoes (to give it a try and check out one of the brands).

You can read my post on our experience canning the white potatoes: here.

Update on the Frozen Mashed Sweet Potatoes

A few months ago, I baked organic sweet potatoes, mashed them, then froze them, bagged them separately, and then put those bags into one large bag.

I know it's only been four months, but I dug someone for dinner the other night to test them for the first time.  Even though they were bagged twice, I still had some ice on them.

They were delicious, and tasted as if they were baked.  They were thick and tasty.  It was like eating a baked sweet potato without the skins.

Freezing Mashed Sweet Potatoes

The grocer had organic sweet potatoes in stock, so I took advantage and brought some home.  I'm freezing them for winter meals.

Yesterday, I baked several, then allowed them to cool completely.   I added a bit of water and organic broth to the pan.  I pierced each sweet potato a few times before placing in the covered pan.