How long to cook peeled potatoes in a saucepan and steamer

What kind of potatoes should be boiled?

There are two ways: boil any potato without thinking about the end result - after all, it will still be cooked and will be edible. Or cook it wisely, because the taste of the finished dish will depend on the quality of the boiled potatoes.

For making mashed potatoes

For mashed potatoes, we recommend boiling high-starchy, crumbly potatoes. The puree from it will turn out tender and fluffy, although very high in calories.

We recommend varieties: medium-sized, pinkish Aurora potatoes, boiled Adretta potatoes, medium-sized and slightly sweet Aspia tubers, crumbly and pinkish Zhuravinka potatoes from Belarus, Dutch Melody potatoes, oval potato tubers Luck and the well-known Sineglazka, which is easily identified by its characteristic purple spots and color peel.

Tip: When boiling potatoes for mashing, place the tubers in boiling water. Salt the finished dish!

For making soup or salad

For soup and salad, it is better to cook potatoes with a reduced starch content. It doesn’t fall apart when cooked and doesn’t ruin our weight loss program.

We recommend varieties: pink tubers Romano, the most popular variety among the people is Nevsky. And also potatoes of the Gala variety, the tubers of which are distinguished by bright yellow flesh and medium friability. Don't be fooled by the unsightly appearance of the Kiwi variety. Potatoes have a rough, porous skin that hides excellent white flesh with an almost neutral taste. Potatoes are good for soups and salads, although they take a little longer to cook.

Tip: when cooking potatoes for salad, place them in cold water: this way some of the starch will boil out of them and they will not crumble.

Early potato varieties are considered ideal for cooking; they are also called “waxy” (fingerling or “waxy”). The tubers retain their shape well due to their low starch content (about 16%), and the boiled pulp has a pleasant texture. Such tubers are usually not very large, at most the size of a woman's fist and thin-skinned. They are easily recognized by their golden color and almost transparent skin.

Waxy potatoes in a pan

How to properly cook peeled potatoes

Since this vegetable is not consumed raw, and during prolonged heat treatment it loses most of its beneficial substances, it is not recommended to cook it for a long time.

Peeled potatoes should not be placed in cold water, but in boiling water . Then it will cook faster. And so that the water does not stop boiling, tubers or slices are lowered into the pan in small portions.
Potatoes are cut only before heat treatment. The pieces must be identical so that they cook at the same time. It also improves the appearance of the dish.
Cook the potatoes at a moderate boil . The lid must be closed to prevent steam from escaping. Therefore, it is not recommended to completely fill the tubers with water. After all, the main role when cooking vegetables is played by steam, which accumulates on the walls of the pan and the inside of the lid.
In order for more vitamin C to be retained in potatoes during cooking, they do not need to be stirred, because then the water is saturated with air, which destroys this vitamin.
To preserve the maximum amount of nutrients, it is best to steam potatoes . You can use this method: after 15 minutes from the start of cooking, almost all the water is drained from the pan, leaving only a little at the bottom. Reduce the heat to low and cook the potatoes until cooked using steam. In this case, the lid must be tightly closed.
If the recipe does not indicate how to cut the potatoes, then boil them whole or cut them into large pieces. This way it retains more vitamins.
Potatoes for salads are boiled in their skins . And to make it easier to peel, the tubers removed from the pan are immediately doused with cold water, and then the skin is easily peeled.
Potatoes are boiled in salted water . Salt improves its taste and retains most of the nutrients. But young potatoes can be boiled without salt, because vitamin C is almost not destroyed in it.
When cooking sprouted potatoes, the first water must be drained without bringing it to a boil, otherwise it will turn out tasteless.
To prevent mashed potatoes from darkening during cooking, it must be diluted only with hot milk.
Mashed potatoes will be light and fluffy if you cook them while the potatoes are hot.

It is best to place peeled potatoes for cooking not in cold water, but immediately in hot and salted water: in this case, much less nutrients will be lost with the broth. However, keep in mind that a bitter and toxic substance, the glycoside solanine, accumulates in the peel and on the surface of the tubers; There is especially a lot of it in green and sprouted potatoes.

