This is how you simply cook potatoes. We give you tips for cooking potatoes and for cooking tests. Also for boiled potatoes with rules of thumb for the duration. Here’s our quick guide!
The cooking time of potatoes varies depending on the variety and size of the potatoes. For this reason, every time you cook, you have to carry out a cooking test to find out whether the potatoes are done or not. The cooking time also changes depending on the potato dish. Unfortunately, some people don’t know this and so the result is floury or too hard potatoes for many. We will help you and give you some rules of thumb so that the potatoes turn out well.
1) Boil potatoes
To boil potatoes you need boiling water and a saucepan for cooking. The ideal is to cover potatoes with cold water and gradually warm it up. The reason is that at around 70 degrees, the starch particles in the potatoes burst open. So if you immediately put them in hot water, the starch on the edge of the potato will gelatinize and the result will be potatoes that are cooked on the outside and hard on the inside. When the water starts to boil, you should season them with a pinch of salt. As soon as the potatoes are boiling, reduce the temperature until it is just simmering. Also, note our tips and home remedies for potatoes.
2) Potato cooking test
If you think the potatoes are good now, you should do the cooking test. To test the cooking, you take a fork or a needle and stick it in the potato floating in the water. It is best to use the largest potato for this. If the fork penetrates the potato without resistance, then it is done. However, if there is still greater resistance or piercing is difficult, the potatoes must continue to cook. Here you will find an overview of different types of cooking and cooking methods with water.
3) Potatoes and their duration
Depending on the size and saucepan, there are different cooking times for the potatoes. Waxy potatoes will take a few minutes longer. Mealy a few minutes less. Potatoes turn out very quickly in the microwave and can be ready in just 5 minutes. There are special containers or potato bags in which even boiled potatoes can be cooked in the microwave. Baked potatoes, on the other hand, take about 45 to 74 minutes at 200°C. The same time applies to potatoes on the grill. Here you will find more tips for grilling vegetables properly.
4) Rules of thumb when cooking potatoes
The smaller the potatoes are, the quicker they will be cooked and ready. Cutting the potatoes will reduce the cooking time. Small cubes don’t even take half the time. Always try to choose similarly-sized potatoes for a portion, because the more uniform the potato size, the better the cooking point of all potatoes will be reached. Salt in the water does not affect the cooking time. Peeled potatoes cook faster than unpeeled jacket potatoes. By the way, the average cooking time of potatoes is about 25 minutes. Did you like our tips? You might also be interested in our tips and instructions for cooking eggs.
5) Potato Varieties and Recipes
Potatoes have different properties. We will show you which dishes they are suitable for. The following applies here: The smaller and thinner the potato pieces are in a dish, the faster they are ready. Incidentally, a rösti in the pan only takes 15 minutes.
