Potatoes are a favorite product in the kitchen. You can come up with many dishes using it: from boiled potatoes to mashed potatoes or casseroles! It can be cooked not only using a saucepan, but also a double boiler or pressure cooker. But novice cooks sometimes don't know how to cook potatoes. We'll tell you a quick, easy way to cook boiled potatoes.
How to select and prepare potatoes for boiling
To choose the right products, you need to understand what dish you will prepare. For purees, varieties with a high percentage of starch are suitable. They boil better; some of them have skins that burst during cooking; they cannot be used for cooking jacket potatoes. The following varieties are perfect for boiling or pureeing: blue-eye, blueberry or lorch. They should be cooked for 20-25 minutes.
If you are preparing soup or salad for lunch or dinner, for example, Olivier, then the vegetable should not be boiled, for this the percentage of starch should be 15 percent or less. These varieties include “Leader”, “Red Scarlett” or “Nevsky” potatoes. To avoid the food being cooked unevenly, you should choose tubers of equal size. If small potatoes are boiled together with large ones, then the latter must be cut into pieces.
In order to make puree, vegetables need to be peeled, and for jacket potatoes, simply rub with a brush to remove dirt or scrape off debris with a knife. After such simple preparation, you can put them in water and cook. Advice for those who do not know how to peel vegetables with a knife: there is a special vegetable cutter, thanks to its help, the process of preparing food is accelerated and simplified many times.
How to cook delicious potatoes
To understand how to cook potatoes, you need to remember when to salt the potatoes during cooking and how much salt to add. It is always salted before putting it on the fire. For half a kilo of the finished dish you need a teaspoon of salt. Be sure to completely fill the food with water and close the dish with a lid, since it is impossible to boil potatoes without liquid - they simply will not cook completely.
In a saucepan
Having placed the potatoes (amount of 4-5 pieces), they should be filled with cold water. For faster cooking, they can be cut into slices or pieces. Then add salt, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Then you need to reduce the heat and cook for another 15-20 minutes until done. To check whether a dish should be cooked longer, you can pierce the vegetables with a fork or knife: pierce it easily and softly to the middle - the dish is ready. Here's how to boil potatoes.
In the microwave
As a rule, microwave ovens are trusted only to heat up dishes, without thinking about how to cook potatoes in the microwave, although cooking them there is easier and faster, and a wide range of different dishes will please any housewife. Let's talk about one interesting way to prepare a vegetable that is familiar to everyone - potatoes in a bag. A big plus is that you don’t need to use any additional utensils when preparing the dish. Recipe:
- Wash, peel, cut the vegetables into equal pieces.
- Take a bag (there should be no drawings or patterns on it), put vegetables in it. Salt, add spices, add sunflower oil. You can add pieces of bacon - it will add aroma and taste.
- Tie the bag and mix thoroughly.
- Make 2-3 holes to allow air to escape, and let cook for 5-8 minutes. Turn on maximum power.
- After cooking, carefully cut the bag, do not get burned by the hot air! Place the dish on a plate. It can be decorated with greenery.
In a slow cooker
The method of cooking potatoes in a slow cooker is not much different from cooking on the stove. Peel, cut, salt and add water. Turn on the “Soup” mode and cook for 40 minutes. If there are too many tubers, the bowl of the device is filled to the brim, then you can add 10-15 minutes to the standard mode. To improve the taste, you can add spices to taste. If you cook potatoes using an iron container, then you can beat them with a blender and make a puree.
How long to cook potatoes after boiling
Cooking potatoes is divided into two periods: before boiling and after. As soon as the water begins to boil, it is necessary at this moment to reduce the heat and continue cooking the dish. The cooking time depends on the type of dish. Cooking time is the biggest secret on how to cook potatoes correctly. Cooking tip: Follow the recipes, but remember to check with a fork for doneness.
Jacket potatoes
The healthiest cooking method is jacket potatoes, because the skin prevents the beneficial substances from boiling out of the dish itself. The big advantage is that it takes only 15-20 minutes to prepare. If you add a little butter, the cooking time will be reduced. And the result is great. To make it easier to peel the potatoes after boiling, you need to put them in and fill them with cold water, and then peel them with a knife.
In the soup
When we add vegetables when preparing soup, we cut them into small cubes, so they cook faster: the potatoes cook in 10-15 minutes. But if we plan to prepare a puree soup, then the cooking time increases, because we need to let the vegetables boil and absorb more moisture. When preparing soup, it is best to add potatoes one of the first, so by the degree of readiness of this vegetable you can judge the taste and result of the entire dish.
On puree
To prepare soft, tender puree, you need to take not young, but mature potatoes. Preparing it will take more time - about half an hour, but the result will not disappoint anyone. During this period, the vegetables will be boiled as much as possible, making them much easier to mash. Add milk, butter, mix everything thoroughly - and you can delight yourself and your loved ones with delicious puree.
Video recipe: how to cook new potatoes with dill
Cooking boiled potatoes is the first step towards creating many different and delicious dishes. This root vegetable is used as the basis for soups, side dishes, salads and even some drinks. Still don't know how to cook potatoes correctly? Start by choosing the type of root vegetable for your dish.
Potatoes: all the subtleties of cooking
Before boiling potatoes in a saucepan, you should first acquire this very root vegetable. To do this, we go to the nearest vegetable market, supermarket or regular store, where potatoes are available all year round, and choose good tubers there that are the same in size and color. Please note that a good root vegetable must be firm, without green stains and a cloying putrid smell.
In addition, not every potato is suitable for mashing, for example, because the starch content varies depending on the variety:
- Highly starchy potatoes have a light mealy texture. It will be an ideal base for pureed soup and crushed side dish.