Such potatoes can be boiled only after they have been properly peeled. In addition, nitrates from the soil accumulate in the peel, so if the potatoes were grown on fertilized soils, they should be peeled and then the peeled potatoes should be kept in cold water for thirty to forty minutes.

Everyone knows how quickly peeled potatoes turn dark when taken out of water. To solve this problem, peeled potatoes can be placed in water (preferably boiled, it contains less dissolved oxygen) and covered with a lid so that light does not accelerate oxidation.

When boiled, potatoes become soft, so in soups such as rassolnik, solyanka, borscht, potatoes must be added before sour seasonings (pickles, tomatoes), otherwise they will remain uncooked and hard.

If you prefer mashed potatoes, cook them while the boiled potatoes are still hot; the mashed potatoes will be fluffy and delicious.

It is best to season the finished puree with hot milk, then it will remain fluffy and will not darken. Mashed potatoes with the addition of fresh herbs, golden fried onions, and cracklings will be even tastier.

Boil whole potatoes or diced ones

You can boil potatoes whole or cut into cubes - both methods have the right to life. In any case, the sizes of the tubers or cubes should be equal in size, then they will all cook at the same speed. If there are small and large tubers in the pan, remove the finished small ones and set them aside, and let their larger comrades cook a little longer.

Tip: Rinse potato cubes for soup first under running water to remove excess starch.

Useful tips on how to cook peeled potatoes

To prevent potatoes from becoming overcooked during cooking, less starchy varieties are used for preparing vinaigrettes or salads.
To keep the tubers intact, add more salt to the water.
It is not recommended to add soda or ammonium to the water to speed up the cooking of potatoes, as they destroy vitamins.
To improve the taste, boil the potatoes in a small amount of water with a spoonful of margarine.
Boiled potatoes should not be stored in broth. This makes it watery and tasteless.
You should not pour out the potato broth, because it contains the most microelements. It can be used to make soup or sauce.
Very often, dark spots appear on boiled old potatoes. To prevent this from happening, you need to pour a little vinegar into the water when cooking.
A tablespoon of vinegar added to the water when cooking potatoes will help keep them intact. Read also: How long to cook stuffed peppers.
In order for the boiled tubers to be equally soft both outside and inside, they need to be cooked at a moderate boil. Then the starch in them will swell evenly, the boiled potatoes will turn out smooth, and their surface will not break or become soft.
The taste of boiled potatoes will improve if you add two cloves of garlic and a bay leaf to the boiling water. Some housewives also add dry dill, having previously tied it in several layers of gauze, and after the process is completed, remove it from the pan.
To peel young potatoes, place them in a bowl of cold salted water. Or the nodules are first placed in hot water and then immediately in cold water. There is another old, proven method: put young potatoes in a strong bag along with coarse salt and grind them well or just roll them on the table. All the skin will come off, and all that remains is to wash the nodules.

Boil potatoes in their skins (in their skins) or peeled

To clean or not to clean? It all depends on what plans you have for boiled potatoes. For salads, it is better to boil potatoes “in their jackets.” The skin protects the tubers from boiling water and helps them better retain their shape. Young potatoes boiled in their skins are also a storehouse of useful substances. especially potassium. In addition, such potatoes have a particularly bright aroma, and thrifty housewives appreciate this method for the lack of waste. If the potatoes are young, then it is better to leave them “in their uniforms”!

When peeling potatoes, cut off all the green parts - it is harmful to eat!

Potatoes in a slow cooker and steamer?

Raw potatoes can also be cooked quickly and easily in a slow cooker, and the cooking process is not much different from cooking in a saucepan. Let's take a closer look at how to cook potatoes in a slow cooker:

The first step is to prepare the potatoes for cooking: wash, peel, rinse thoroughly again and cut into several pieces (4-6 pieces).
Place the peeled and chopped potatoes in the multicooker bowl, fill with cold water (the water should completely cover the potatoes and be 1-2 cm above them) and add salt (1 level teaspoon per 1 liter of water).
Turn on the multicooker and set the “Cooking” mode for 30 minutes.
At the end of cooking, check the potatoes for readiness by piercing them with a fork and if they are ready, put them in a colander to drain all the water and serve, or use them for preparing other dishes.

