Lo Boil Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrub the potatoes clean with a hard brush, avoiding breaking the skin.
Select potatoes of similar size for even cooking.
Boil
Place the potatoes in an iron pan and cover with cold water, adding 1 teaspoon of salt.
Bring to a boil over moderate heat.
Once boiling, pour off the water.
Replace the water with more cold water.
Cook for 30 to 60 minutes, checking for tenderness with a fork.
When tender, pour off the water.
Dry and serve
Hang the pan over the fire, covered with a clean napkin to evaporate moisture.
Peel the skins off without cutting the potatoes to maintain their floury texture.
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
- Starch structure gives the cooked flesh its floury, fluffy texture when cooked whole.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the potatoes absorb a little flavour as they boil.
The step that matters
Cook for 30 to 60 minutes, checking for tenderness with a fork. Potatoes of uneven size or a fork test done too early can leave the centres firm or the outsides overcooked. Testing the thickest potato until a fork slides in easily gives even, fully cooked results.
“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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