You can cook an incredible number of dishes from potatoes. It can be all kinds of salads, casseroles, potato cutlets, potato pancakes, stews and just traditional mashed potatoes or fried potatoes. But for starters, it is important to be able to just cook potatoes correctly, especially since this can be done in different ways: cook it peeled or in their uniforms, in the microwave or on the stove. As with all recipes, here too there are subtleties and nuances that you need to know.
How to cook potatoes properly?
If you want to boil potatoes in order to make mashed potatoes from them, or just eat boiled potatoes, then follow the following instructions.
First of all, you need to select suitable tubers, it is best if they are almost the same size. This will ensure that all the potatoes in the pot cook at the same time. Otherwise, small potatoes may boil, and large ones will remain hard. To speed up the cooking process of large potatoes, they can be cut in half. The next step is to peel the potatoes and wash them. After that, the tubers need to be placed in a saucepan and poured with water so that it completely covers all the potatoes, and salt. Now close the pan with a lid, put on the stove and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, you need to reduce the heat by half and detect approximately 20 minutes. As a rule, during this time the potatoes have time to cook. But in order to be sure of this completely, you need to check the readiness. Pierce the largest potato with a fork. If the fork goes in easily, then the potatoes are ready, it's time to drain the water and put them on a dish. The product is ready to use! You can put butter in the finished hot potato, lightly salt it and sprinkle with herbs. It is best to serve potatoes with meat or fish dishes.
How to cook potatoes in their skins?
Jacket-boiled potatoes are considered more useful, because the peel perfectly retains nutrients and prevents them from being boiled. Moreover, such potatoes retain their aroma and taste better and remain more elastic.
Let's move on to cooking. You need to choose the same size potatoes, rinse them well, put them in a saucepan and completely cover with water. At the next stage, it is important to salt it at the rate of 1/2 - 1 tsp. salt for 2 - 3 liters of water. The salt will keep the potatoes from cracking. Next, cover the pan with a lid, put on maximum heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, reduce the temperature to a minimum and cook for 20 - 30 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the variety of potatoes and the size of the tubers. After 20 minutes, start checking the potatoes for readiness. As soon as it is cooked, it must be removed from the stove and drained of water.
How to cook potatoes for salad?
When you boil potatoes for salad, the most important thing is not to overcook them. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to cut it, the pieces will stick to the knife, fall apart and deform. And we run the risk of seeing mashed potatoes in a salad instead of potato cubes. To prevent this from happening, follow our advice.
It is best to cook potatoes in their skins. As mentioned above, the skin keeps the potato firm and easier to cut. In addition, the water in which the potatoes are boiled must be salted so that the potatoes do not fall apart. Before heat treatment, it is recommended to pierce the tubers with a fork in several places. Cooking time will vary from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the variety of potatoes. For salads, it is advised to choose varieties with a low starch content. As a rule, this is exactly the potato brought from Israel. After the potatoes are cooked, drain the water from it and pour cold water over it. Thanks to this technique, the potatoes will be easier to peel. And one more important rule: do not leave potatoes in liquid. From this, it can acquire an unpleasant odor and become sour.
How to cook potatoes in the microwave?
There are several ways. The following three seemed the most interesting to us. Let's dwell on them in more detail.
Method number 1. We choose medium-sized potatoes, wash them thoroughly and put them in a deep plate. Now you need to pour water. Please note that there should be very little water, only 2 - 3 mm at the bottom. Then put the plate in the microwave, cover with a lid, set the maximum power and time 8 - 12 minutes. After 8 minutes, it's time to check the potatoes for readiness. If it remains firm, then you need to add a few minutes.
Method number 2. Wash and put some potatoes on a plate. Make cuts on the skin in several places. Water does not need to be added. Just put a plate of potatoes in the microwave for 5 to 7 minutes at maximum power. After this time, you need to check the readiness of the potatoes. If it is not ready, then you just need to add a few minutes
Method number 3. You will need potatoes, salt and an ordinary plastic bag or a baking bag. So, we clean the tubers, wash them, cut them in half and put them in a bag. Now you need to salt the potatoes and shake the bag so that the salt is evenly distributed. Next, tie the package. Someone advises to make a small hole in it for steam to escape, while someone, on the contrary, says that the steam remains inside, so there is no need to make holes. Choose for yourself which point of view you will adhere to. Now place the bag in the microwave for 15-20 minutes at maximum power. After that, carefully remove the bag and cut it open. Be careful, hot steam will come out of the bag.
