Boiled Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
If using new potatoes, boil them in their jackets.
Scrub old potatoes.
Pare old potatoes.
Soak old potatoes in cold water for 2–3 hours.
Boil
Cover the potatoes with boiling water and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Boil gently for 20–30 minutes; medium-sized potatoes will take 30 minutes.
Avoid rapid boiling to prevent breaking the potatoes.
Drain and serve
Once cooked, drain all the water.
Remove the cover.
Shake the saucepan over the heat until the potatoes are dry and mealy.
Serve immediately.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide starch that cooks soft and turns mealy when the surface moisture is driven off.
The step that matters
Boil gently, not rapidly. Vigorous boiling tumbles the potatoes against each other and against the pan, which splits their skins and breaks the flesh. A gentle simmer cooks them through evenly while keeping them whole.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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