To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and scrub the potatoes clean with a hard brush.
Rinse the potatoes well and arrange them compactly in a saucepan.
Cover the potatoes with cold water.
Boil
Bring the water to a boil, then add salt.
Simmer the potatoes until nearly done, then boil rapidly for the last 2-3 minutes.
Check for tenderness by probing with a fork.
Drain and serve
Drain the water immediately and lift the lid to let steam escape.
Place the potatoes on a trevet over the fire until moisture evaporates.
Peel and serve quickly, preferably in their skins.
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
- Starch and moisture form the cooked texture; their size and type determine how evenly they cook.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the potatoes absorb some flavour as they boil.
The step that matters
Simmer, then boil rapidly for the last 2-3 minutes. Gentle simmering cooks the potato interior evenly without splitting the skins, while the brief rapid boil at the end finishes cooking. Testing with a fork before draining prevents undercooked or overcooked centres.
“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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