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Lancashire Method of Boiling Potatoes

A method for boiling potatoes with salt, then draining and drying them to produce fluffy, dry potatoes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Lancashire Method of Boiling Potatoes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Scrape the peels off the potatoes instead of paring them with a knife.

Boil

  1. In a pan, bring enough water to a boil to barely cover the potatoes.

  2. Add a handful of salt to the boiling water.

  3. Place the scraped potatoes into the boiling water and cover the pan.

  4. Boil until the potatoes are tender.

Dry and serve

  1. Drain the water and return the potatoes to the pan without the cover, placing it close to the heat to evaporate excess moisture.

  2. Serve the potatoes on a dish, ensuring they are fluffy and dry on the surface.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 provides the bulk of the dish; cooking softens it into a tender, fluffy texture.

The step that matters

Drying the potatoes after draining. Surface water left on cooked potatoes dilutes flavor and makes them soggy. Returning them to the heat lets surface moisture evaporate, so they turn out fluffy and dry.

“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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