The dish is ready to eat! Enjoy your meal!
Here are so many ways to cook potatoes we could offer you. We hope you were able to find the answer to the question: how to boil potatoes. Good luck with your culinary endeavors!
Almost every day we have to cook various potato dishes. It can be both simple dishes and complex ones. You can cook hundreds of different dishes from potatoes: cook soup, make casseroles, pancakes, appetizers and even salads.
How to boil potatoes
Note to novice housewives:
- Choose medium sized tubers.
- Potatoes must be undamaged.
- Next, you need to wash the tubers, peel.
- If you have large tubers, then after you have peeled the potatoes, you need to cut them into several pieces.
Tip for housewives: small and medium-sized potatoes will cook faster. But if you cut a potato into several parts, then during cooking this vegetable will lose most of its nutrients.
How to boil potatoes properly:
- prepared potatoes must be put in a saucepan, pour cold water. The water should just cover the potatoes;
- put the saucepan on the stove, cover with a lid. Turn on medium fire;
- wait for the water to boil, reduce the fire and cook until tender. Salting potatoes is necessary only after boiling.
How to cook new potatoes
Every housewife knows a very simple recipe for cooking young potatoes. Very tasty and healthy young potatoes with butter, seasoned with fresh herbs.
How to weld:
- young potatoes are not peeled with a knife, but a thin peel is scraped off;
- after such preparation, the potatoes must be thoroughly washed;
- then put in a saucepan with already boiling water. After 5 minutes, you can salt the dish and wait for readiness. Boil potatoes over medium heat;
- many housewives do it differently: they put the peeled new potatoes in cold water and boil them as usual. With this method of cooking, the dish turns out to be no less tasty, only the potatoes will be watery;
- cooking time for young potatoes - about 20 minutes, until tender. Potatoes should not be boiled!
- how to check the readiness of potatoes: with a toothpick. If it enters the tubers smoothly, then you can remove the saucepan from the stove. You should not check the readiness of potatoes with a knife, as it can be divided into several parts;
- after such a check, the water must be drained, put a piece of butter and chopped fresh dill in a saucepan. Close the lid to shake the pot of potatoes a few times. Oil and greens should be evenly distributed;
- after 10 minutes of "rest" under a closed lid, the dish can be served at the table.
How to boil potatoes in their skins
Jacket-boiled potatoes are used to make cold appetizers. It is important to know how to properly cook this vegetable.
Hostess tips:
- small tubers can boil quickly, and large ones do not always fit in a pan;
- potatoes of different sizes should not be boiled together, as small potatoes will cook quickly, and large ones will still be tough;
- choose medium-sized potatoes, without damage.
How to cook:
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly, put in a saucepan, pour water from the tap.
- You can add some salt right away. It will protect the delicate skin from cracking and improve the taste of the potato.
- To avoid cracking the peel, you need to: cook the tubers until the water boils, then reduce the heat of the stove. Boiling time for medium-sized tubers is within 25 minutes.
- You can also preserve the integrity of the peel in this way: before cooking, chop the potatoes in several places with an ordinary fork. After boiling, drain hot water and pour cold. After a minute, the water must be drained.
- It is undesirable to leave boiled potatoes in water, because they quickly absorb liquid, lose some of the nutrients and become simply tasteless.
How to cook potatoes in the microwave
Preparation is always the same, potatoes need to be sorted out, tubers of the same size selected, washed and peeled.
How to boil potatoes:
- put the potatoes in a deep plate, pour water;
- the plate must be covered with a lid (a special cap for heating dishes);
- set the maximum power;
- it is necessary to cook potatoes in the microwave for 3 minutes;
- it will take a little longer to cook potatoes in their skins - about 7-9 minutes. To make potatoes cook faster, make cuts in the skin with a sharp knife. Boil potatoes without adding water.
Many novice housewives are concerned about how much longer to cook potatoes after boiling, how long potatoes are cooked in different dishes (for example, in soup or mashed potatoes). In addition to the fact that the cooking time of potatoes mainly depends on the quality of the potatoes and their varieties, you can also speed up the cooking process yourself. For example, in order to cook large potatoes faster after boiling, they must be cut into halves or quarters. So it will cook faster.
