To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Select potatoes of nearly equal size.
Boil and dry
Boil them in salted water until tender.
Drain the water and let them stand uncovered by the fire until moisture evaporates, shaking occasionally.
Hold and serve
If not serving immediately, cover with a cloth, but serve without delay if possible.
For mashing or puddings, wrap each potato in a warm cloth and twist to remove moisture.
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 flesh that becomes soft and fluffy when cooked, forming the body of the dish.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the potatoes take up flavour as they boil.
The step that matters
Letting the potatoes dry after draining. Surface and internal moisture left on boiled potatoes dilutes flavour and makes them watery or heavy. Standing them uncovered lets steam escape, and for mashing, twisting them in a warm cloth removes more moisture.
“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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