To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the potatoes thoroughly with a brush and plenty of water, ensuring to clean the eyes.
Place the potatoes in a pot with cold water, covering them completely, and add the salt.
Boil and finish
If the potatoes are large, add 1 cup of cold water when they begin to boil, repeating this as needed.
Boil until soft enough to easily insert a fork, which takes 30 to 75 minutes depending on size.
Once cooked, pour off the water and return the pot to the heat without a lid for 1-2 minutes.
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 into a tender, fluffy texture when boiled.
The step that matters
Adding cold water when the potatoes begin to boil. Large potatoes cook unevenly, with the outside turning mushy before the centre softens. Adding cold water when the boil starts lowers the water temperature and slows the surface, letting heat reach the middle more evenly.
“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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