Freezing kumera

cottagerose, Jul 7, 7:54am
Has anyone had success with freezing kumera and if so how did you do it please.
can they be frozen without blanching first and would you leave the skin on?
I have blanched in the past but they went a little soft.
I want to use them for roasting
punkinthefirst, Jul 7, 11:20am
Like potatoes, I've never had success unless they were pre-roasted orr cooked and mashed. And even then, the quality isn't great.
The best way to keep kumera is to wrap them individually in newspaper and keep them in a slightly warm, dry place, such as in a box on the floor of the hot water cupboard. Check them periodically and use or discard any that are starting to look dodgy.
malcovy, Jul 7, 5:56pm
What I would do is put a roasting pan in the oven, turn on oven and then peel and cut the kumara. Put some oil in a plastic bag and put in kumara. Shake the bag so all kumara is coated in a very light coating of oil. Add coated kumara to roasting dish and roast for approx 20 mins. Let cool and then free flow kumara till frozen. Put frozen free flow kumara in a well sealed plastic bag but leave a tiny opening. I then would put a straw in one end of bag and suck out air and quickly close the bag. Put in freezer immediately.
I freeze mashed kumara, adding butter, salt and pepper and then put in pottles. It is delicious.
I hope this helps.
merrilegs, Jul 8, 6:09am
Just scrub Kumara, cut into whatever size you prefer, steam for about 2 mins, cool and freeflow freeze. Bag up and ready for the winter. Best served steamed or roasted. I've had great success over the years.
cottagerose, Jul 9, 5:05am
Thank you everyone. I blanched and vacuum packed into meals- they look good and ready for roasting
pauline999, Jul 10, 5:31am
Do you defrost or cook these from frozen ?
pickles7, Jul 11, 12:24am
Kumara freeze well, I bag them in serving sized pieces, pop into the microwave and cook 3 minutes on high. Remove the bag, tie the bag after removing some of the air CAREFULLY [may be very hot] put the bag under the cold tap for a little bit, freeze when cold. I cook them from frozen. Great for when kumara are very cheap.
I will cook, mash and freeze potatoes in meal size pots for my husband, He likes to add chopped onion and fry the mash, he rather enjoys them with bacon and eggs for breakfast.
cottagerose, Jul 11, 9:01am
I love your way of freezing the kumera. I'll give it a go next time I do them.
merrilegs, Aug 1, 10:17am
Sorry only just seen your question. Just cook from frozen.