- Root vegetables with a medium starch content, such as Finnish yellow or Yukon gold, contain the most moisture and do not cook well. Therefore, they are best used when preparing dishes in pots, as well as for soup.
- Low-starch potatoes retain their original shape better than others even after prolonged cooking. Due to this, such root vegetables are often served whole as a side dish or used as a component in a salad.
So, the “correct” and good tubers have been selected, what next? How to cook potatoes in a saucepan? There are several possible answers to this question: without the peel and “in its uniform.” Which cooking method to choose is up to you, but we will describe both options.
Cook potatoes according to the rules
At the first stages of mastering the culinary art of preparing most dishes, you need to know how to cook potatoes in a saucepan without peeling. This is the easiest and fastest way to prepare root vegetables. In addition, when boiling potatoes, all the beneficial substances are preserved, and the product itself is low in calories. Shall we get started?
Compound:
- large potato tubers - 3-4 pcs.;
- table salt - 1 tsp.
Preparation:
- We prepare the potatoes for cooking: wash them, dry them, remove the skins and eyes. If desired, especially large tubers can be cut into halves or even quarters.
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan and fill with cold water so that the liquid covers the contents by 3-4 centimeters.
- Add salt to the water, stir and place the pan over high heat to boil.
- After the potatoes boil, reduce the power of the burner to a minimum and continue cooking. There is no need to cover the container with a lid if you ultimately want to get whole root vegetables.
- The cooking time for potatoes will depend on the size of the tuber. Large root vegetables take longer to cook, while potatoes cut into pieces will boil in about 10 minutes.
- In principle, you can start checking readiness 5 minutes after the water boils by carefully piercing the potatoes with a knife or fork. If the knife goes in easily, it means the potatoes are fully cooked.
- When ready, transfer the boiled potatoes to a colander and drain the liquid into the sink. If you plan to use cold potatoes for the recipe, you can cool the root vegetables under running water.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in preparing such a dish. The only thing you need to consider: if you are boiling potatoes for mashed potatoes, you need to cover the pan with a lid. In addition, potato broth itself can be an excellent alternative to boiled milk when preparing “massage”. And if you add a sprig of dill, parsley and a bay leaf to the broth, the potatoes will acquire a completely unprecedented taste and aroma.
Soldier's version - jacket potatoes
Let's look at how to cook delicious potatoes in a pan with skins. People have long been accustomed to calling this method of preparing boiled potatoes “in their uniforms.” This is due to the fact that for this method of cooking, all root vegetables must be the same, like a company of soldiers. If you choose tubers of different sizes, the large ones will remain undercooked, while the small ones will turn into mush.
The cooking principle itself consists of several simple steps:
- We take the potatoes, wash them thoroughly under running water, you can even use a special soft brush.
- Place the tubers on the bottom of a non-enamel pan and fill with cold water.
- At the next stage, add salt to the water; it will allow the skin to maintain its integrity and not crack during cooking.
- Place the pan on high heat and let the liquid boil, then reduce the power of the stove to a minimum.
- In this mode, cook the potatoes for about 25 minutes. Then drain the liquid and wash the tubers in cold water.
- After the potatoes have cooled completely, remove the skins and use the boiled tubers for their intended purpose.
Since ancient times, many varied and tasty dishes have been prepared from potatoes: casseroles, stews, salads, fried, stewed, boiled, etc. And any housewife needs to know how to properly cook this vegetable, because in this way you can prepare many dishes. Like any other, potato dishes require their own subtleties and nuances, only then will they turn out incredibly tasty and healthy.
How to cook potatoes in a saucepan correctly?
If you want to make mashed potatoes or just boiled potatoes, the following recommendations may be useful.
Select tubers of the same size, which will allow all potatoes to cook at the same time. If they are of different sizes, then small potatoes will boil, and large ones will remain damp. If you can’t find identical tubers, then simply cut the large ones into several parts.
Next, you should wash the vegetables and start peeling them. So, potatoes in a pan. It must be filled with water until completely covered and add salt to taste. With the lid closed, bring the potatoes to a boil and then reduce the heat. Time it for 20-25 minutes. If the tubers are cooked longer than this time, there is a risk that they will boil and turn into a watery puree. Therefore, after 20 minutes, you need to check the readiness of the potatoes with a fork. When the fork can easily enter the largest tuber, the pan can be removed from the stove.
Once the potatoes are done, drain the water immediately. If it is mashed potatoes, then start preparing it according to the recipe, if you just want boiled potatoes, then put them on a dish, pour melted butter on them, sprinkle with herbs and you can start eating.
Selection of new potatoes
If you know how to cook new potatoes, then consider that you have a truly royal recipe. So, before you start cooking new potatoes, you need to choose them correctly.
The best option, of course, would be tubers grown in your summer cottage or garden. But not everyone has such a great opportunity, so we’ll go to the market.
It is preferable to buy young potatoes at the market, since there you can buy a real homemade product.
Choose medium-sized young tubers, since you will need to cook the potatoes whole in the pan. Be sure to inspect the potatoes for green spots. If they are present, this indicates that the growing tubers were poorly covered with soil and unsuitable for eating.
The process of preparing new potatoes
Let's describe in detail how to cook new potatoes. First of all, you need to remove the skin from the tubers. There is no need to cut it with a knife, just scrape it lightly. After all the tubers are cleaned, they need to be washed, placed in a pan and filled with water. At this stage, there may be two options: pour cold water or boiling water over the potatoes. Many cooks believe that while the water in the pan heats up, the vegetable will absorb excess liquid and become tasteless.
You need to add a little salt to the water where the new potatoes will be boiled. Place the pan on the fire for about 25 minutes. To prevent the product from overcooking, you can carefully check its readiness using a toothpick. You should not do this with a knife, as this will only spoil the appearance and taste of the new potatoes.
