Boiled Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrub the potatoes thoroughly with a small brush or coarse cloth.
Pare the potatoes as thinly as possible, except when using new potatoes.
Soak the pared potatoes in cold water.
Boil
Place the potatoes in a porcelain or granite pot and cover with boiling water.
Add 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt.
Cook gently for 30 minutes or until soft.
If the potatoes remain hard in the center, add 1 cup of cold water.
Continue boiling until done.
Serve
Drain all the water.
Serve immediately.
If you need to wait, place the potatoes on the back of the stove, covered with a folded towel to let the steam escape.
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
- Starchy body that softens and becomes tender as it cooks through.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the potatoes take on flavor as they boil.
The step that matters
Cook gently and check the center. Vigorous boiling can break the potatoes apart before the center is cooked. Gentle heat cooks them evenly, and adding cold water lowers the temperature so the heat can reach the center.
“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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