How to cook potatoes in a double boiler?

One of the ways to prepare boiled potatoes is to boil them in a double boiler, which is in demand among lovers of healthy eating, since it is believed that with this preparation, more nutrients are retained in the potatoes. To cook potatoes in a double boiler, you need to perform the following sequence of actions:

Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them into 4-6 pieces (cubes) and wash them again.
Fill the steamer with water up to the mark and place the prepared potatoes on the grill.
Turn on the steamer and steam the potatoes for 30 minutes.
Wash off any excess starch from the cooked potatoes and serve.

What to add to water when boiling potatoes

Potatoes perfectly absorb the flavors of other products with which they are cooked. First of all, we cannot do without salt.

Tip: you do NOT need to add salt to the water to make puree! According to the advice of French chefs, you need to add salt to the finished puree. Salt during cooking will interfere with the creation of the ideal puree consistency.

Add herbs, spices and other seasonings (mixtures) to the water to improve the taste of potatoes. Some cooks boil the potatoes in vegetable or chicken broth , others add vegetable oil or butter, garlic cloves, onion or celery. Some are black peppercorns, parsley and rosemary. And, of course, dill goes well with cooked potatoes.

Boiled potatoes with dill

Potatoes boiled in a saucepan for mashing

To prepare mashed potatoes, it is better to use crumbly varieties of mature potatoes, although others are quite suitable for this dish. The preparation is usual - the potatoes are washed, peeled and cut into pieces. You can boil the whole tubers, but it will take more time.

Preparation:

Place well-washed and peeled potatoes in a saucepan with cold water and put on fire.
As soon as the water boils, add salt, bay leaf and a pea of allspice - all this will make the puree fragrant.
Small potato pieces only need 15 minutes to cook. It is necessary to drain the water and remove the pepper and bay leaves.
Put butter, a little hot boiled milk into the potatoes and mash well.

How long to cook potatoes and how to determine readiness

Cooking time for potatoes in boiling water is an average of 25-30 minutes (depending on the size of the tubers)

To find out whether a potato is ready or not, pierce it with a thin knife in the thickest part of the tuber. Do not overcook the potatoes; they should not be boiled right in the pan.

It is important to drain the water immediately after cooking! Don't let the potatoes soak for too long while you're preparing other dishes. Drain the water, return the pan with potatoes to the lowest heat or to the switched off electric burner. Cover the pan with a towel and leave for 2-4 minutes, gently shaking the pan from time to time so that the tubers change places. The bottom of the pan should become completely dry, and the tubers themselves should be covered with a dried crust.

Tip: If you don't want a crust, especially if you want to mash your potatoes further, follow chef Jamie Oliver's recommendation. To do this, place the boiled potatoes in a colander, drain the broth, and shake it. The potatoes will dry out a little in the most natural way - without a crust.

If you want the potatoes warm, leave them after shaking them on the stove and cover them with a paper towel (to absorb moisture) and a lid. Mind your own business - potatoes for another 15-20 minutes. it will be warm. If, on the contrary, you need to cool the tubers faster, spin them a couple of times in a salad dryer or hold for 1-2 minutes. in a bowl set on ice.

Options for serving boiled potatoes as a snack

How to boil potatoes without them being overcooked

To preserve the integrity of the potatoes, add cucumber or cabbage brine to them during cooking. You can also add a slice of lemon or a spoonful of table vinegar. To prevent the potatoes from boiling, you need to take pink or yellow varieties of tubers, and also make several punctures with a toothpick before putting them in water.

Preparation:

Place the washed and peeled tubers in a saucepan, add water, salt and acid-containing ingredients. Turn on the fire.
As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat and cook the potatoes for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the tubers.
Check for doneness with a torch and drain the water from the pan as soon as the potatoes are ready.

Good to know! Housewives often resort to another method: as soon as the water boils, drain it about halfway and add cold water. Always cook potatoes over moderate heat.

An alternative way to prepare boiled potatoes for a side dish

Use a steam bath. To do this, place potatoes (in their jackets or peeled, whole or cut into 2-4 parts) in a bowl and add salt at the rate of about 1 tsp. for 500 g of vegetables.

