Boiled Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and scrub the potatoes well.
Peel the potatoes if desired.
Soak the potatoes in cold water for 1 hour.
Boil
Place the potatoes in a kettle and cover with boiling water.
After 15 minutes of boiling, add 1 tablespoon of salt for every 8 potatoes.
Boil the potatoes moderately for 35 minutes until tender.
Pour off all the water.
Serve
Set the kettle on the back of the stove with the cover half off to let steam escape.
Serve very hot.
If keeping them warm, cover the kettle with a folded towel.
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 body make up the cooked potato, and gentle boiling keeps them tender rather than falling apart.
- Salt
- Seasons the potatoes as they cook, so flavour reaches inside rather than sitting on the surface.
The step that matters
Boil the potatoes moderately, not vigorously. Vigorous boiling batters the outside of the potatoes while the centre is still firm, so they break apart. A moderate simmer cooks them evenly until tender throughout.
“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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