So, the potatoes are ready. Drain the water, add green onions, parsley, dill and butter to the tubers. Mix everything carefully, close the lid and wrap the pan with a warm scarf. Leave the container for a quarter of an hour. This will allow the young potatoes to brew and also absorb the aroma of herbs and oil.
Secrets of young potatoes
You've learned how to cook new potatoes, but there are little secrets that will make this simple dish simply great.
If you serve lightly salted cucumbers or lightly salted red fish with potatoes, then consider that you have created a masterpiece.
If, after boiling, young potatoes are fried on all sides in vegetable oil, they will acquire a golden color and an amazing crust.
If you haven’t had time to cook anything else (except potatoes), then sour cream and garlic will help you out. Just prepare a sauce from them, and the taste of the dish will be unforgettable.
Potatoes in skin
Potatoes boiled in their skins, or as they say differently - in their skins, are considered very healthy, since thanks to the skin, vitamins remain in the tubers and are not digested. In addition, unpeeled boiled potatoes have a special aroma and elasticity. Let's find out how to cook potatoes in their skins correctly.
Select potatoes of the same size, wash them with a brush, put them in a saucepan and fill them with water. Potatoes must be salted. If the volume of the container in which it is cooked is 2-3 liters, then you will need 1 teaspoon of salt. Salt will not only give the potatoes a better taste, but will also prevent them from cracking. Next, bring the potatoes to a boil over maximum heat and immediately reduce the heat. Cook vegetables for 25-30 minutes. Once the tubers are ready, remove the pan from the heat and drain the water.
Cooking potatoes for salad
Many young housewives are wondering how to cook potatoes for salad so that they remain strong. If the potatoes turn out to be soft and crumbly, then they cannot be cut into even and uniform cubes, which is completely unacceptable for a properly prepared salad. Boiled tubers are only suitable for making puree.
So, to cook potatoes for salad, you need to boil them in their skins. And exclusively in its entirety! We already know how to cook potatoes in a saucepan and that the peel helps preserve the elasticity of the tubers, so we will focus on which vegetables to choose for the salad so that they are cooked at their best.
Potatoes will not crack during cooking if the selected tubers are pierced with a fork on all sides and the water in the pan is salted. Boiling time will depend on the type of potato. If you need a product specifically for salad, then buy potatoes that have a low starch content.
Immediately after cooking, pour cold water over the tubers, which will make it easy to peel them. And, of course, an important rule: you cannot leave boiled potatoes in water. As a result, it acquires an unpleasant odor, a bad taste, and will fall apart when cut.
Potatoes, boiled in pieces
If you need to cook something very quickly, then we will tell you how to boil potatoes in pieces. First, determine how you will cut the vegetables: large slices, cubes, quarters or halves. Remember that the smaller the pieces, the faster they will cook. Once the potatoes are cooked, be sure to drain the water. Meat, fish or fresh vegetables are ideal for this dish as a side dish.
Can you cook potatoes in the microwave?
Many people know how to cook potatoes in a saucepan, but not everyone knows that they can be cooked quickly and tasty in the microwave. And this can be done in different ways, which we will now consider.
1. Select medium-sized potato tubers, wash them well and place them in a deep microwave-safe bowl. Add water, but only a little, about 3 mm, cover the dish with a lid, and place in the microwave oven. Make the power maximum and set the time to 10-12 minutes. After 10 minutes, you can check the stage of readiness of the potatoes, and if the vegetables are hard, then just add a few more minutes.
2. Wash the potatoes, make small cuts in each tuber and place them on a plate. In this case, water will not be needed. Place the plate in the microwave, set the maximum power and time for 6-7 minutes. Then check the potatoes for doneness and add a few more minutes if they are not done.
3. Take a baking bag, potatoes and salt. Wash the vegetables, remove the peel and cut the potatoes into pieces. Add salt and fill the bag with them. Place it in the microwave oven, set the time to 15-20 minutes and maximum power. After the cooking signal, take out the bag and, being careful not to get burned by the steam, cut it and place the potatoes on a dish.
Bon appetit!
Dishes based on new potatoes allow you to diversify your summer diet. Tubers boiled in salted water can be served peeled and peeled, whole or cut into pieces. Young potatoes are added to light soups, salads, vegetable stews, and okroshka. It, in combination with dill, green peas and vegetable oil, can be an independent dish. How to cook young potatoes so that they do not lose nutrients? How long does it take to properly cook an early vegetable?
Cooking features
How long it takes to cook potatoes depends on their variety. For salads and soups, use vegetables with a low starch content. These potatoes hold their shape well during cooking. Starchy varieties boil well, so they are suitable for purees. In young tubers, the starch content is always low, which means it is undesirable to “push” them.
How long does it take to cook potatoes of different varieties? Sineglazki tubers have a relatively thin skin, so they are not cooked in their uniforms. Ripe potatoes of this variety are used for mashed potatoes. Young tubers, peeled and cut, are added to soups 20 minutes before the dish is ready. Leader potatoes, whether in soup or whole, are processed for a quarter of an hour. The Red Scarlett variety is considered slow-cooking. In its uniform it cooks for 25 minutes, in a crushed state - about 15.
Regardless of the variety, potatoes with a dense top layer will be less boiled. You can find out how thick the skin has become by scraping the surface of the tuber. If the peel is poorly peeled, the loss of valuable substances during the cooking process will be minimal.
Before cooking, potatoes must be sorted by size. It is correct to cook tubers of the same size together, otherwise some of the vegetables risk either being overcooked or remaining raw. If you take potatoes of different sizes, the small ones are cooked whole, and the large ones are cut into pieces.
