If you've ever eaten canned potatoes from a market, in tins, you may also see the white sediment on the bottom and they also have a unique, not fresh taste. It comes with the territory. They're fine in things like stews and for putting around roasts and actually pretty good when fried.

I can think of two things...

1. Did you use fresh boiling water to cover the potatoes? The water used for blanching shouldn't be reused to fill the jars because it is starchy.

2. I always rinse the canned potatoes well before using them. That rinses off the starchy residue that settles at the bottom of the jar.

Don't give up on canned potatoes. They are a real time saver and are useful for so many things. I've also found that different varieties taste differently when canned. You may have to experiment a little to find the ones you like best.

Good luck with it!

Jill

A good part of the end quality is determined by the age of the potatoes canned. Newly dug spuds will always have an "earthy" taste. That is why it is recommended to let them cure, to "mature", for some time before canning them. That way the sugars and starches in them have time to stabilize.

But it is this "they have absorbed all the liquid" that bothers me as that shouldn't happen and indicates some sort of processing problem. Normally the liquid in the jar may drop by an inch but when properly processed the jar should still have plenty of water left in it.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFO - How to can potatoes

Be sure to use fresh boiled water in the jars. Pack them loosely. Then, to keep them more firm, add Pickle Crisp to each jar, just like you would pickles.Look at store canned potatoes and you will see calcium chloride added. That is Pickle Crisp. I will only can them with the Pickle crisp added. Still they will not taste like fresh potatoes. They do have a different taste. I found red or Yukon gold to be the best for canning.
You will still get a little sediment, but not as much.
I agree, something is amiss, as you should still have water in the jars.
Also, did you let the jars stand in the canner the additional 10 min. after processing before opening the canner ? That will help with liquid loss.

Thanks for mentioning Pickle Crisp. I had never put them in my canned potatoes, but will now. Thanks Dave for the hint on letting them mature. I am digging spuds now and had intended to use the smaller ones, with the skins scrubbed off to can and I didn't know to let them age a bit first. Yes, I agree with you all that the lack of water in the jars speaks to something amiss. Mine never lost a lot of water. All starchy stuff like that, seems to me would be better with a loose pack and lots of liquid. Learnt that with corn.

I used fresh water to cover the potatoes. Packed loosely, required headspace. The first jar I opened had some liquid. I went to the basement yesterday and saw the last jar. No liquid after about a month. I am concerned about this also. I don't normally hurry the canner so I want to say I let it cool naturally but I may have been in a hurry. (don't remember) These were store bought potatoes. (don't get them all eaten so I want to can them to save them. I am interested in all suggestions. Thanks for all the help.

I am interested in all suggestions.

To ID the cause we'd need to know how you did it step by step. You said you used the NCHFP directions. No skipped steps?

Wash, peel, 1/2 cubes, cook 10 min., hot pack, fresh boiling water, remove all air from jars, vent canner for 10 min., process for 40 min., full cool down including 10 min wait between weight off and then lid, etc?

The most common causes of loss of the water are

food absorbed it all but if pre-cooked as required that sure shouldn't happen,

liquid siphoned out of jar but that shouldn't happen unless there was lots of playing with the heat settings during processing that caused fluctuations in the pressure or improper cool down procedures,

lots of air left in the jars.

Are you using a gauge or weights on your canner and what pressure do you have to use? Could the "earthy" taste possibly a scorched taste? Did the canner get close to running dry? Just trying to find a clue to what happened.

Dave

The correct timing for boiling the potatoes prior to jarring them up for the canner is 2 minutes for 1/2 inch cubes and 10 minutes for small, whole (1-2" diameter) or quartered larger potatoes.

I'm looking at the "official" books right now because I'm canning taters at this very moment! :-) I love canned potatoes.

Jill

Thanks for catching that Jill. :)

Dave

>Newly dug spuds will always have an "earthy" taste. That is why it is recommended to let them cure, to "mature"

Dave, you are always such a wealth of information!

I don't can taters, but just leave mine in the ground year round and dig as wanted. And they taste like dirt :). I thought it was due to my rich soil, and had no idea storage changes them!

Linda do you grow your own potatoes? Dave mentioned letting them cure. The varieties you mentioned are what I grow. Do you cure yours? If so how long before canning? Thanks for the help.
~Tina~

I want to say that I followed the directions carefully since it is the first time I canned potatoes. I have canned for many years and that can be the source of mistakes also.

Then unless they were over-packed in the jars I'd suggest focusing on the newer guidelines on using a pressure canner. The odds are it was something during the processing itself that caused the problem rather than the way the potatoes themselves were done.

Dave

Christina, I did not grow my potatoes. I was given some big bags of them.

Thank you Linda.
~Tina~

Here's some more feedback on the water levels. I just processed a canner load of potatoes, in quarts, coincidentally while this thread was going on.

I was careful about packing loosely. I was very careful to have the proper headspace. I boiled the potatoes for 10 minutes (I was using small, whole potatoes, less than 2" in diameter, and a few larger ones that I quartered). Drained them, loosely filled the jars below the 1" headspace, added 1/2 tsp pickle crisp to each quart, no salt. Then I added fresh boiling water to the 1" headspace. Added lids, rings, processed according to guidelines.

When the proper time had elapsed and cool down period and the additional 10 minutes after removing weight had passed, I removed lid and removed jars to a towel on the counter. I checked the head space on each of my 7 quarts. Each jar was still completely full of liquid, and all potatoes were below the water line. The water in the canner was clean and clear. Obviously no siphoning had occurred.

I checked them all again the morning and found that one jar now had liquid a full inch lower than it had when I removed the jars last night. This afternoon, when I came home for lunch, two jars are now lower than the original headspace...approximately an inch lower, and a small amount of potato chunk is above the waterline. Since I am absolutely positive that I had no siphoning, and I am absolutely positive I followed all guidelines perfectly, I am assuming that the potatoes have absorbed more of the liquid. In no way am I concerned about the safety of these potatoes because I know everything was done properly.

What I will do for the next batch is only fill my jars about 3/4 full of potatoes instead of near the one inch head space. A quart jar is more than enough for us, so losing a bit of potatoes won't be a problem. I'll have room for more liquid so that the potatoes will stay immersed for storage.

Whether this has anything to do with the age of the potatoes, I do not know. They were harvested at the end of May. I canned some when freshly dug, and I can additional canner loads when I have time and opportunity.

It is definitely worthwhile to can potatoes. We do grow our own. We have grown different varieties, and my preference is for the red ones.

Hope this helps.

Jill

I am reading all these posts from 5 years ago. just processed potatoes in pints and rinsed my potatoes and all the water in the jars has turned milky? Really white. Are they Ok?

I answered this on your other thread, but will answer again. If you processed them for the appropriate period of time in your pressure canner, they should be safe. I think the "milky" liquid is from the starch in the potato, leaching out into your canning water.

Good luck.

Annie

Are the sweet potatoes still good if the jars sealed but some of the liquid came out while processing ? I canned them with a light syrup so the liquid looks cloudy also.