To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrub the potatoes clean with a hard brush without breaking the skin.
Place the potatoes in an iron pan and cover with cold water, adding 1 teaspoon of salt.
Boil
Bring to a boil over moderate heat.
Pour off the water.
Replace the water with more cold water.
Cook for 30 to 60 minutes, checking for tenderness with a fork.
Finish and serve
Once tender, pour off the water.
Hang the pan over the fire.
Cover the pan with a clean napkin to evaporate moisture.
Remove the skins without cutting the potatoes.
Serve immediately.
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
- Starchy flesh that softens into a tender, fluffy texture when cooked in water.
The step that matters
Scrub without breaking the skin. An intact skin keeps water from soaking into the potato during boiling, so the flesh stays firmer and less waterlogged and holds together better.
“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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