To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the potatoes thoroughly with a brush and plenty of water, ensuring to clean the eyes without peeling them.
Place the potatoes in a pot and cover them with cold water, adding half a handful of coarse sea salt.
Boil and dry
If the potatoes are large, add a cup of cold water when they begin to boil, repeating this as needed.
Boil until soft, which will take 30 to 75 minutes depending on size; small potatoes will cook faster.
Check doneness by inserting a fork into the center; they are done when the fork goes in easily.
Drain the water and return the pot to the heat without a lid for 1-2 minutes to dry them out.
Remove the skins and serve.
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, which softens as their starch cooks through.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the potatoes take on flavour as they boil.
The step that matters
Adding cold water when the potatoes begin to boil. Large potatoes can cook unevenly, with cooked outsides and firm centres. Adding a cup of cold water when the boil starts cools the water and slows the bubbling, helping the heat reach the centre more gently.
“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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