Well Preserved
The Well Preserved news
column is prepared by Lan
caster County Cooperative
Extension. It includes food
preservation information and
questions.
Potatoes
As one of the most popular
vegetables, potatoes are seldom
canned or frozen by the home
food preserver. However, the
manner in which fresh potatoes
are stored will have an impact
on their quality.
Store potatoes in a cool, dark
place that is well ventilated. The
ideal storage temperature is
45-50 F. Do not refrigerate pota
toes because potatoes stored
below 40F will develop a sweet
taste due to the conversion of
starch to sugar. This increased
sugar will cause potatoes to
darken when cooked especially
at high temperatures.
Sometimes you will find pur
ple discoloration in the center
and veins of some potatoes. This
is caused by cold temperatures
COLUMBUS, Ohio Whey is
the thin, watery part of milk that
separates from curds during
cheese-making. Although whey is
mostly water, it contains whey
protein a complete protein that
offers all of the amino acids the
body needs in the right balance.
The most obvious place to find
whey protein naturally is in good
old-fashioned milk. Milk is about
3.5 percent protein by weight,
and about 20 percent of that pro-
Featuring
Cockshutt & Co-op
& RELATED
EQUIPMENT
Rough and Tumble Engineers
55m THRESHERMEN'S REUNION
Annual a i kt iq i a isr, i a
Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday I IJ, ■*+, IU
GATES OPEN AT 7:00 A.M.
ON DISPLAY AND IN OPERATION
Steam Traction Engines ★ Antique Tractors ★ Threshing Machines ★
Hit & Miss Gas Engines ★ Steam Railroad Rides ★ Outstanding Display of
Large Gas Engines ★ Blacksmith Demonstrations ★ Stationary Steam
Engine Museum ★ Model Steam & Gas Engines ★ Antique Construction
Equipment ★ Antique Cars, Trucks & Motorcycles ★ Stationary Balers ★
Antique Wagons ★ Craft Displays ★ Pageant of Threshing ★ Saw Mill &
Shingle Mill ★ Baker Fan ★ Daily Parade ★ Rumely Museum ★ Lots More!
PROGRAMS . . . Wednesday; Threshing 6:00, Tractor Games 6:30, Music
7:00; Thursday: Children’s Pedal Pull 2:00, Antique Tractor Pull 6:30; Friday:
Steam Games & Music 6:30; Saturday: Country Music Throughout The Day!
MOST COMPLETE STEAM & GAS SHOW IN THE EAST!
Located In Kinzers, Lancaster County, PA - Midway between Lancaster and Coatesville on Route 30
R&T, Box 9, Kinzers, PA 17535 / (717) 442-4249
which could be related to har
vesting as well as home storage.
The potato is perfectly fine to
eat.
Cold temperatures also cause
potatoes to turn black or gray
when cooked. While storing po
tatoes in the refrigerator is not
recommended, if you do, letting
the potato warm gradually to
room temperature before cook
ing can reduce the discoloration.
Prolonged exposure to light
causes potatoes to turn green.
The green on the skin of a pota
to is the build-up of a chemical
called Solanine, which produces
a bitter taste and, if eaten in
large quantity, can cause illness.
However, this is unlikely be
cause of the bitter taste. If there
is slight greening, cut away the
green portions of the potato skin
before cooking and eating it.
A warm, moist environment
encourages sprouting of pota
toes. Sprouts are a sign that the
potato is trying to grow. Cut the
sprouts away before cooking or
eating the potato.
Forget Curds, Watch For Whey
tein is whey protein. The protein
in yogurt is also 20 percent whey
protein. You might think cottage
cheese would be a good source,
too, but it’s not: After being cook
ed and curdled, it is rinsed to re
move lactose, and that also re
moves most of the whey protein.
But whey protein is also in a
lot of other products. With more
than 8 billion pounds of cheese
produced each year, you can
imagine how much whey is
Can potatoes be frozen? The
results will depend upon the
type of potato used, its age, and
your standards of taste. It is not
generally recommended that po
tatoes be frozen because of their
high water content which, when
frozen, separates from the
starch causing the reheated po
tato dish to become watery.
Nevertheless, if you have lots of
potatoes you may want to try.
Prepare a small quantity first to
see what you think of the re
sults.
Some guidelines for success.
Choose new, smaller potatoes,
of the waxy type such as red or
gold potatoes.
The following suggestions for
freezing potatoes come from the
around. Unfortunately, as late as
1980, about half of the whey pro
duced in the United States was
dumped into streams as a waste
product.
Eventually, cheese-makers re
alized there’s no use letting such
a high-quality protein go to
waste. Thanks to research (partly
done by food scientists at Ohio
State University), whey protein
products have improved and are
used extensively in the food in-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 9, 2003-813
University of Illinois Coopera
tive Extension.
Garden Potatoes: Freeze them
when they are about 1 to 1 /i
inches in diameter. Wash and
scrub the potatoes, leaving the
skins on, if desired. Blanch 4 to
6 minutes if smaller than 1 to 1
Vi inches, 8 to 10 minutes if
larger. Cool, drain, and pack.
To cook; add the frozen pota
toes to enough boiling water to
cover. Cook about 15 minutes or
until tender.
French Fries: Commercially
these are fast-frozen giving a
different quality than home fro
zen fries. However, if you wish
to try your own, wash, peel, and
cut potatoes into 3 /a inch strips.
Rinse them quickly in cold
water to remove the surface
starch. Drain well. Spread the
strips in a single layer on a shal
low pan. Brush with melted but
ter. Bake in a preheated oven at
450 F until golden brown and
tender. Turn occasionally. Cool
in the refrigerator, then pack,
label, and freeze. To cook the
frozen fries, bake on a shallow
pan in a preheated 450 F oven
until brown and tender. Turn
occasionally. Salt to taste.
dustry.
For example, whey protein
concentrate helps shortening dis
perse evenly in baked goods.
Whey powder helps icings, top
pings and cream fillings whip
and foam more easily. Because of
their high solubility and superior
emulsification properties, whey
protein products are also used in
soups, sauces and salad dress
ings. Whey is also used as a high
quality source of protein in ener-
nginee'bs t
wtjon Large
-
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
www.roughandtumble.org
Mashed Potatoes: Prepare
mashed potatoes as usual. Let
cool quickly, and form into K h
inch thick patties. Place on a
cookie sheet and freeze. As soon
as they are frozen solid, pack
them in containers or freezer
bags. Label and place packages
in the freezer. To serve, fry po
tatoes in butter until brown or
brush them with melted fat and
broil. They may also be defrost
ed in the microwave oven, top
ped with cheese, and cooked at
80 percent power until they are
hot and the cheese melted.
Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Re
move the cooked potato from
the skin. Mash it; then return it
to the skin. Add milk, butter,
and seasoning if desired. Wrap
and freeze. To serve, remove the
wrap and bake in a 425-degree
oven for 30 minutes. Use within
2 to 4 weeks.
If you have food preservation
questions, a home economist is
available to answer questions on
Wednesdays 10:00 a.m.1:00
p.m. Call (717) 394-6851 or
write Penn State Cooperative
Extension, Lancaster County,
1383 Arcadia Rd., Rm.l, Lan
caster, PA, 17601.
gy bars, and is sold in the form of
protein powders at health food
stores.
Whey’s health advantages are
still being uncovered. For in
stance, Ohio State University re
search recently showed whey pro
tein can increase the level of a
certain antioxidant, glutathione,
in human prostate cells at least
in the lab. Glutathione helps fight
free radicals that can cause can
cer.
Flea
Market!
Good
Food!
FREE PARKING & SHUTTLE BUS