How to Obtain Dry Boiled Potatoes (2024)

FAQs

How to Obtain Dry Boiled Potatoes? ›

The water must be boiling before they are put in, and a little salt is added. When fully cooked the water is poured off, then the kettle or pot is placed on the stove, with the lid removed, to allow the moisture to evaporate. By this method of cooking potatoes, I have never failed to render them dry and mealy.

Try draining the cooked water off in a sieve or colander and then placing back on the stove to cook out some of the extra moisture, just a couple of minutes. Mash with a masher (or a ricer which makes great non lumpy spuds).

When the potato pieces are cut and pre-cooked to whatever extent you choose, place them on dehydrator sheets. If you're using an electric dehydrator and it has a temperature control, set the temperature around 125 to 130 degrees. Dehydrating will take 6 to 8 hours at this temperature.

Drain the water carefully in a colander and then gently transfer the potatoes onto a cooling rack or similar so that there is space all around them. Leave the potatoes to dry until there is no more steam coming off of them and they are dry to the touch. Be careful not to break them up.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, tip in the potatoes and the peelings (to impart extra flavour) and simmer for 8-10 mins. Drain the potatoes and discard the peelings. Leave to steam-dry for 15 mins, then return the potatoes to the pan, put the lid on and gently shake to lightly rough up the edges.

The water must be boiling before they are put in, and a little salt is added. When fully cooked the water is poured off, then the kettle or pot is placed on the stove, with the lid removed, to allow the moisture to evaporate. By this method of cooking potatoes, I have never failed to render them dry and mealy.

Incidentally, you don't get much water out using a sieve, you're better off wrapping them in a tea towel and squeezing the heck out of them. Soak the shreads in well salted water for 30 minutes, then wring them out in a towel or cheese cloth aggressively to extract all the water you can.

Arrange sliced potatoes in single layers on drying trays. Dry at 140 degrees F (60°C) in an oven or dehydrator. If necessary, turn large pieces over every 3 to 4 hours during the drying period. Vegetables can scorch easily toward the end of drying, so monitor more closely as drying nears completion.

When they are ready you should be able to easily pierce them with a fork all the way through. You'll want to boil potatoes any time you don't want them to dry out (as they can when baked in the oven). So it's a cooking method ideal for mashed potatoes or potato salad.

Cure newly dug and cleaned potatoes for a week to 10 days in a dark, well-ventilated area with moderate temperatures and high humidity, and they will last longer, Noordijk said. After curing, slowly drop the storage temperature to about 40-46 degrees for table use.

How do you make potatoes soft after boiling them? ›

One way is to add a little bit of baking soda to the water before boiling the potatoes. The baking soda will help soften them up. Another way is to wait until they're cooled down and then mash them. To make boiled potatoes taste better, you can add butter, salt, or other seasonings after they're cooked.

After you drain the potatoes, your next step depends on if you are serving the potatoes in a hot or cold recipe. If you intend to enjoy them cold in a potato salad, rinse them with cold water before proceeding to stop them from carryover cooking. Otherwise, for hot dishes, proceed with your recipe.

Many chefs recommend putting the drained spuds back in the pan, over low heat for a few moments to "dry out" the potatoes. This is suggested so that the potatoes will not be wet enough to contribute extra liquid to the final mash.

First, take three sheets of aluminum foil and roll them up into baseball-sized balls. Place them on the bottom of the pot, and pour in about an inch of water. Then rest the plate on top of the foil balls, and add whatever food you're trying to steam to the plate. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and steam away.

Finally, no contact with water means no flavor dilution!

This is another reason steaming is superior to boiling: the potatoes don't absorb water like they do when boiled, so you'll end up with a fuller, richer flavor – no extra cream or butter required.

Like braising, steaming is only effective when both heat and moisture are trapped in the pot. Steaming foods like vegetables, tamales, seafood, and grains with the lid on supplies gentle, moist heat that will cook these foods to perfect tenderness without drying them out.

Reduce Them Over Heat

You can also thicken your mashed potatoes by continuing to cook them on the stove with the lid off. Heat draws the excess moisture out of runny potatoes, leaving you with a denser finished product. This is a risky move, though, as overdone mashed potatoes are gummy and unpleasant.

The speediest way to reheat a baked potato is in the microwave, so if you're in a pinch, this is the method for you. We recommend cutting the potato in half and covering the cut sides with a damp paper towel, so that they warm all the way through and don't dry out.

The best trick I learned was to keep the pan on the fire as you quickly drain the well-done potatoes then toss them a bit in the hot pan until they dry. Start mashing with only the butter add the milk or sour cream at the end. I've never been able to fix glue potatoes. I end up using them for different dishes.

Q: Why is it common to salt the exterior of a baked potato? A: Chefs started doing this years ago to allow the salt to absorb or draw out the moisture of the potato while baking, which results in a dry, fluffy potato.