Boiling whole potatoes without skins and in their skins
Very young, easy to peel potatoes are most often prepared without peeling. First, the tubers are thoroughly washed. If the potatoes are heavily soiled, pre-soak them for 10 minutes and then change the water several times. Next, the peel is not cut off, but scraped with a knife or scraper. The peeled potatoes are washed again.
Cooking method.
- The peeled tubers are placed in a pan and filled with water so that the liquid covers them with a small margin (2-3 cm).
- Potatoes are salted at the rate of a teaspoon of salt per 500 g of vegetables. The pan is placed on high heat.
- After boiling, open the lid slightly. Cook the potatoes over low heat for the next 20–25 minutes.
- At the end the water is drained. Add vegetable oil and chopped herbs to the still hot potatoes. Everything is mixed.
If desired, boiled young potatoes can be served with soy or mushroom sauce, with a salad of early cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and green onions.
Jacket potatoes are cooked in the same way, only the skins are peeled not at the beginning of the process, but at the end, when the tubers are cooked and cooled. The degree of readiness of vegetables can also be determined experimentally: boiled potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, knife or toothpick. In a pressure cooker, the dish is prepared faster than on the stove - a third of an hour. In a slow cooker, boil potatoes in their jackets for half an hour, in a double boiler - 35 minutes. The tubers will definitely not crumble during cooking if you pierce them with a fork in several places at the very beginning. It is advisable to rinse the already prepared hot potatoes with cold water. Thanks to this trick, the tubers are easier to peel.
How long do tubers cook in soups?
New potatoes are a suitable ingredient for light vegetable soups. To prevent the tubers from darkening, they are cleaned immediately before adding to the broth. If for some reason there is a 10-15 minute delay, the peeled potatoes can be thoroughly rubbed with salt and left to sit for a while. Later the tubers are finely chopped. The pieces are thrown in after the water boils. How much time is needed for cooking, we will consider further.
To make the light soup rich in flavor, vegetable broth is prepared from various roots (parsley,). A whole head of onion is also placed there. After half an hour, the broth is filtered and brought to a boil again, after which the potatoes are added. It cooks for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on how finely the tubers were cut). At the same stage, other vegetables are added to the soup: carrots, cauliflower, young peas.
When is soup salted? Salt, spices and finely chopped herbs should be added at the end of cooking. To reduce the cooking time for potatoes, immediately after adding them, you can pour two tablespoons of vegetable oil into the vegetable broth. The cooking process will be accelerated due to the oily film formed on the surface of the soup.
Thanks to the advent of steamers, multicookers, microwaves, deep fryers and other devices, potatoes can be cooked easily, tasty and quickly in different ways. Let's take a step-by-step look at the process of preparing potatoes in different ways. One of the most popular and universal cooking methods is boiled potatoes.
How long does it take to cook potatoes?
Whole, peeled potatoes are boiled for 20-25 minutes.Jacket potatoes are cooked for 25 minutes.
Young potatoes in their jackets will cook in 20 minutes.
Finely chopped potatoes in the soup are cooked for 12-15 minutes.
You can cook potatoes in the microwave in 10-12 minutes.
Potatoes in a double boiler (whole and in their jackets) are cooked for 20-25 minutes.
The cooking time for potatoes depends on their size: the larger the tubers, the longer they cook.
The larger the number of tubers that are cooked, the slower the water boils, therefore, the time for complete cooking increases.
How to cook potatoes
So, where do you start cooking potatoes? Potatoes are a vegetable that is not eaten raw; it requires mandatory heat treatment. I do not mean the exception of using potato juice to treat peptic ulcers.To cook, potatoes must be washed. It is better to do this under running cold water, using a brush or sponge. You need to wash the potatoes especially carefully if you are boiling them with their skins on. After washing, the potatoes must be placed in a colander to drain excess moisture, and then on a towel (paper can be used). It is necessary to wash and peel the potatoes immediately before cooking to prevent the potatoes from darkening.
The worst thing about potatoes, for all their goodness, is that they have to be peeled. For peeling potatoes You can use regular knives with a steel blade, but it is advisable that the blade be equal in length to the knife handle. The knife, of course, must be sharp. You can also peel potatoes using a vegetable peeler or potato peeler. Large catering establishments use electric potato peelers for these purposes. Potatoes can be peeled in a spiral or in vertical strips. This is up to your choice and habit. It is necessary to clean about a 2 mm layer. After cleaning, use the tip of a knife to pick out the eyes. Rinse the potatoes again.
New potatoes are peeled a little differently. It’s better, of course, to simply wash it well with a dish sponge, but not a metal one. It is the peel that contains the most potassium and vitamins; the peel also prevents the release of nutrients into the water during cooking. But not everyone likes “unpeeled” potatoes. The skin of young potatoes needs to be scraped off with a sharp knife, it is better to do this under running water. For many, the “dust” flying from potatoes when peeling causes a sore throat; scraping under running water eliminates this problem. Now hardware stores have special gloves for washing and peeling potatoes. I can also suggest the old “grandfather’s method” of peeling young potatoes. Pour coarse salt into a bag, maybe the cheapest one, put the potatoes in there, rub them in the salt. As a result, we have a quick way to clean young potatoes; all that remains is to rinse the tubers. In addition, new potatoes are easier to peel if you put them first in hot and then in cold water.
How to boil whole, peeled potatoes
Let's consider the universal method of cooking on the stove in a saucepan. I would like to note right away that it is not recommended to store peeled potatoes, at least for up to 2 hours with whole tubers in water and with the lid closed. Potatoes absolutely do not like to be peeled without water or exposed to light; they immediately darken. Cooking time depends on the type of potato, age and water hardness.