How long to boil potatoes after they boil
How long do potatoes generally boil? A whole peeled potato will be ready in a quarter of an hour. Jacket potatoes are also boiled for a quarter of an hour. In the soup, the vegetable is boiled for about 20 minutes until cooked, the same applies to young potatoes. To make a vegetable crumbly, there are secrets on how to cook it properly. For crumbly potatoes, half the water is drained 15 minutes after it boils. Next, boil the potatoes until tender on low heat. You can find out if the dish is ready by piercing it with a fork or knife.
Potatoes are cooked in two stages - before the boil and after it boils. When the water begins to boil, the fire must be reduced, the dish continues to cook. The duration of cooking depends on what the dish will be.
Cooking jacket potatoes
The most useful cooking option is jacket potatoes. This is due to the fact that, thanks to the peel of the vegetable, the beneficial substances are not digested during the cooking process. Another indisputable advantage of the dish is the cooking time - only 15 minutes.
By adding a small amount of butter, you can reduce the cooking time by a few more minutes. And the result is a tasty and healthy dish. To make it easy to peel after it is cooked, pour hot potatoes with cold water, after which you should peel them with a knife.
cooking potatoes in soup
When adding vegetables to the soup, cut them into small pieces so they can cook faster. Potatoes in soup are usually ready 10-15 minutes after boiling. If you plan to cook puree soup, the cooking time is increased by at least 10 minutes so that the vegetables boil and absorb water.
When preparing soups, potatoes should be omitted first. After it, the rest of the ingredients are omitted. This component determines the taste characteristics of a hot dish.
Puree cooking
In order to boil soft mashed potatoes, you should not take young vegetables. For mashed potatoes, only mature potatoes are taken, which are stored for a certain time.
Cooking such potatoes lasts about 30 minutes. During this time, the potatoes will be completely boiled, but to speed up the cooking process, you can cut each vegetable into several parts. Cooking takes place on low heat. When cooking over high heat, partial boiling will occur, but only on top, while inside the potatoes can be hard. Medium-sized fruits are cooked until tender after boiling for 15 minutes, after which a small amount of water is drained, and the dish is cooked over low heat.
Very simple! Lower the tubers into a pot of boiling salted water (so that the water covers all the potatoes). You notice the time - and return in 20-25 minutes for ready-made food. The rest of the water in which the potatoes were boiled is usually drained over the edge of the saucepan. At the same time, the lid is left on the saucepan, only slightly moving it.
If you boiled peeled or very young potatoes, then draining the water, you can immediately add butter (butter or vegetable - to choose from) and chopped dill (or even dried) to the saucepan and vigorously shake the contents of the saucepan without removing the lid. Most eaters think it tastes better this way. Well, after boiling, the potatoes in their skins are slightly cooled, peeled and eaten with herring, pickles, lard, etc. Or use in further culinary exercises.
The speed of boiling depends on the size and variety of potatoes. After measuring twenty minutes, it is worth additionally checking the readiness. To do this, the largest specimen is pierced with a fork and evaluate their feelings.
Leaving already cooked potatoes in water is not worth it: it spoils its taste.
Should potatoes be peeled before boiling?
Not necessary. You can also clean boiled, it's easier.
In order to quickly clean the boiled "potatoes in their uniforms" and not burn their hands at the same time, pour boiling water over it and immediately pour it with cold water. You can even remove the skin from it with your hands.
If you boiled young summer potatoes, while thoroughly washing the skin before immersing in water, then it can be eaten with the skin. And to make the skin easier to wash, potatoes can be left for half an hour in water before cooking.
Boiling potatoes "in their skins" is the best choice if you need potatoes as an ingredient in a salad. When cooked in the peel, the tubers are denser, it is more convenient to cut them into even cubes. And the taste of potatoes, peeled after cooking, is more saturated. But potatoes boiled without a peel turn out to be more crumbly, it is easier to make mashed potatoes from it. In addition, it makes sense to peel low-quality potatoes: it is easier to cut green areas with corned beef from it.
If the potatoes are still peeled, then the largest specimens should be cut. Otherwise, they can be digested on the outside, but remain raw on the inside. If you need to speed up the cooking process, cut the potatoes into smaller pieces.
Why is it better to put potatoes in boiling water and salt at the very beginning?