Pour boiling water into a large saucepan, place a bowl of potatoes on it and add 1-2 sprigs of fresh mint to it, if these are new potatoes. Cover tightly with a lid and place on the stove. Cook over low heat until the water barely simmers until the potatoes are cooked through. This will take 15-25 minutes, depending on the youth and size of the potatoes. Steamed potatoes contain less moisture and are more like baked potatoes.

Boiled potato recipe

You will need - 650 grams of potatoes, water
1. It is best to select potatoes of the same size so that it does not turn out that some potatoes are not boiled, others are overcooked. In the photo there are 4 medium-sized potatoes weighing 650 grams - that's 2 adult servings as a side dish, or 3 children's servings.

2. Peel the potatoes - after peeling, their weight will not change. If the potatoes are young, you don’t have to peel their young, tender skin, just scrape it lightly.

3. Put the potatoes in water with a reserve, and add salt - half a teaspoon of salt is enough for our quantity. Place the pan on the highest heat so that the water boils quickly.

4. After boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid, and set aside for 20 minutes—during this time, medium-sized potatoes will be cooked. If you cook small or coarsely chopped ones, it will take 15 minutes, but for very large ones, take all 30 minutes.

5. Check the potatoes for doneness: pierce the potatoes all the way through with a fork - if even in the middle the vegetable is soft and can be easily pierced, it means the potatoes are cooked. If the potatoes are a little hard, add another 5 minutes of cooking, but if the potatoes are of different sizes, then check the largest one for doneness. Yes, the rest of the potatoes will be slightly boiled, but we warned you.

6. To serve as a side dish, simply transfer the boiled potatoes onto a plate, season with oil and serve with salt and herbs. Well, if you need potatoes for a salad, just cool them slightly so that you don’t burn your hands when slicing.

It is better to boil young potatoes in their skins, put them in cold water, cooking time is 15 minutes: after boiling, young tubers do not need to be peeled, as the peel is very useful.

How to cook potatoes: a classic recipe with our comments

1. Clean the tubers from dirt. Rinse them under running water, preferably with a brush, especially if you cook potatoes in their jackets. But even if you peel the potatoes, it is better to scrub them thoroughly first so that the peels are less dirty on your hands. Be sure to remove all sprouts and green parts.

2. Leave the tubers whole, cut into 2-4 parts or cut into cubes, it all depends on the size and further use. All pieces (tubers) should be approximately the same size.

Tip: To cut potatoes into cubes, first cut them into circles as thick as the side of the cube. Then stack several circles on top of each other and cut them first lengthwise into long slices, and then crosswise into cubes.

3. If necessary, rinse the potatoes. Place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. It should cover the potatoes completely. Add salt and stir.

4. Bring the potatoes to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook until fully cooked. We do not recommend covering the pan with a lid.

5. After 5-7 minutes. check the potatoes are done. Cut into cubes, it cooks quite quickly. Check the potatoes 2-3 more times every 5 minutes using a knife or fork.

6. Drain the broth. Dry the potatoes and use as intended.

Advice: Stanislav Pesotsky, the chef advises to pay attention to the starchy water that remains after boiling peeled potatoes, especially in large quantities. “She is almost a finished product in herself. Use it as a base for vegetable broths or, after boiling a little, as a base for sauces.”

Recipe for delicious and aromatic potatoes

To make boiled potatoes tasty and aromatic, it is not enough to simply boil them in water. Prepared according to the recipe presented, potatoes can easily be not only a side dish, but also an independent dish.

Preparation:

Wash and peel small to medium potatoes.
Place the tubers in a saucepan with cold water, add salt and put on fire.
As soon as the water boils, add a small bunch of celery and a bay leaf to the water.
Reduce heat, cover the pan and cook the tubers until tender (total cooking time - approximately 25 minutes).
Check the potatoes with a knife. If ready (become soft), drain the water and add herbs and bay leaves.
Heat butter in a frying pan and fry finely chopped onions and young carrots in circles. When the onion is browned, add finely chopped garlic (a couple of cloves) and a pinch of dry rosemary.
Place the potatoes in a frying pan, press down a little with a masher, sprinkle with dill and mix well.

