Boiled Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil new potatoes in their jackets.
Scrub old potatoes.
Pare old potatoes.
Soak old potatoes in cold water for 2-3 hours.
Boil
Cover the potatoes with boiling water.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Boil gently for 20-30 minutes; medium-sized potatoes will take 30 minutes.
Avoid rapid boiling to prevent breaking the potatoes.
Drain and serve
Drain all the water.
Shake the saucepan over the heat until the potatoes are dry and mealy.
Serve immediately.
Keep warm by covering with a towel until serving.
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
- New potatoes
- Hold their shape when boiled in their jackets, giving a firmer, waxier bite.
- Old potatoes
- Break down into a dry, fluffy, mealy texture when shaken after draining.
The step that matters
Avoid rapid boiling. Vigorous boiling tumbles the potatoes against each other and the pan, breaking their outer layers and leaving them ragged and waterlogged. A gentle simmer cooks them through while keeping them intact.
“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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