Hash Brown prep. w/my brand spanking new Kitchen Aid F.P.!

[lsdesign]

Well, I got the refurbished model for Christmas and tried it out this morning when DH found there were no Ore-Ida frozen hash browns in the freezer for breaky. I used Yukon Golds with the skin on and they worked out beautifully. (that machine has the POWER) However somewhere in my subconscious is the notion that I ought to have rinsed the starch off before cooking as well as dry them between paper towels before cooking. Any validity to this method and why would you want to do it?

[Grace]

LOL!!! The reason I laugh is I know EXACTLY why you think you should have rinsed the potatoes....we did the same thing a couple days ago, and my husband had "gelatinous" hash browns!!

I actually knew to rinse the potatoes, but just wasn't thinking about it at the moment. You want to rinse them, and then pat them really dry with some paper towels to get rid of all the potato starch that comes out of those babies!! Potato Starch (dried) can be bought at the grocery store and is used for thickening like cornstarch is, but as you saw for yourself, it's a little more "gelatinous" than cornstarch is......

Now I'm wondering, did your hubby EAT his jello hash browns? (Mine did, MUCH to my surprise!!) :D :D :D :D

Oh, and that FP is the GREATEST, isn't it? You'll wonder how you ever functioned without it before.... Congats and have fun with it!

[katygirl]

Not to sure about the potato question but congratulations on your new baby! I knew you wanted one from other posts, and I'm glad Santa remembered! Have fun with it, and Kitchen Aid is so great with their service department, if anything goes wrong just call them up.

[Zinnia]

BTW lsdesign,
I just wanted to say Congratulations to you on your new 'baby', and you are SO lucky!! (Can you tell I am jealous?;) !).
And Grace,
Before I read your post, I was going to say the same thing as well. Excitement overpowered me at first, thus-- the 'jello-hashbrowns';)..I even had moments of, 'I'm chucking this stuff and grabbing a bag of frozen potatoes, this is too much!!'........
I now won't even consider the froz. potatoes....I buy them in 10-20# bags, (buy one get one free most of the time-- thats alot of potatoes!!), I shred them, rinse, boil for a min. or two, plunge in ice water, drain, pat, and freeze them in huge zippies and I have them on hand 24/7. They are MUCH better than 'store' frozen imo, and I can cut/slice/shred them into what I need them for and label the bags...
This may be way more info than ya'll wanted,:D but, I am so proud of my potato accomplishments... I saw the tips over the years, from a bunch of awesome, helpful, and friendly people on a BB called Cooking Light. I am so glad they are ALL with me whenever I need help, and hoping for another year with them all:D.
:) Zinnia

[SusanMac]

I thought that fresh potatoes didn't freeze very well. I love the idea of having fresh/frozen potatoes on hand for hash browns. (recently discovered the joy of having homemade frozen pancakes on hand! yum!)

How do you prepare them from the freezer? Do they need to thaw first, or do you just throw them straight into the pan?? Is the consistency just as good as fresh?

[Laura B]

I also thought that fresh potatoes would not freeze well. I have had some frozen cooked potatoes get a wierd texture on me before so have never tried freezing fresh. The possibilities are endless... So, I ditto all of SusanMac's questions!

[Grace]

I think it's the starch that makes them turn funny in the freezer. (So if you rinse them and get the starch off, they should be ok). They sell frozen hash browns in the freezer section by the truckload (it isn't some wierd specialty item), and I use them a lot, and never had a problem. I just throw them in the pan still frozen.

[lsdesign]

Grace, et al: funny but my potatoes this morning were not gelatinous at all. Or, maybe they were and it didn't bother me or DH. What do you mean by that? Can I bother you to describe it a little better??? I am leaning toward not rinsing the next time.

[Molli526]

Zinnia-

Thanks for the tip! We have some taters here that have about a week left of their life and now I don't have to pitch them! Another project for tomorrow!

[SusanT]

Yukon golds are more medium starch so your hash browns probably turned out well because there just isn't as much starch as in a regular russett.

Contrats on the Kitchenaid - I got one a year ago for Xmas and I just love it!