To Boil Potatos
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the potatoes but do not peel or cut them unless they are very large.
Fill a saucepan half full with the potatoes and add enough cold water to cover them by about an inch.
Cook
Set the saucepan on moderate heat until it boils.
Remove from heat and let them simmer slowly until soft enough to pierce with a fork.
Pour off the water immediately after they are done to prevent them from becoming waxy.
Dry and serve
Uncover the saucepan and place it away from the heat to allow excess moisture to evaporate.
Optionally, cover the potatoes with a folded napkin to keep them dry and mealy until ready to serve.
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
- Starch that softens when cooked in water, giving a tender, mealy interior texture.
The step that matters
Pour off the water as soon as the potatoes are done. Left in hot water after they are tender, potatoes keep cooking and absorb water, which makes them waxy and soggy instead of dry and mealy.
“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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