How Long Does It Take To Boil Small Potatoes?

How Long Does It Take To Boil Small Potatoes? What’s The Best Potatoe To Boil? How To Boil Potatoes On A Stove How To Boil Potatoes In A Microwave How To Boil Potatoes In A Slow Cooker

Boiling potatoes aren’t really interesting. However, it is an important culinary method that is the initial stage in many recipes, such as mashed potatoes, potato salads, and simple boiled potatoes.

Whether you’re attempting to cook your first potato or you are a regular wondering if you’ve been doing it correctly, here’s an in-depth guide explaining to you just how to boil your potatoes.

How Long Does It Take To Boil Small Potatoes?

The cooking time will be determined by the size of the potatoes, even if they are large or tiny, diced or whole. Diced or little potatoes generally require 10 to 15 minutes to cook, but bigger, whole potatoes need 20 to 25 minutes. Dip a knife into one of the potatoes to check for doneness. You’re fine to go if it glides in without much difficulty.

What’s The Best Potatoe To Boil?

The finest potatoes for boiling are waxy or all-purpose. When boiled, they keep their form and have a wonderful creamy texture. They are also often tiny, no larger than your fist, and thinner-skinned, allowing them to cook faster. Waxy and all-purpose potatoes can be red, golden, or purple.

You may also boil Russet potatoes, although starchier varieties like Russets absorb much water. However, if you decide to boil them, for example, for mashed potatoes, keep them whole to avoid them getting water-logged.

How To Boil Potatoes On A Stove

This is the most traditional and straightforward way to cook potatoes on the stove.

Step One: Prepare The Potatoes 

Using a vegetable scrubber, scrape the potatoes clean. Depending on your creation, you can chop your potatoes into tiny chunks. You can leave the skin on or peel it off depending on your preferences. Some claim that keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.

Step Two: Add Enough Water

Put the potatoes in a saucepan and fill it halfway with cold water or broth, then add ½ teaspoon sea salt.

Step Three: Let It Simmer

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover it with a lid and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, around 10-15 minutes for tiny and diced potatoes or 20-25 minutes for big potatoes.

Step Four: Drain The Potatoes

Drain the potatoes in a colander. Submerge potatoes in an ice bath to quickly chill them for recipes that require cooled potatoes.

How To Boil Potatoes In A Microwave

This approach is best used for small quantities of potatoes.

Step One: Get Your Potatoes Ready

Using a vegetable scrubber, scrub the potatoes thoroughly. Depending on your creation, you can chop your potatoes into small chunks. Depending on your preferences, you can leave the skin on or peel it off. Some claim that keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.

Step Two: Transfer And Cover the Potatoes

Put the potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl. Fill the potatoes with 1 inch of water and season with salt. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and poke holes to allow air to circulate.

Step Three: Microwave Your Potatoes

Microwave for 5 minutes on high. Check if the potatoes are properly cooked; if not, cook for another five minutes or until cooked.

Step Four: Drain Your Potatoes

Drain the potatoes in a colander. You might also want to submerge the potatoes in an ice bath to chill them for recipes requiring quickly cooling potatoes.

How To Boil Potatoes In A Slow Cooker

While the potatoes aren’t exactly cooked, this hands-off approach may obtain the same soft results.

Step One: Get The Potatoes Ready

Using a vegetable scrubber, clean the potatoes. Depending on your cooking, you can chop your potatoes into tiny pieces. You can keep the skin on or scrape it off, depending on your preferences. Some say keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.

Step Two: Transfer And Cook Potatoes

Put the potatoes in the slow cooker. Cover with one inch of broth or water. Cook the potatoes on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or until soft.

Step Three: Drain Your Potatoes

Drain the potatoes in a colander. Submerge potatoes in an ice bath to quickly chill them for recipes that require cooled potatoes.

How Can I Boil Potatoes In an Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot combines the hands-off technique of a slow cooker with the cooking time of a stovetop method.

