Boiled Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the potatoes thoroughly.
Peel old potatoes with a sharp knife, removing any black specks.
Soak the potatoes in cold water for several hours.
Boil
Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water.
Add salt according to the amount of water.
Add new potatoes to boiling water.
Add old potatoes to either cold or boiling water.
Cook the potatoes for about 30 minutes until tender.
Drain and serve
Drain all the water.
Sprinkle with a little salt.
Shake lightly.
Cover the saucepan with a clean towel or lid slightly ajar and let sit.
Serve the potatoes individually using a spoon.
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 and structure; their type determines whether they hold together or turn fluffy when cooked.
- Salt
- Seasons the potatoes and the cooking water, flavouring them from within.
The step that matters
Adding new and old potatoes to water. New potatoes go into boiling water so they cook quickly and hold their shape. Old potatoes can go into cold or boiling water, and starting them cold lets the heat reach the centre more evenly, reducing the risk of a cooked outside with a hard middle.
“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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