Speed up dinner prep: The chef's secret to quick potatoes

Cooking potatoes? It's probably one of the easiest tasks in the kitchen. However, it's worth knowing how to make them ready to serve more quickly. Ever experienced a situation where the meat is getting cold, the salad is ready, but the potatoes are still hard? Surely, each of us knows this scenario.

This technique was often used by our grandmothers and is also recommended by chefs. Not only do the potatoes soften faster, but they also taste better. Just remember that once the vegetables come to a boil, you should add a tablespoon of fat to the water. Butter works best. When it melts, a thin layer of fat forms on the surface of the water. This improves heat penetration, allowing the potatoes to cook quickly. The effect is even faster if you cut the potatoes into smaller pieces before cooking. Additionally, they gain a pleasant, buttery aroma. For about 900 grams of potatoes covered with roughly 1.4 litres of water, a tablespoon of butter is sufficient.

And what about salt? A small error often occurs here. If you add salt at the beginning of the process, it extends the cooking time by slightly raising the boiling point of water. When we're not in a hurry, this isn't an issue. However, if you want the potatoes to be ready sooner, it's better to salt them at the very end when they are nearly soft.

A simple method to speed up the cooking time of potatoes is to drop them directly into boiling water. This way, the meal won't be delayed, and the potatoes won't lose flavour. When cooking potatoes for a salad, it's a good idea to add a bit of lemon juice or vinegar to maintain a nice colour and prevent them from falling apart.