How To Keep Boiled Potatoes From Turning Dark

How to Boil Potatoes four Ways

Allow's become back to the basics with this uncomplicated guide to boiling potatoes.

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There'south nothing exciting almost humid potatoes. But it is an essential cooking technique that's the first step to so many dishes, including: Mashed potatoes, potato salads, and simply plain 'ol boiled potatoes.

Master this basic cooking skill and you lot'll be prepare up to make all your favorite irish potato dishes. Here'southward how to eddy potatoes step-past-stride, iv dissimilar means: On the stove, in the microwave, in the deadening cooker, and in the Instant Pot.

Best Potatoes for Humid

Your best bet for boiling is going to be waxy potatoes like Yukon gold or cherry-red potatoes. They'll hold their shape better when boiled (which is important for murphy salad), cook more quickly, and they'll exist tender and creamy once cooked.

You lot tin too boil Russet potatoes, however starchier types of potatoes like Russets tend to absorb a ton of h2o. If you do choose to boil them for say, mashed potatoes, keep them whole while boiling to preclude them from condign h2o-logged.

How Long to Boil Potatoes

The cooking fourth dimension is going to come down to size — whether your potatoes are large or small-scale, cubed or whole. In general cubed or modest potatoes will take near ten to 15 minutes to boil, while larger, whole potatoes will take between xx to 25 minutes. To bank check potatoes for doneness, insert a knife into one. If it slides in without much effort, you lot're good to go!

How to Boil Potatoes 4 Ways

How to Eddy Potatoes on the Stove

This stove-top method is the most traditional and straight-forward method for boiling potatoes.

Person boiling potatoes over stove

Credit: Blaine Moats/Meredith

Prep potatoes. Scrub potatoes make clean using a vegetable scrubber ($6; Amazon). You lot may also cutting your potatoes into smaller pieces depending on what yous're making. You tin leave the skin on or peel depending on personal preference. Some argue that leaving the skin on helps them to concord their shape while boiling.
Comprehend with h2o. Transfer the potatoes to a saucepan and comprehend with an inch of cold water or goop. Add ½ teaspoon common salt.
Simmer potatoes. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium depression. Cover the pot with a lid and let simmer until fork-tender, about ten-15 minutes for small and/or cubed potatoes or 20-25 minutes for large potatoes.
Drain and cool. Bleed potatoes in a colander. To rapidly absurd potatoes for recipes that call for cooled potatoes, y'all may submerge them in an water ice bath.

How to Eddy Potatoes in the Microwave

This quick cooking method is all-time saved for pocket-size batches of potatoes.

Prep potatoes. Scrub potatoes clean using a vegetable scrubber ($6; Amazon). You lot may likewise cutting your potatoes into smaller pieces depending on what y'all're making. You tin leave the skin on or peel depending on personal preference. Some fence that leaving the skin on helps them to hold their shape while boiling.
Transfer potatoes and cover. Transfer the potatoes to a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the potatoes with an inch of water and add a dash of common salt. Embrace the bowl with plastic wrap and poke holes to vent.
Microwave. Microwave on loftier for five minutes. Cheque for doneness. Keep cooking for another five minutes, or until done.
Drain and cool. Drain potatoes in a colander. To rapidly cool potatoes for recipes that telephone call for cooled potatoes, you may submerge them in an ice bath.

How to Boil Potatoes in the Boring Cooker

While the potatoes aren't technically boiled, this hands-off method will give yous the aforementioned tender results.

Prep potatoes. Scrub potatoes clean using a vegetable scrubber ($six; Amazon). You may too cut your potatoes into smaller pieces depending on what y'all're making. You can exit the skin on or peel depending on personal preference. Some debate that leaving the skin on helps them to hold their shape while humid.
Transfer and encompass. Place your potatoes in your ho-hum cooker. Embrace with an inch of water or broth.
Cook on low. Melt the potatoes on depression for six to eight hours, or until fork-tender.
Drain and absurd. Drain potatoes in a colander. To speedily cool potatoes for recipes that call for cooled potatoes, you may submerge them in an ice bath.

How to Eddy Potatoes in the Instant Pot

The Instant Pot gives you the easily-off approach of a irksome cooker, only with the cooking fourth dimension of the stove-top method.

Prep potatoes. Scrub potatoes clean using a vegetable scrubber ($six; Amazon). You lot may likewise cut your potatoes into smaller pieces depending on what you're making. You can leave the skin on or pare depending on personal preference. Some argue that leaving the skin on helps them to hold their shape while humid.
Identify on trivet and add liquid. Place the trivet in the inner pot. Arrange potatoes on superlative. Add one loving cup of water or broth.
Force per unit area melt. Close the lid to the Instant Pot and cook and switch the valve to the sealing position. Apply the steam part to cook the potatoes until tender, or five minutes for small potatoes and 10 minutes for larger ones.
Release pressure and cool. Permit the pressure to release naturally. Open the lid and remove the potatoes. To chop-chop absurd potatoes for recipes that call for cooled potatoes, you may submerge them in an ice bath.

How to Utilise Boiled Potatoes

Now that your potatoes are creamy and fork-tender, it'southward time to put them to use! Merely toss them with a lilliputian butter, salt, pepper, and chives to make this easy Boiled Potatoes with Chives recipe.

Or brew them with a footling butter and milk similar in this Basic Mashed Potatoes recipe. Stir cubed, reddish potatoes with mayonnaise and other ingredients to make potato salad. For more recipe inspiration browse our entire collection of potato recipes.

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