Advice! You need to peel the potatoes right before cooking, otherwise they will darken, or you can put them in a container with cold water - this will keep their color for several hours.

Boiled potatoes: not just a side dish

And now that you have boiled potatoes, prepared according to all the rules, use them as an ingredient for other dishes. For example, for stuffed tomatoes , okroshka with horseradish , shrimp and corn cutlets , seaweed and sweet pepper salad , young Kenyan bean soup , quick vegetarian moussaka and, of course, for Olivier and vinaigrette.

Lenten Olivier salad

In uniform

It is known that not only the potato pulp contains useful substances, but also its peel. For example, it includes:

B vitamins;
iron;
potassium;
cellulose.

Therefore, cooking this vegetable in its uniform allows you to make the most of all its healing properties.

Try to choose tubers that are the same size so they cook evenly.

Clean them very thoroughly from any remaining soil.

To prevent the peel from bursting during cooking, it must be pierced in several places in advance. You can also add a little vinegar and salt to the water to maintain the integrity of the skin.

Place the tubers in hot water, put on fire, and then add salt.

Wait for the water to boil again and reduce the flame a little.

If you are boiling new potatoes, they may take 10-15 minutes to cook. If we are talking about old tubers, then the waiting time can be 30 minutes.

The readiness of jacket potatoes is checked in the classic way. If, when piercing a tuber, a knife or fork goes inside easily, it means the dish is ready.

Remove the pan from the heat, drain the boiling water and place the root vegetables under cold water for a couple of minutes. This trick will make the skin peel off easily.

Cooking correctly

Novice housewives may have many questions about cooking potatoes - how many minutes should they be boiled, when exactly is the best time to add salt, how to prevent them from burning.

It is recommended to add salt when the water has already boiled and there are about 10 minutes left until the dish is fully cooked.

It is not difficult to understand that a root vegetable has been cooked - you just need to periodically check its softness with a fork, knife or other sharp object. There is no exact readiness time - it depends on the type of vegetable and its size.

To preserve most vitamins, I recommend doing this:

When cooked this way, potatoes will lose about 20% of their vitamins. If you put it in still cold water, the benefits will be reduced by at least half.

How long does it take to cook potatoes?

Depending on the cooking method, the time will differ:

peeled potatoes are cooked for 30 minutes;
jacket potatoes are cooked for 25 minutes;
tubers, cut into cubes for soup, just boil for 12 minutes;
Potatoes will cook in the microwave in 10 minutes;
In a steamer, the vegetables will be ready in 25 minutes.

Advice! Potatoes will cook faster if you add a small piece of butter to the water.

Potatoes for salad

For salads, for example, for Olivier salad or vinaigrette, this vegetable can be steamed, so it will retain all its beneficial properties and will not boil over. If you don’t have a double boiler or you don’t want to spend too much time preparing the dish, you can cook the tubers in their skins.

If you are afraid that potatoes cooked in this way will turn out to be dry or that they will not be able to be cut into even cubes, since they will stick to the knife, then I advise you to try the following cooking method:

When cooking this way, it is important to constantly monitor the readiness of the slices. Small pieces will cook much faster and should not be allowed to become overcooked.

Potatoes are suitable for salad when they become half-cooked, that is, soft, but still crunch a little on the teeth. It is at this moment that it must be removed from the heat and doused with cold water.

With this method of cooking, the root vegetable retains its shape even after stirring in the salad. This trick is also great for making summer okroshka.

Friable potato varieties

Most of all, Russian people value potato varieties that have friability (cookability). This property depends on the starch content in the tubers of different potato varieties:

increased starch content - more than 18-25%.

The higher the starch content, the more crumbly the potato. Friable potato varieties are best suited for mashed potatoes. Potato varieties with low starch content are suitable for making soups and salads. Most varieties with a high starch content are technical.

In early and mid-early varieties, as a rule, the starch content is low (10-15%), in mid-season and mid-late potato varieties it is relatively high (16-25%).

