Yams are an excellent food for a diet. They are rich in fiber in the diet and also have energy-rich complex carbohydrates. Yams are tasty, satisfying and nutritious, whether baked or fried, mashed or even boiled. We recommend keeping these crops on hand.
We often think of preserving yams since they won’t be readily available throughout the year. The majority of yams are harvested or purchased around Thanksgiving and the time of Christmas.
Suppose you have an abundance of yams and are wondering how to preserve them at home for a long time. The process of freezing Yam is as easy as preparing them according to your preferred method and then placing them in a sealed, airtight container. people like to add them to carrot soups, make stir fry with them, candied yams dishes are quite popular too while some might prefer making fritter with yams to enjoy with herbs and spices of their choice.
Can You Freeze Yams?
Yes, it is possible to freeze the yams for 10 to 12 months. If you freeze them correctly and with protection, you can freeze them for a long duration. Make sure they are wrapped tightly and covered. If you’ve parboiled them before freezing, then when they are frozen, there won’t be any browning of yams. This way, you can store these in your freezer all winter.
How to Freeze Yams?
Yams are an excellent carbohydrate and come into the spotlight at Christmas. Like potatoes, you can enjoy them in a multitude of ways. To ensure you have a good stock of delicious yams all through the year, you can freeze them using the easy steps below:
Parboil: Peel and cut your yams as you normally would, then simmer them for about ten minutes. This is crucial because it keeps the flavor and texture intact when stored in the freezer. Your yams need to be soft and not fully cooked at this time.
Cool: You should let your yams stand at room temperature for an hour or until they cool completely. Don’t put warm yams into the freezer due to obvious reasons!
Slice: Once the yams are cool, cut them into pieces or slices and place them in large, freezer-safe bags. It is essential to think about what you’ll do with your yams later on and cut them into suitable portions.
Label and Freeze: After transferring your yams into the freezer-safe bag, push as much air as possible before sealing the bag. Mention the present date and the date for use on the outside of the bag. Then, place your yams into the freezer.
Freezing Baked Yams
Check out the step-by-step process of freezing baked yams.
- For baking the yams, first, you must apply the boiling method. Then, you can cut, season, and then process the yams accordingly.
- Separately, and place them in containers or storage bags.
- Completely squeeze the air out, then seal the bag. You could also utilize a vacuum sealer to drain the air from each bag before sealing.
- The label should bear the storage date and name.
- And lastly, you can put your leftovers into the freezer.
How To Defrost Yams?
Depending on how you prepare your yams, you may require different methods of defrosting them, so keep track of it! If you’ve boiled your yams, you can heat them immediately after removing them from your freezer. This is because the air can oxidize the yams that have been frozen and boiled, and they will have a bitter taste.
If you do not plan to cook them immediately, pull them from the freezer before you want to cook them. Or put them in an uncooked pan with salted water. The saltwater helps preserve the vegetables until it is time to cook them.
If you’ve baked yams, you’ll need to defrost them before cooking. This is because you’ll be unable to enjoy the crispiness on the exterior if you do not wait. When the yams are frozen, you can turn your oven to 325°F and then place the yams in your oven for between 25 and 35 minutes. You will then get the delicious texture and flavour!
If you’re also defrosting mashed yams, you’ll be waiting until they have fully defrosted before warming them. When they’re ready, put them in an oven to moderate heat. Stir in a little milk to loosen their texture. Begin to mash the yams and sprinkle some spice according to your preference. Adding a small amount of butter for a super creamy texture will never hurt anyone!
How Can I Tell If the Yam Is Fresh?
It is easy to tell if a yam is young by ensuring that it does not have any soft and bumpy spots. These spots can change to black or brown, so you must avoid them. Any evidence of mold on your potato is a sign that you need to eliminate them, too.
Do not worry about sprouts. If you only have two or three, it is possible to cut off the sprouts and eat the potato just as you normally would. If you notice a lot of sprouts, the yam may have been sitting for too long.
Freshness is essential to the flavor of any vegetable, and yams are not any different. Make sure that they are in the best condition they can be before cooking or freezing.
Can You Refreeze Yam?
We don’t suggest refreezing yams. Since the yams have been frozen and defrosted, they will shift in texture and flavour like other food items. We recommend eating them as quickly when defrosted. You have to freeze yams just once for the best flavour. Apart from freezing them again, we suggest you cut the boiled yams into portions and then freeze them in freezer bags separately.
Sweet Potato vs Yam
While we clean up issues, you may be interested in learning the distinction between sweet potato and yam.
In the US Americans, we usually call sweet potatoes yams. However, this isn’t accurate. The yam is a different type of potato. For a long time, they’ve been a staple food item in Africa, South America, and Asia regions.
The sweet potato, dubbed “yam” in the USA, means ‘sweet’ as the name declares. It’s typically coloured orange. However, there are times when it’s either white or purple. On the other hand, yams have an unflavoured taste, and their flesh is white and starchy.
The skin of the yam is rough and brown, whereas the sweet potato’s skin has a smooth, reddish appearance. True yams can be rare in American supermarkets, so calling sweet potatoes a yam doesn’t harm! if you want to know sweet potato freezing method then read out this article for complete understanding.
Tips for Freezing Yam
You have already learned how to freeze yam here. We will give you some simple suggestions to ensure you get the most effective outcomes.
- After you have removed the frozen yams after defrosting, immediately heat them.
- Always cut the yam into pieces.
- Refrain from freezing the yam because the texture and taste will not be significant.
- Do not freeze the raw yams.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you freeze candied yam?
Yes, there is a way to store candied yam, and you can utilize the same methods we covered in our article. After you have cooked the yam in sugar, you can freeze portions in freezer-safe containers. checkout delicious recipe for making candied yams to enjoy with whole family.
Can you freeze the yams without blanching?
It is impossible to freeze the yams without blanching because the raw yams do not hold their shape when frozen. Also, if you chill after blanching, you will keep the yams from becoming soft.
Do you need to peel yams to freeze them?
No need for peeling yams when thinking about freezing them. It is only a matter of thinking about the way you’ll use them later on. If you usually peel them, you should peel them before freezing them.
We are baking experts and connoisseur of food with decades of cooking experience to cook and bake a variety of scrumptious food item to awaken the taste buds of people who eat our baked delights.
With our gumption, alacrity along with astute acumen to pick the authentic and best quality ingredients from across the world to make the scrumptious recipes which soothes the taste buds of eater has made him the name on which people can count on when it comes to cooking advice, world class meals and cuisines native to the different cities of world.
Our chefs unique ability improvise and make baked dishes with different raw produce and ingredients in less time which are delicious and relished by the guests has made kooky bakes leader in the arena of baking and serving mouth watering food.