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.
In a large pot, add potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, and cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook uncovered until potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced by a knife, about 10 to 15 minutes (20 to 25 minutes for larger potatoes).
The most important part here is that you use cold water instead of boiled – if you boil the water first, the outside will cook faster than the inside resulting in an uneven texture. Cubed spuds will take around 15 minutes where larger chunks or whole new potatoes will be 20-25 minutes.
Once the water is boiling, parboil the potatoes for 5 minutes (or until you can stick a fork into a cube but it's not fully cooked) and put the tray with the oil in the oven for 5 minutes. Dry your potatoes and carefully toss them on the hot tray with the herbs and the garlic granules. The potatoes will sizzle a bit.
Bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with a lid and let simmer until fork-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes for small and/or cubed potatoes or 20 to 25 minutes for large potatoes. Drain and cool.
The presence of acid in boiling water can retain structure-providing carbs in potatoes, so they don't break down and soften as easily as they would in a pot of boiling water sans vinegar.
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.
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.
Start cooking the potatoes in cold water: This ensures that the potatoes cook evenly. Otherwise, if you start with hot or boiling water, the outsides of the potatoes cook and soften while the middles are still hard and crunchy.
I love it when cooking involves a bit of a science experiment. In this case, research suggested adding baking soda to the pot when parboiling potatoes; having water of higher alkalinity than usual helps the outside edges of the potatoes break down more, opening up the possibility of a crisper outside texture.
It is a memorable quote said by Mr. Collins, reading, “What a superbly featured room and what excellent boiled potatoes! Many years since I've had such an exemplary vegetable. To which of my fair cousins should I compliment the excellence of the cooking?”
Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel.
It's very important to wash potatoes before cooking with them because they're root vegetables. Since they grow underground, potatoes likely carry residual soil, bacteria, and pesticides when you buy them.
Cooking them whole, with the skin on is the best way to prevent over-cooking. As soon as the potatoes are fork-tender, remove them from the boiling water immediately. When they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.
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 a wooden spoon across the top of the pot. Wood is more heat-resistant than metal, so it stays cooler to burst hot bubbles that reach it. Add a dash of butter or oil to water with starchy foods such as potatoes or pasta. The oil remains at the top and breaks the surface tension, helping pop bubbles.
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.
Introduction: My name is Trent Wehner, I am a talented, brainy, zealous, light, funny, gleaming, attractive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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