Potatoes are dipped in boiling water so that less starch is washed out of it and more vitamin C is preserved. The decomposition of vitamin C is especially active at temperatures from 40 to 70 ºС, that is, even before the boiling point of water. And in boiling water, potatoes almost do not lose useful substances. Although it is easier to put a saucepan with cold water and potatoes already lying in it on the stove. Then the dish will turn out not so useful, but the taste will not deteriorate too much.
It is better to salt the water immediately, because vegetables lose minerals less in salt water. Although if you salt the potatoes at the end of cooking, they will be softer. In general, the question of salt and make an informed decision.
How to cook potatoes in a microwave oven?
The easiest way is as follows: prick the skin in several places, just put the potatoes on a dish and turn it on at full power. At the same time, it is advisable to cover the tubers with a voluminous lid or a bowl (not metal!) So that steam does not escape. But you can do without a lid, just the pulp will turn out a little drier. 1-2 large potatoes will be cooked in 4-6 minutes, depending on the power of the stove, when cooking a larger portion, the time will have to be increased.
The taste of boiled potatoes can be improved with sauce or melted bacon, mashed potatoes to mash, make potato salad, and fry or bake in the oven with various additions. However, many as a side dish are quite satisfied with boiled potatoes by themselves. The most proven addition to jacket potatoes is salted fish or vegetable pickles.
Boiled potatoes are a traditional dish in many countries. It is difficult to find a person who does not like potatoes - whole boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes. But often each housewife has potatoes that taste different. What does it depend on? Including how much to cook potatoes. Perhaps we were all taught that this root crop should be boiled until it becomes soft - this is checked with a knife. But here many questions arise: for example, potatoes still reach a little more under the influence of their own temperature, and how many minutes to cook potatoes so that they do not boil, if you need each root crop to remain intact. In addition, potatoes are used in different forms: mashed potatoes, whole, in a salad. Let's find out exactly how much to cook potatoes after boiling.
How to boil potatoes?
Before cooking, root crops must be thoroughly washed and inspected, especially if you are going to cook them in their uniforms, that is, together with the peel. Spots of rot or other diseases on even one potato can ruin the whole dish. It is also important that there are no "greens" on the potatoes - this usually happens with vegetables that have been lying for a long time. If the fruit turned green and began to sprout, it means that new processes have already begun inside it, many substances have changed, chlorophyll has accumulated, which can be poisonous for humans. Therefore, such a fruit is not suitable for cooking in its uniform, and all greens, sprouts and other parts that have changed color must be deeply cut. When the potatoes are peeled, they must be washed again with cold water, and only then sent to the pan. You should not save time by collecting warm or hot water for cooking - this can spoil the taste. Cold running water is required for cooking vegetables.
How long does it take to boil potatoes?
The duration of cooking potatoes depends on their size. On average, this is 20 minutes, but if the root crops are large, it will have to be slightly increased. Alternatively, these potatoes can be cut in half if you don't need whole potatoes. If the potato is young, then it is a little softer and will cook earlier - after 15 minutes. The process will go even faster if you add a little vegetable oil to the water - it “envelops” the vegetables and heats up more than water. By the way, about 5 minutes before full readiness, it is better to drain most of the water from the pan, close the potatoes with a lid and put on a very small fire - then it will steam and not fall apart.
How long to cook mashed potatoes?
is a boiled potato that is mashed into a smooth mass with a little milk or water. In this case, the root crop should be soft, so you need to cook it more - 25 minutes, or even all 30. You should not cook too long either: all the starch will go into the water, and the puree will become faded in taste. By the way, it is better to pour less water into potatoes, and then use at least part of it to make mashed potatoes, so we save more useful substances.
How long to boil potatoes for salad?
For cooking, usually in uniform - so we save not only a richer taste, but useful substances. To 
the boiled skin was better removed, the potatoes should be doused with cold water as soon as it is removed from the heat: the skin will peel off from the temperature difference. For a salad, it is better to cook potatoes for 4-5 minutes less than usual, that is, 10-12 minutes for a young vegetable and 15-17 for an old one. The skin retains heat well, and the potatoes will still reach, while remaining dense enough so that they do not turn into small crumbs in the salad. Usually potatoes for salad are boiled without salt, but if you intend to make a spicy dish, then, on the contrary, you can pour even a little more salt than required: then the jacket potato will resemble a potato baked on a fire.
