Canned Potatoes

Do you hate  or want to avoid boxed or instant type potatoes but feel your always too busy to make real potatoes?  I have had that battle with myself over and over, but 2 years ago one of my best friends and I remedied this problem!  We had been on a canning spree two summers ago and she had an idea about canning potatoes, she used them all the time and worked somewhere that we could get potatoes at an affordable price.

So with all of this in mind we bought 50lbs of potatoes and got to work.  I do not remember how much we got from a 50lb batch but I am thinking 45-50 quarts!  Last fall before we moved I did several batches for my dad and brother in law since they sometimes forget how to use a knife, but can open a can of potatoes!

Here is the simple recipe we used:

You will need to tweek this to the size of your pressure canner.  My canner is small so I only do 7 quarts a a time.

Peel enough potatoes to fill your canner.

Next you need to decide if you want to cold or hot pack.

Cold Pack is easy fill your warm jars with raw potatoes(cut how you want or even whole if small), put 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt then fill the jar with hot water,leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.

Hot Pack, cut potatoes the way you want and boil them for about 3 minutes if cut small or 10 minutes if large or whole.  After they have boiled drain the liquid off.  Fill warm jars with potatoes, add 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt and fill with hot water, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. 

I like hot pack best because I can pack the jars tighter than I can cold pack!  Next put your lids and rings on and pressure can with 10 pressure for 40 minutes on quarts and 30 for pints.

I am bad at taking pictures lately, I did manage to get a picture before I sealed up the canner tonight!  This can be a little time consuming but rewarding on a busy night when you want some "real" potatoes.