Perfect potatoes: Boiling tips for flavour and nutrition
Cooking potatoes is one of the basic tasks in the kitchen. However, many people make simple mistakes that cause potatoes to lose flavour and nutritional value. So, how should you cook potatoes? Discover proven methods.
Most people cook potatoes almost automatically, often following teachings learned at home. However, few wonder why we put potatoes in the pot in one way rather than another. Find out how to cook potatoes.
How to cook potatoes? Whole or cut?
Cooking potatoes whole is a method that helps retain nutritional value and achieves good flavour. Potatoes cooked in their skins are healthy because most vitamins are just beneath the skin.
If you plan to serve potatoes as a side dish for lunch or a salad, consider cooking them without cutting. This process prevents overcooking and loss of shape, which is especially important for potato salads. Potatoes cooked whole are less likely to break apart, making it easier to prepare visually appealing dishes.
One way to cook potatoes is by boiling sliced tubers. This method is particularly suitable when you're hurrying to prepare a meal. But is it the best option? Cutting potatoes into smaller pieces certainly shortens cooking time. This way, you can quickly prepare a meal; the even pieces ensure that all cook evenly.
However, cutting has its drawbacks. First of all, it increases the surface area through which potatoes lose vitamins and minerals into the water. Sliced potatoes may also overcook more easily, losing their firmness and flavour. Therefore, if time is not a priority, it is worth considering cooking them whole.
How to cook perfect potatoes?
Cooking potatoes is also an art where various culinary tricks can be used to improve the taste and appearance of this popular vegetable. One such trick is adding lemon juice to the water in which we cook potatoes. This simple treatment not only enhances the flavour, giving the potatoes a slight acidity, but also makes them look more appetising, preventing them from darkening during cooking.
Besides that, you can experiment with adding various spices and additives to the water to enrich the flavour of the potatoes. Remember also to boil potatoes in lightly salted water — not only for flavour but also to reduce the loss of vitamin C, which is more stable in a salty environment.
In what water to boil potatoes?
The traditional method of boiling potatoes involves dropping them into cold water. This method is commonly used because it seems more intuitive — potatoes heat evenly and usually do not crack. Unfortunately, there is a certain risk: as the water temperature rises, many valuable nutrients seep into the water, which reduces their amount in the vegetables themselves.
Boiling in cold water can lead to losing up to 66% of vitamin C. However, this method may prove ideal for those who wish to achieve particularly soft potatoes. Vegetables boiled in cold water can be more floury.
Another method is dropping potatoes into boiling water. This method is used mainly to retain more nutrients in the potatoes. When we put potatoes directly into boiling water, we reduce the risk of valuable vitamins and minerals being washed out into the water.
This approach saves time, as cooking in hot water is faster and ensures that potatoes have a better consistency and taste. Their interior remains firm, which is particularly important if we want to maintain the shape and firmness of the vegetables, for example, for potatoes served alongside a meal.