The cooking time for the potatoes and their taste also depend on what kind of cookware you choose. Enameled dishes are ideal; choose the sizes yourself, depending on the volume of boiled potatoes. The lid should fit tightly and be opaque. Light promotes the breakdown of vitamins. Enamel prevents oxidation reactions. It is advisable to choose a pan so that there is about 3 cm from the surface of the water to the lid. It is necessary to put the potatoes in boiling water, then they will retain all the useful substances. It is necessary to cook over low heat so that the starch swells evenly. Over high heat, the potatoes boil on the outside and burst, but the inside remains undercooked. Chop very large tubers so that all potatoes are approximately the same size. The water should cover one finger of the potatoes. There are different opinions and theories about when to salt potatoes, but in the end it turns out that this is not important. Still, it’s better to add salt 10 minutes before the end of cooking. The total cooking time for peeled potatoes is about 25 minutes, 20 minutes after boiling, check for doneness with a fork. It is not recommended to open the lid when cooking potatoes.
A few more tips for regular boiling potatoes:
- In order for the potatoes to cook faster, it is recommended to put a piece of butter, about 20 grams, into the water, this will increase the boiling point and the potatoes will cook 5 minutes faster.
- To prevent the potatoes from boiling soggy during cooking, if necessary, pour 1 tbsp. spoon of 6% vinegar per 1 liter of water. You can also pour a little cucumber or cabbage brine. In general, an acidic environment increases the cooking time of potatoes, and the potatoes are almost not boiled in it.
- To prevent the potatoes from boiling when they boil, pour off some hot water and add cold water.
- For crumbly potatoes, on the contrary, you need to drain the water 15 minutes after boiling and cook over low heat with the lid tightly closed.
- You can improve the taste of regular boiled potatoes by adding dill and garlic.
Potatoes in a slow cooker:
1. Take 1 kg of medium-sized potatoes. Wash the potatoes, peel them, cut large tubers into 2-4 parts.
2. Place the potatoes in the multicooker bowl, add salt (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water), add water so that it completely covers the potatoes.
3. Set the “Cooking” mode for 30 minutes.
4. Place the finished potatoes in a colander and drain the water.
5. Use the prepared potatoes for their intended purpose, adding a piece of butter and herbs.
When cooking potatoes in the usual way, they lose a lot of vitamins. Potatoes are much more nutritious when boiled in a double boiler.
Potatoes in a steamer
To boil 1 kg of potatoes in a double boiler you need:
1. Select medium-sized tubers, wash, peel, cut large tubers in half or into 4 parts.
2. Pour water into the steamer up to the mark, place the potatoes on the wire rack.
3. Set the timer for 30 minutes.
4. Place the finished potatoes under running water to wash off the starch.
5. Serve the finished potatoes with any favorite sauce.
6. After use, you must wash the steamer, otherwise the potatoes will dry to the holes and will be difficult to remove.
New potatoes are cooked using exactly the same methods, but the cooking time is an average of 5 minutes less.
For boiling potatoes in the microwave, you need to select small potato tubers or cut large ones in half, wash and peel the potatoes. 
Pour 100 ml of water into a microwave-safe dish, add potatoes, close the lid and cook at full power for 10 minutes. Drain the water from the finished potatoes and add salt when ready. Serve any boiled potatoes with butter and herbs. 
How and how long to boil jacket potatoes
If you need to cook potatoes for a salad or for some kind of jacket dish, then:1. Select medium-sized potato tubers if possible.
2. Wash the potatoes thoroughly.
3. Place it in water so that the water covers the potatoes.
4. Close the lid, do not open it while cooking. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for 20 minutes until tender.
5. Drain the finished potatoes and place them in a saucepan with cold water for 30 seconds; for flavor, you can add a slice of lemon to the water.
6. Take out the potatoes, pull the peel from the middle in different directions. This way the potatoes will peel easily.
The total cooking time depends on many factors: the power of the stove; the metal from which the pan is made and, of course, the volume of water and the weight of the potatoes.
On average, the total cooking time for 1 kg of jacket potatoes is 25 minutes.
You can also boil potatoes in uniform in a double boiler, setting the timer for 30 minutes (25 minutes from the moment the water boils). 
Jacket potatoes in the microwave
Currently, an interesting and worthy way to cook jacket potatoes is the microwave method. Potatoes cooked in the microwave turn out crumbly, are stored longer, and do not become “slimy.” In addition, the cooking time for potatoes in a microwave oven is much less than when cooking on the stove.Take 0.5 kg of medium-sized potatoes, wash them thoroughly with a brush, make several punctures with a toothpick, place the potatoes in a microwave-safe dish, pour 100 ml of water on the bottom, and close with a lid. Place the dish with potatoes in the microwave at maximum power (800 W) for approximately 10-12 minutes. New potatoes cook 2 times faster.
For cooking potatoes in a bag in the microwave take small tubers (5-6 pieces), wash thoroughly with running water. Place the potatoes in a bag, preferably for baking, add a little salt, sprinkle with vegetable oil, add dry herbs and seasonings if desired. Tie the bag tightly and make several punctures to allow steam to escape. 
Microwave at full power (800 W) for about 10 minutes. Remove and carefully open the bag, place the potatoes on a board, and peel the skins. 
To prepare new jacket potatoes Take medium tubers on the stove, wash them thoroughly, add water so that it completely covers the tubers. Add salt: 1 teaspoon per 0.5 kg of potatoes, bring to a boil and cook with the lid on over low heat for 15 minutes. Check the readiness of the potatoes with a fork - it should pierce the finished tuber easily. After this, drain the water. The total cooking time for new jacket potatoes is about 20 minutes. Young potatoes are ideally served with sour cream, butter, and herbs.
