To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pare the potatoes to a uniform size and place them in cold water.
Cook
Transfer the potatoes to a saucepan and cover with cold water and a pinch of salt.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, checking occasionally by adding cold water to slow the boil.
Once tender, drain the water and sprinkle a little salt over the potatoes.
Let them dry with the lid off, then serve quickly on a napkin.
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
- Provide the starchy body of the dish; their starch sets texture as they cook through.
The step that matters
Simmer gently and add cold water to slow the boil. A rolling boil breaks the potatoes apart before their centers are tender. Adding a little cold water pauses the boil so the outside does not overcook while the inside softens.
“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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