To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the potatoes thoroughly to remove dirt.
Place the potatoes in a pot and cover them with cold water.
Add ½ handful of coarse sea salt.
Boil and finish
When boiling, add 1 cup of cold water if they are large.
Cook until soft enough to pierce easily with a fork, about 30 to 75 minutes depending on size.
Drain the water and return the pot to the heat for 1-2 minutes to dry them out.
Remove the skins and 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
- Provide the starch that turns soft and fluffy when cooked through in water.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the potatoes absorb flavour as they cook.
The step that matters
Drying the potatoes after draining. Returning the drained potatoes to the heat lets surface moisture evaporate, so they are not waterlogged. Dry potatoes hold seasoning better and have a fluffier texture.
“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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