How to make mashed potatoes
My favorite recipe since childhood is mashed potatoes.Real mashed potatoes have a delicate, airy consistency, creamy taste and pale yellow color.
For cooking you need to take starchy varieties of potatoes. Young potatoes are not suitable for cooking mashed potatoes due to their immaturity and low starch content; such mashed potatoes will have lumps. Potatoes should be boiled immediately after peeling them. It is better to take small, medium-sized tubers and place the potatoes in salted boiling water to make mashed potatoes. If you put it in cold water, the top may cook and the middle will remain damp. In addition, some of the starch will be released into the water, and the taste of the puree will deteriorate significantly. Pour enough water to just cover the tubers, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook with the lid closed until tender for 20 minutes. The total cooking time is on average 25 minutes.
After cooking, you need to completely drain the water and crush the potatoes with a regular potato masher: wooden or metal (now there are silicone and plastic ones). But do not use a mixer or blender, they will make the puree viscous, sticky and heavy. First, crush dry potatoes without additives
Then add butter, the more, the tastier. Continuing to grind, pour boiled milk or cream in parts.
Fresh milk turns potatoes gray. An egg or white can improve the taste. Those who are fasting can use soy, almond or coconut milk. Mix the puree thoroughly. The puree is not prepared for future use; it should be eaten immediately while hot.
You can improve and diversify the taste of mashed potatoes by adding garlic, herbs, bay leaf, nutmeg, fried onions or bacon. Everything here is up to your taste and imagination!
One of the most popular recipes is the recipe for stewed potatoes.
I offer the simplest version of stewed potatoes.
We will need:
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 1 onion;
- a couple of cloves of garlic;
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- salt, spices;
- greens and water.
In a frying pan, preferably with a Teflon coating or a thick bottom, heat the vegetable oil, add peeled chopped potatoes (in slices, mugs or bars). Fry until golden brown, add diced onions and garlic, add salt and spices. 
Stir and add water to lightly cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender for about 15 minutes with the lid closed. 
Serve the stewed potatoes hot, sprinkled with chopped herbs. 
Baked potatoes in foil
Another way to cook jacket potatoes is to bake them in foil over coals. This is a very common way to cook potatoes at picnics these days.
To do this, take medium-sized potato tubers, wash them thoroughly with a sponge or brush, wrap them in foil and bake in burnt coals for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the tubers. You can cook tastier and more aromatic potatoes. To do this, carefully wash medium-sized tubers, cut them in half, put a piece of salted lard or bacon between the halves, and add herbs, spices, and garlic if desired. 
Wrap the potatoes in foil and place them in the burnt coals. Bake for 20 minutes. Check readiness with a dry, sharp stick. In the same way, you can bake such potatoes in foil in the oven on a baking sheet; to do this, put the potatoes in foil in an oven heated to 200 degrees and bake until done for about 40 minutes. 
Sliced potatoes
Depending on what kind of dish you prepare from chopped potatoes, there are different cutting methods.
1. Straw. Peeled tubers are cut into plates and into strips. The straw can be thin or medium. The cross-sectional thickness is on average 0.2 by 0.2 mm, length 4-5 cm. For such cutting, it is convenient to use a Burner grater or a Korean carrot grater. This cut is suitable for potato pie.
2. Blocks. Tubers, cut into thick plates, are cut into sticks. The sticks are thicker than straws. The thickness is about 1 by 1 cm and the length is 4-5 cm. This cutting method is ideal for making French fries. It is also used for frying, cooking soups and borscht.
3. Cubes. The finished blocks are cut into cubes. The cross-section size varies, from 0.3 to 2 cm. This cut is used for salads, stewing in milk, and preparing potatoes as a side dish.
4. Circles. A beautiful way, but a lot of waste. Carefully peel the potatoes in the shape of a cylinder and then cut them into circles. Thickness is from 0.2 mm to 0.5 cm. These potatoes are fried or baked with vegetables, meat, and fish.
5. Slices. Peeled potatoes are cut into 2 or 4 parts lengthwise, and then crosswise into pieces of a certain size. Sliced for baking, stew.
6. Lobules. Peeled potatoes are cut into 4 or more parts depending on size. This cut is suitable for pickles, stews, deep-frying, and baking.
7. Barrels and cylinders. Not a rational, but beautiful way for stuffing and garnishing. The potatoes are peeled and turned into a cylinder shape.
There are also decorative ways of cutting for baking in the form of pears and garlic. Using special notches, balls are cut out of potatoes, used as a boiled side dish or deep-fried. There are devices for cutting potatoes into spirals and for deep frying.
Potatoes cut in one way or another are placed in the broth, with vegetables, and meat approximately 10-15 minutes before readiness, depending on the cutting method.
How to make potato soup
Of course, one cannot help but remember the everyday use of potatoes in soups and borscht.Almost all housewives prepare potato soup; it is fast, tasty, nutritious and economical. Even a novice housewife can prepare this soup. It can be cooked in any broth: vegetable, chicken, meat, fish, mushroom, etc. You can cook dietary and light, rich and high-calorie soups.
When cooking, you can add almost any spices, seasonings, vegetables, herbs, cream or milk.
I suggest the simplest one potato soup recipe.
The recipe is for 4 servings.
For 1.5 liters of meat broth, take 200 grams of potatoes, 200 grams of any vegetables (celery, onions, carrots, bell peppers, you can take a frozen mixture of vegetables for quickness), 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vegetable oil for frying onions, salt, pepper, herbs to taste.
Place potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes, into the prepared broth.
Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add peeled and diced vegetables, bring to a boil, add diced onions, fried in vegetable oil. Salt and pepper the soup. Cook until tender over medium heat, with the lid closed for 10 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with chopped herbs.