The value of starch content in tubers for a particular potato variety can only be given as an approximate value. Tubers with a higher dry matter content are more crumbly when cooked. Growing conditions (climatic, weather, soil type, fertilizers used, agricultural cultivation techniques), maturity of tubers, storage period and conditions, etc. have a great influence on the dry matter content and chemical composition of potato tubers. Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers reduces dry matter content. Potato tops can serve as an indicator: the more developed they are, the lower the dry matter content and, consequently, the worse the friability of the tubers.

Cooking: 5 ways

Modern kitchens, equipped with appliances, allow you to choose the most convenient method of cooking. The dish can be prepared not only on the stove, but also using a microwave or multicooker.

In a saucepan

Description. A good housewife should know how to properly boil jacket potatoes in a saucepan. After removing the pan from the heat, be sure to drain the water and remove the lid to allow the tubers to air cool. If you leave the hot liquid, especially under the lid, the potatoes will continue to reduce and will most likely become mushy.

What you will need:

pot;
potatoes - 500 g;
water - 1 l;
salt - teaspoon.

How to cook

Place the washed potatoes in a saucepan.
Pour in cold water, completely covering the vegetables.
Place on high heat and cover with a lid.
Wait for it to boil, add salt.
Reduce heat, open the lid slightly to let steam escape.
Leave for about 20 minutes.
Check doneness with a skewer, fork or knife.
If the potatoes are soft, drain the water.
Leave hard tubers for another ten minutes, check readiness.

In a slow cooker

Description. It is convenient to cook jacket potatoes using a modern household appliance. All you have to do is set the program and wait for the signal. You can do other things while cooking.

What you will need:

multicooker;
water;
potato;
salt.

How to cook

Wash the potatoes well.
Place in a bowl, add salt.
Pour in water to completely cover the vegetables (the level should be a couple of millimeters higher).
Close the lid and set the “Steam” program to half an hour.
After the signal, remove the bowl and drain the remaining liquid.

Depending on the size and number of tubers, you can set a mode lasting 25-40 minutes. When in doubt about the exact time, set it to 20 minutes, and then check the readiness with a knife. If the flesh is tough, extend cooking for another ten minutes.

Microwave

Description. Vegetables in their jackets cook the fastest in the microwave. In this case, water and dishes are not needed.

What you will need:

microwave;
tight plastic bag;
potato tubers.

How to cook

Dry the well-washed potatoes by blotting them with a napkin.
Prick with a toothpick in several places.
Place in a bag, tie (fasten).
Place in the oven.
Set the power to 600-700 W and the time to ten minutes.
Pierce the inflated bag.
Check the readiness of the tubers.
If the potatoes are tough, repeat the cooking process for another two minutes.

It is recommended to choose small tubers for microwave use. The small size guarantees fast and even cooking. It is better to boil large potatoes using the traditional method.

In the oven

Description. In this unusual way, you can “cook” small potatoes in their skins so that they don’t boil over. It turns out delicious, like a vegetable cooked in ashes, an excellent option for a side dish.

What you will need:

potato;
vegetable oil;
salt;
baking tray

How to cook

Wash and pat the tubers dry with a napkin.
Grease with oil.
Sprinkle salt on top.
Place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 200°C for about half an hour.
Check the readiness with punctures and increase the cooking time if necessary.

In a steamer

Description. A steamer helps preserve the “true” taste of vegetables and vitamins. The result is a healthy and tasty preparation that can be used for cooking or as a side dish for fish and meat.

What you will need:

double boiler;
potatoes - 500 g;
water.

How to cook

Wash the potatoes and prick them with a fork in several places.
Pour water into the steamer.
Place the tubers in a bowl.
Cook for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.
Check doneness with a fork.
Place in a saucepan and cover with a towel.

Serve the potatoes hot with butter and herbs. For ease of use, cut the tubers into four parts.

Potato soup

Potato soup is perhaps one of the most common types of first course. It is not difficult to prepare and is very tasty. In addition, potato tubers are used to create many other types of first courses, for example, borscht, mushroom soup, and cabbage soup. This adds flavor and satiety to the dishes.

You don't need much cooking experience to make potato soup. It can be made with meat broth or just water.

Remember that you can add various spices to the soup to make its taste more interesting and original.

Recommendations for making regular potato soup.