This step-by-step guide guarantees success for every type of potato.
Serves4 to 6Prep5 minutes to 10 minutesCook10 minutes to 20 minutes
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Boiling potatoes is neither exciting nor particularly sexy, as far as cooking skills go, but it is quite handy! All our favorite dishes from potato salad for a summer cookout to mashed potatoes for the Thanksgiving table start with — oh yes! — boiling a pot of potatoes.
Whether you’re boiling your first potato tonight or wonder if you’ve been doing it right, here’s a step-by-step guide showing you exactly how to boil potatoes.
How Long to Boil Potatoes?
Generally, you want to boil potatoes for 10 to 20 minutes. That’s how long it takes to cook them evenly all the way through. Here’s how long to boil potatoes specifically for mashed potatoes.
Whole potatoes will take longer than cut-up or cubed potatoes, so it’s important to test your potatoes for doneness. When they are ready you should be able to easily pierce them with a fork all the way through.
You’ll want to boil potatoes any time you don’t want them to dry out (as they can when baked in the oven). So it’s a cooking method ideal for mashed potatoes or potato salad. Boiled potatoes on their own can also make a quick side dish.
The Best Potatoes to Boil: Waxy, Starchy or All Purpose?
Waxy or all-purpose potatoes are the best candidates for boiling. They hold their shape when boiled and have a nice creamy texture once cooked.
They are also usually smaller — usually no bigger than your fist — and thin-skinned, so they cook more quickly. Waxy and all-purpose potatoes might be red or golden or purple; take a look at this guide to sixteen kinds of potatoes to see what kind you’re dealing with.
You can also boil starchy potatoes like Russets — I have friends who swear by mashed potatoes made with Russets! Starchy potatoes tend to fall apart or become water-logged when boiled, so I recommend boiling them whole instead of cubed.
Whole Potatoes or Cubed? Skins On or Peeled?
You can boil potatoes either whole or cubed — both ways work fine. In either case, the key is to make sure the whole potatoes or cubed potatoes are roughly the same size. This way, they will all cook at the same rate.
If you’re boiling whole potatoes, you might need to remove small potatoes from the water a little sooner and let larger potatoes cook a little longer.
Recipes with Boiled Potatoes
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How to Boil Potatoes Recipe
This step-by-step guide guarantees success for every type of potato.
Prep time 5 minutes to 10 minutes
Cook time 10 minutes to 20 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
3 pounds
waxy or all-purpose potatoes
1 teaspoon
salt
Equipment
Chef's knife (optional)
Saucepan or pot
Slotted spoon
Instructions
Show Images
Prepare the potatoes. Scrub 3 pounds waxy or all-purpose potatoes clean. If desired, cut the potatoes into large, evenly-sized cubes.
Transfer the potatoes to a saucepan and cover with cold water. Transfer the potatoes to a saucepan or pot large enough to hold all the potatoes with some room on top. Cover the potatoes with an inch or two of cold water. Starting the potatoes in cold water helps them cook more evenly.
Stir in the salt. Stir 1 teaspoon of salt into the water until dissolved.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Do not cover. (Covering changes the environment in the pot and can make the potatoes turn mushy.)
Check the potatoes after 5 minutes. Cubed potatoes will cook more quickly than whole potatoes; smaller potatoes will cook more quickly than larger potatoes. Begin checking the potatoes after around 5 minutes of simmering; most potatoes will be done in 10 to 20 minutes.
The potatoes are done when tender. The potatoes are done when they are tender all the way through. You can test this by poking the potato with a fork, paring knife, or skewer. If the utensil slides easily all the way to the center, the potatoes are done.
Drain the potatoes. Drain cubed potatoes in a strainer or lift whole potatoes out with a slotted spoon. If your recipe calls for cold potatoes, you can run the potatoes under cold water or dunk them in an ice water bath to cool them down more quickly.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Cooked potatoes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Dense potatoes don't absorb seasonings easily, so you'll need to salt the water liberally so that the water the potatoes do drink up also carries in seasoning. And because potatoes are so timid in flavor, they need that salt to bring them out of their shells. Pour some salt in, then keep going.
Some people may prefer to peel the potatoes before boiling, but we would recommend you leave the skins on. This ensures that the nutrients and flavours are not lost during cooking and you get all those lovely vitamins too.
In general small or cubed potatoes will take about 10 to 15 minutes to boil, while larger, whole potatoes will take between 20 to 25 minutes. To check potatoes for doneness, insert a knife into one.
For most potato dishes it's important to add the potatoes to cold water and allow the water to come to a boil with the potatoes in the water. The potato starch can react as soon as it comes in contact with hot water, which will promote uneven cooking and mealy potatoes.
