To Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and scrub the potatoes clean with a hard brush, avoiding any cuts or scooping.
Rinse the potatoes and arrange them compactly in a saucepan.
Boil
Cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil.
Add 1 large teaspoon of salt for every quart of water.
Simmer the potatoes until nearly done.
Boil rapidly for the last 2-3 minutes.
Check for tenderness by probing with a fork.
Drain and dry
Drain the water immediately.
Lift the lid to let steam escape.
Place the potatoes on a trivet over the fire until moisture evaporates.
Serve
Peel and serve quickly.
Serve either in a hot napkin or a covered dish to allow steam to escape.
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
- The main ingredient; their starch cooks soft, and their size and type set how evenly they cook.
The step that matters
Drain and dry the potatoes. Water left on the potatoes keeps them wet and soggy. Draining at once and letting moisture evaporate on a trivet helps them stay firm and fluffy.
“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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