I make fresh french fries for my grand son's. I tried to give them frozen french fries once and was informed by the boys not to cook frozen french fries again. I have made instant potatoes a few times but mostly fresh potatoes are our cooked in our home.
Oh, well thanks for clearing that up. I had actually thought that people were somehow finding a way to eat frozen potatoes lol. I've purchased frozen fries too from the supermarket, as well as frozen potatoes but I never deep fry them. I always oven cook them, or microwave them if that option is possible.
Right. There are frozen mashed potatoes and twice-baked potatoes, there are frozen roasted potatoes and cheesy potatoes as well. I don't think I've ever tried frozen mashed potatoes though. I just don't think they'd be that good. I don't really see much difference with the hash browns, as far as taste goes anyway, but it's definitely cheaper to make your own. I prefer homemade when it comes to the other varieties as well.
I grew up eating frozen fries baked in the oven all the time. We almost never deep fried anything when cooking at home and I still seldom do when I am cooking for myself as well these days. It's just such a waste of oil, and the hot oil is a mess to dispose of. And if you try to save it to use again a few more times, it stinks up the kitchen. I've even contemplated trying to make batches of my own frozen fries, which could be thrown in the oven and cooked later. There are times when our grocery stores have killer deals on bags of potatoes - I've seen them as low as $1.80 for an 8lb bag. I can't even buy a 2lb bag of frozen fries for that little. I keep frozen, fresh and instant potato flakes on hand all at the same time. Granted I really don't care for instant mashed potatoes, but they come in handy once in a while when I am totally craving some mashed potatoes and I'm all out of fresh ones. Plus the instant potatoes can be used in other recipes as well. For example, you can use them in a breading mix when making fried stuff. You can also use them to thicken soups, as a binder in recipes, and also to make home made stuff like potato gnocchi's.
I go with fresh potatoes because the taste is very natural and it is the taste that I am accustomed of. Though it still needs some time to prepare, I would still choose this over insant ones because they are fresh and organic. Some instant or frozen ones may already have preservatives that would make their shelf life longer so I am not fond of consuming these products. But there are also times that I purchase frozen or instant potatoes, especially when I am in a hurry to eat or if I am travelling and I need to keep a snack for a long time without worrying it to expire or rot. I take time to prepare fresh ones and also make dishes out of it based on recipes that I search for online. Potatoes are a tasty snack and it makes you full right away since they are carbohydrates.
The unit price of a bag of fresh potatoes is much cheaper than the processed boxed or frozen potatoes. I usually can purchase a 10-pound bag of potatoes at our local Aldi for $1.99-$2.99. For this reason, I always have a bag of potatoes on hand. The simplest way I will prepare them is baked potatoes, which can even be done in the microwave or slow cooker to conserve energy. I also use fresh potatoes to make homemade oven fries, potato salad, mashed potatoes, and slow cooker potato soup. Our baby loves mashed up, plain baked potato, which serves as an inexpensive side item for baby food as well.
Fresh potatoes definitely. I don't see why anyone would buy any other type of potatoes. They're horribly quick to cook, and so cheap that anyone can buy them. Also, they're really tasty and keep you satisfied.
Definitely fresh. I like everything fresh rather than frozen or instant or anything like that. Usually fresh food takes longer to prepare, in the flavor, taste and health. Of course, I wouldn't reject frozen or instant, they are OK. And they're great when you don't have a lot of time.
Well I have a very peculiar child, and she likes her potatoes to taste fake. She likes them to taste as if I bought the potatoes already made a KFC or Popeye's. So I use a trick. I boil 2.5 pounds of potatoes. When they are done I boil water again make small sachet or small bag of the instant potatoes. I mash the boiled potatoes (add your regular milk and butter of course ) and then add the instant potatoes to the mix. So in the end she gets her "fake taste" and real nutritional value. Oh, and I do agree with you Zyni - "If you have potatoes, you won't go hungry", it is always good to have potatoes around.
We tend to use instant potatoes more frequently in our house simply because we don't have the time. I like eating fresh potatoes like any regular guy or girl. Though, when it comes to being reasonable and managing your time wisely. Going instant often times is the only choice to do.