Raw potatoes typically have a bitter taste and starchy texture that's unappealing to many. For this reason, most people prefer baking, frying, grilling or roasting their potatoes before eating them. This leads to several notable differences in taste, texture and color.
A perhaps less famous truth is that the hilarious potato scene in Pride and Prejudice (2005), when Tom Hollander's Mr Collins awkwardly praises the Bennets for their 'excellent boiled potatoes', was not actually originally in the novel.
Salt: Season the water to season the potatoes. As the potatoes cook, they absorb a small amount of the salt from the water. Once cooking is completed, it's hard to season the potatoes themselves, so don't skip this step.
When boiling potatoes, it is best to leave the skin on while cooking--the potato will retain more nutrients and flavor. Skins can be removed as soon as the potato is cool enough to hold. Potatoes should be scrubbed before boiling, rather than soaked. Soaking potatoes in water can sap nutrients and flavor.
Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Do not cover. (Covering changes the environment in the pot and can make the potatoes turn mushy.)
Adding salt to the water before boiling potatoes can improve the flavor of the potatoes by allowing them to absorb some of the salt. However, adding salt to the water can also slightly increase the boiling point of the water, which may cause the potatoes to take slightly longer to cook.
Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape. Vinegar increases the acid pH levels of water which further helps the potato just like when you add a little salt to the water while boiling eggs.
Here's the golden rule of potato boiling: Instead of dropping them into a pot of already boiling water, cover the potatoes in cold water, then bring to a boil.
If you overcook them they disintegrate and your potatoes will be soupy. The specific cooking time depends on the size of your potato: a perfectly cooked piece of potato should give no resistance when cut with a knife, but shouldn't crumble into a million pieces.
Waxy potatoes are any type of potato with thin, shiny skin and a creamy flesh. Because they're low in starch, they hold their shape when boiled. Waxy potatoes are varieties like yellow, red, Yukon gold, new, and fingerling potatoes.
Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.
How to Boil Potatoes for Potato Salad. Waxy potatoes can be cooked whole or cut, with or without the skin. Starchy potatoes should be cooked whole with the skin on, then peeled and cut after they're cooked. Select medium Russet potatoes, not large ones, to ensure the skin doesn't split while cooking.
But here's the thing: Starchy potatoes soak up water more easily. So you should think of the potato's peel as its protective jacket. If it's removed before boiling, the flesh will soak up too much of the water in the pot. When you go to mash the potatoes, you'll end up with a watery, gluey mash.
Double cooking involves cooking potatoes first, then cooling them, and then cooking them again. This process increases the amount of resistant starch in the potatoes, making them easier to digest and improving their nutritional value.
If you are on a weight loss diet, you can still eat potato everyday, provided you do not overeat, follow portion control, maintain calorie deficit and do not cook your potatoes in a way that makes them high in calories – such as fried or topped with cheese.
In addition to Zanger's theory that the raw potatoes staved off hunger, it seems even more logical that by boiling the potatoes for half the time, they were also using half the fuel for their fires. It seems the Irish developed a taste for the half-raw potatoes, and brought the tradition with them to America.
Immature potatoes may be sold fresh from the field as "creamer" or " new" potatoes and are particularly valued for their taste. They are typically small in size and tender, with a loose skin, and flesh containing a lower level of starch than other potatoes.
Yes, Potato is the king of vegetables. Potato can be eaten in any form or any shape, it tastes great. You can cut it into small pieces and make a subzi from it. You can slice it thin and get delicious potato bites.
Region-Specific Differences. Overall, the nations of Eastern Europe lead the world when it comes to average per capita potato consumption. Belarus is right at the top of the list with each Belarusian consuming around 170 kg of potatoes each year.
1> Herbs and spices: Add herbs like rosemary, thyme, or parsley, and spices like paprika, garlic powder, or cumin to the boiling water for extra flavor. You can also sprinkle these on the potatoes after boiling. 2> Butter or olive oil: Toss the boiled potatoes with melted butter or olive oil for richness and flavor.
Try reheating the potatoes in a pan, tossing quickly with a little warm liquid and then adding the spices, cheeses, etc.just before serving. Vary the cheeses to get a sharper, more intense flavor.
Spread potato wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil. Mix onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder, and garlic salt in a small bowl; sprinkle over potatoes and toss to coat evenly. Bake in preheated oven until potatoes are tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
Much like pasta, potatoes are starchy and pretty bland on their own, but absorb seasonings very effectively. In both cases, salting your water before you throw in the main ingredient is an important step for imparting flavor and building a dish that's delicious throughout every bite.
Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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