The cooking time for potatoes in the soup from the moment of boiling is 12-15 minutes, depending on the cutting method.
What nuances and subtleties do you need to know when cooking potatoes in borscht? And here again there is no consensus. What to put in first: potatoes or cabbage? And yet, first they put the potatoes, cut into cubes, bring to a boil, and only later fresh or sauerkraut.
The cooking time for potatoes in borscht is 15 minutes, taking into account that the borscht medium is acidic.
Unusual ways to cook potatoes
An unusual new recipe for boiled jacket potatoes.
This recipe was invented by a Russian immunologist; such potatoes are considered the healthiest. The recipe is called "Frate".
Potatoes should be thoroughly washed with a brush under running water and placed in a stainless steel pan. The solution can be stored in it for a long time and used repeatedly. Pour a solution of 350 g of salt and 1 liter of water over the potatoes. Don’t be afraid of salt; you may even have to add more salt when serving. Bring the solution to a boil over high heat; the salt may not even completely dissolve, don’t be alarmed. On the contrary, if all the salt has dissolved, add a couple more spoons. When boiling, there should be excess salt that has not dissolved. 
Cook at an intense boil, cover the lid loosely. When cooking, the potatoes should sizzle, as if deep-fried, as the water boils out of them. It is necessary to stir periodically so that the tubers are under a layer of salt liquid. Such potatoes are ready in 10-15 minutes, since the temperature of the concentrated saline solution is much higher than the boiling point of water.
When cooked for up to 50 minutes, such potatoes do not become soft, the skin does not crack, they become smaller in size and denser. These potatoes (dense) are good for use in salads. The finished potatoes must be immediately caught all out of the solution, rinsed under cold running water, and peeled. 
If you are going to take such potatoes on the road, then on the contrary, do not rinse them. It will dry and be covered with a salt crust, which will prevent the potatoes from spoiling even in the heat. 
Do not throw away the saline solution; it can be used until it becomes dirty. When the solution cools, a precipitate of salt will form. During subsequent cooking, you just need to put the washed potatoes in a cold salt solution, bring to a boil and cook. 
A very tasty way to cook potatoes in milk.
We will need 1 kg of potatoes, 300 ml of milk and 1 teaspoon of salt. Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, put them in a saucepan with cold salted water (the water should cover the potatoes), and bring to a boil. 
Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes, then drain the water, add hot milk, bring to a boil and cook until tender for about 10 minutes. 
The total time for boiling potatoes in milk is 20 minutes.
Serve potatoes with herbs. 
You can also cook potatoes in milk in a slow cooker.
For this you will need 1 kg of potatoes, 1 glass of milk, 50 g. butter, 1 teaspoon salt, spices. Place pieces of butter into the multicooker bowl. Top with sliced potatoes and pour milk. The milk should not completely cover the potatoes. 
Add salt, spices, set to “stew” mode for 40 minutes. When ready, sprinkle with herbs and serve immediately hot. 
Among the original delicious ways to prepare potatoes are: baking potatoes in salt in their skins.
We will need 1 kg of medium potato tubers. 2 tbsp. spoons of salt, 3 tbsp. spoons of flour. Plastic bag. Put salt and flour into the bag and mix. Wash the potatoes thoroughly and put them wet in a bag. Shake well so that the salt and flour evenly coat the potatoes. 
Place the potatoes in a “coat” of salt and flour on a baking sheet (it’s better to cover them with foil), put them in an oven heated to 200 degrees and bake for about 1 hour. You can check readiness by piercing with a fork. Serve the potatoes immediately hot with butter and herbs. 
The benefits of potatoes
In addition to the fact that almost all of us love potatoes for their taste and variety of dishes, we should note the healing properties of this root vegetable. Potatoes consist of 15 - 20% (depending on the variety) of carbohydrates (starch), so they should be used with caution by obese people and people with diabetes. Potatoes also consist of 2% protein and 0.3% fat. The calorie content of potatoes, of course, depends on the method of preparation and varies greatly from 75 kcal per 100 grams in young boiled potatoes to 500 kcal in chips.Potatoes contain a lot of potassium, about 600 mg per 100 g, thanks to which it is useful for the functioning of the heart muscle. There is especially a lot of potassium in the peel, which is why jacket potatoes are so beneficial for cores. Potatoes contain a lot of iron, calcium, vitamins B, C, E, K, PP, and organic acids.
Potatoes are indispensable in dietary nutrition. It is used for heart failure, hypertension, atherosclerosis. Potatoes help remove salt from the body; baked potatoes are especially beneficial. Potato dishes with appropriate processing and preparation are very useful for peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum.
Calorie content of potatoes
The calorie content of raw potatoes is 70 kcal per 100 grams.Calorie content of boiled potatoes is 75 kcal per 100 grams.
The calorie content of jacket potatoes is much less - 66 kcal.
Potatoes baked in their jackets have 80 kcal per 100 grams of product.
Young potatoes have the fewest calories, but they also contain a lot of protein.
The longer potatoes are stored, the more starch they contain, and therefore the more carbohydrates and calories.
Selection and purchase
When buying potatoes for a long time, for future use, you need to take unwashed tubers. Potatoes do not like sandy soils, so if you can hear hard grains of sand on them, then you should not take such tubers. It will not store well and darken when cooked. You should be careful when buying potatoes from peat soils, which are recognized by their black color. The best potatoes from loamy and chernozem soils. If you see dirt stuck to the tubers, then feel free to take these potatoes.
