Homemade Frozen Diced Hashbrowns

Ultra Processed Food: "It's not food. It's an industrially processed edible substance". Fernanda Rauber



I read a really interesting book this winter called Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken. He explores how Ultra Processed Food ( UPF) impacts our bodies and the planet. An easy way to know if a food is UPF is to look at the list of ingredients and if you don't recognize or you couldn't find the ingredient in a home kitchen than it is UPF.
So with this in mind, I read the frozen diced McCain hashbrown list of ingredients that I had in my freezer. I like to make hashbrown casserole at Christmas or for brunches etc. I never looked at the ingredient list. I just assumed there would be the usual cast of characters like potatoes, fat and salt. Well was I surprised to find there was 25 ingredients. Yes 25 ingredients. These little potatoes were filled with colours, sugars, starches and stabilizers to just mention a few. I couldn't with good conscience buy these hashbrowns ever again. I also couldn't find another brand of diced hashbrowns that would work so I decided to make my own. These homemade hashbrowns have 3 ingredients, potatoes, olive oil and kosher salt.
They were easy to make and tasted better too.
Please read the ingredient list of all the food you buy and avoid UPF as much as you can.



Ingredients McCain Diced Frozen Hashbrowns:
Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (canola And/or Soybean And/or Cottonseed And/or Safflower And/or Sunflower And/or Corn), Modified Potato Starch, Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Modified Corn Starch, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Dextrin, Corn Flour, Baking Powder, Yellow Corn Flour, Sodium Phosphate (to Retain Natural Colour), Sugars (dextrose), Xanthan Gum, Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Autolyzed Yeast, Modified Cellulose, Guar Gum, Natural Flavour, Natural Beef Flavour (wheat And Milk), Citric Acid, Caramel, Annatto. Contains: Milk, Wheat



Homemade Frozen Diced Hashbrown Potatoes


INGREDIENTS:

5lbs Russet potatoes

Olive oil, for coating ( approximately 2 tablespoons)

Kosher salt, to taste



DIRECTIONS:

Peel and cut potatoes into 1/4 inch dice. Place cut potatoes into a bowl of cold water while cutting all the potatoes.

Drain and dry on a kitchen towel.

Divide the potatoes between 2 large cookie sheets, coat with olive oil and season with Kosher salt.

Bake in 450 F. degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.

Take out of the oven and cool to room temperature.

Place sheet pans in the freezer. Once potatoes are completely frozen, place potatoes in a large Ziplock bag and freeze.

Print Recipe:Homemade Frozen Diced Potatoes