Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the potatoes but do not peel or cut them unless they are very large.
Fill a saucepan half full with the potatoes.
Boil and drain
Add enough cold water to cover the potatoes by about 1 inch.
Set the saucepan on moderate heat until it boils.
Remove from heat and let simmer slowly by the side of the fire until soft enough to pierce with a fork.
Drain the water off before 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
- Potatoes
- Their starch softens as they cook, turning the interior tender and floury.
- Cold water
- Surrounds the potatoes so heat transfers evenly and the whole potato cooks through.
The step that matters
Let the potatoes simmer slowly until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Gentle, slow simmering lets heat reach the centre before the outside breaks apart. A hard, rapid boil can split the skins and leave the interior undercooked.
“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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