One of the biggest drawbacks of potatoes, both in terms of taste and aesthetics, is their darkening when cooked. It is impossible to determine when purchasing whether the potatoes will darken. The reason for the darkening of potatoes during cooking may be improper storage and transportation (potatoes are beaten, thrown), and excess nitrogen fertilizers are also dangerous for potatoes (and human health). But at the same time, there are varieties that are most resistant to darkening. This is Nikulinsky, Golubizna, Handsome, Lorch. 
So, what do you need to know when choosing quality potatoes?
1. Naturally, the tubers must be hard and dense, without mechanical damage, with a smooth surface, clean, dry, and not eaten by pests.
2. There should be no eyes on the potatoes. If the potato has eyes, then it has begun to sprout; such potatoes have an unpleasant sweet taste.
3. Under no circumstances should you take and use green potatoes. It contains poison - solanine.
When choosing, you should not chase large tubers, although they are more pleasant to clean; small and medium-sized tubers contain more nutrients. It is also worth choosing potatoes with thicker skins; such potatoes are more mature, and accordingly, they will be stored better. Late potato varieties are tastier and more nutritious than early ones. The longer the potatoes ripen, the more starch they contain. And accordingly, it tastes better.
Potato storage
1. Early ripening varieties are not suitable for long-term storage, until November maximum. Only late varieties can be stored for a long time.
2. Only ripe, dried, good quality potatoes, without damage, rot or frostbite, can be stored for a long time.
3. Potatoes can be stored together with beets by placing the beets on top of the potatoes. Beets absorb excess moisture, which prevents rotting.
4. It is ideal to store potatoes at a temperature of 5 - 7 degrees. And, of course, in the dark. At temperatures below +5 degrees, the starch in potatoes breaks down into sugars, such potatoes will have a sweetish taste and gray color. For this reason, you should not store potatoes in the refrigerator or on the balcony for a long time. In addition, potatoes get soggy when stored in the refrigerator. Potato tubers should not be stored in plastic bags. Short-term storage in refrigerators is permitted only in paper bags. Well, and, of course, storing them in the refrigerator is simply inconvenient, since potatoes take up a lot of space.
5. For short-term storage, you can use places at home away from heating. Ideal, of course, is storage in cellars.
Potato varieties
Potatoes are healthy, nutritious, and available at any time of the year.Let's start with choosing potatoes. Depending on what culinary goal you are pursuing, what you want to cook from potatoes, you need to take different varieties. It is ideal to have three varieties of potatoes available in the kitchen (pantry). In total, there are about 4,000 varieties of potatoes, which are distinguished by color, pulp density, starch content and ripening time.
Yellow potatoes get their color thanks to carotene. It is sweet, boiled, tasty, these are the varieties: Vineta, Andretta, Sante, Agata and others. 
Red potatoes. Red varieties are useful because they contain antioxidants, do not become overcooked, are stored for a long time, and have a piquant taste, these are: Sheri, Red Thumb, Roseval, Red Scarlet, American and others. 
White varieties are the richest in vitamin C and starch, they are very boiled and juicy. These are: White Dew, Gypsy, Erou, Anabel, Bleubel, Spunta, Skazka and others. 
Now new “colored” potato varieties have appeared on the shelves: purple, black, blue. They contain more nutrients and antioxidants. But aesthetically, people still recognize the usual white and yellow colors of potatoes. 
Categories and labeling
In world standards, the designation is accepted - A, B, C, D according to softness density:
A – salad type potatoes;
B – for chips;
C – for deep frying;
D – for casseroles and purees.
If the starch content of the potato is above 15%, then it is a variety for mashed potatoes. These potatoes boil well and quickly. Mashed potatoes will, of course, be high in calories, but fluffy and tender. These varieties are: Andretta, Sineglazka, Sante and others.
If the starch content is below 15%, then such potatoes do not soften when cooked. It is suitable for soups, salads. Accordingly, these varieties are lower in calories, which must be taken into account when dieting. These varieties are: Nevsky, Nikulinsky, Red Scarlet and others.
If potatoes contain at least 20% dry matter and no more than 0.5% reducing sugars, then such potatoes are used for frying. Its slices retain their shape and do not become colored when cooked in a deep fryer or in oil in a frying pan; in addition, such potatoes do not darken or acquire a bitter taste. These varieties are: Nadezhda, Leader, early potato varieties and others.
In Russia, the Moscow region, Voronezh, Tambov, and Lipetsk regions are considered potato crops. It must be remembered that potatoes do not tolerate heat. Heat reduces the quality of tubers.
Interesting and unique facts
Well, who doesn’t know potatoes? People say: “Potatoes are our mother, and bread is our breadwinner,” “Eat potatoes and bread and you will live to be a hundred years old,” “In Rus', without potatoes is like a party without an accordion.” After bread and cereals, it ranks second in prevalence in our diet. It is generally accepted that potatoes come from South America, or more precisely from the highlands of the Andes. The first information about potatoes dates back to the 30s of the 16th century, when the Spaniards first tried and described “mealy roots with a pleasant taste.” In Russia, potatoes are considered the second bread, but “earth apples” were first tried in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. They were brought as a gift to Count Sheremetyev from abroad by Peter I. At first, potatoes were food only for the nobility, and only at the beginning of the 19th century did they become available to the common people.
In 1962, a fifth of Ireland's population lived exclusively on potatoes. Even using soup clearings. And the decoction was used to treat joints and fractures. “Potatoes and marriage are two things too serious to be trifled with,” says an Irish proverb. In Ireland, potatoes are considered aphrodisiacs, foods that increase sexual activity.
2008, at the initiative of the UN, was declared the International Year of the Potato.
The most expensive potatoes were grown on the French island of Noirmoutier. It has such tender tubers that it is harvested only by hand and costs 500 euros per 1 kg.
In a word, this vegetable deserves due attention and respect due to its role on our table.
Loading...