Step One: Get The Potatoes Ready

Using a vegetable scrubber, clean the potatoes. Depending on your cooking, you can chop your potatoes into tiny pieces. You can keep the skin on or scrape it off, depending on your preferences. Some say keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.

Step Two: Place On Trivet

Insert the trivet into the inner pot. Place potatoes on top. Pour in one cup of water or broth.

Step Three: Pressure Cook

Cook with the lid closed and the valve in the sealing position in the Instant Pot. Cook the potatoes until soft, about 5 minutes for tiny potatoes and 10 minutes for bigger ones, using the steam setting.

Step Four: Release The Pressure

Let the pressure dissipate naturally. Remove the potatoes by opening the cover. Submerge potatoes in an ice bath to quickly chill them for recipes that call for cooled potatoes.

Common Mistakes Made When Cooking Potatoes

Nothing beats a traditional potato – It pairs wonderfully with meat, seafood, veggies, sandwiches, and more. However, your cooking technique may ruin your favorite potato, leaving it partially uncooked, mushy, watery, soggy, or nasty. Avoid these frequent blunders when preparing potatoes at home to ensure crisp fries and fork-tender spuds.

1. Cooking The Wrong Potatoe

There are several potato varieties, each of which is better suited to a specific cooking method. Russet potatoes are usually baked and steamed. Red and gold potatoes are better for roasting or sautéing. Avoid the glue-like texture by not steaming, boiling, or overcooking the reds or golds.

2. Full Boiling Your Potatoes

Bring potatoes to a full boil only if you want to bite into a raw interior. Many people tend to cook potatoes to a full boil. While this will cook them quickly, the surface will be overcooked while the core will remain raw. To prepare them correctly, simmer the potatoes, chopped or uncut, in a saucepan of water for 12-15 minutes.

The time varies depending on the size of the potato and whether it is sliced or unsliced. There is no standard temperature for boiling or simmering; it all depends on your burner and pans.

When the potato is cooked, stab it with a fork, which should effortlessly go through and glide off the fork. This is an excellent method for making mashed potatoes or preparing potatoes ahead of time for supper or potato salad.

3. Cooking Mashed Potatoes On High Heat

Slowly cook mashed potatoes to get the desired consistency. If you thoroughly cook them, they will be watery and loose. However, they will be raw if you turn them off too early. Also, rather than a masher, use a ricer. Mashers aren’t always necessary for preparing potatoes.

They produce large pieces of potato that do not combine with mashed potatoes’ salty, buttery goodness. Alternatively, use a ricer to make some fluffy mashed potatoes to savor.

4. Improper Seasoning

Not only does salting the water season the potato, but it also helps it boil at a higher temperature. In return, this fully cooks the potatoes’ starch, producing a more creamy texture (for mashed potatoes). 

Cooking potatoes in unseasoned water stops the starch from fully cooking, resulting in a bland, thick end product.  Not salting the water can be compared to giving someone a pair of shoes without laces. Or, for example, serving guacamole without chips.

Adding herbs and spices may transform a decent potato into a great one. Salt, black pepper, bay leaf, and thyme may significantly improve any potato meal’s “potato” flavor.

5. Cooking Fries From Raw

Rather than dumping raw potatoes on a tray with spices to begin cooking, please give them a quick boil before setting them on a tray in the oven to get nice and crispy. It is believed that par-cooking russet potatoes in seasoned water yields a crispier, more properly cooked steak fry. 

With the preparation, you may season the potato and make it fluffy inside. Once they get cooled, cut, season, and bake them. Great steak fries must be crispy on the exterior and fluffy in the center, so boiling them ahead of time is essential.

6. Making Your Sweet Potatoe Too Sweet

Avoid the typical sweet toppings on top of sweet potatoes, such as marshmallows, pecans, honey, and brown sugar. They’re already sugary, and the toppings add calories, fat, and sugar. 

Instead, be inventive. That sweet/char combination and the chimichurri or Italian salsa verde-type sauce are ideal. You may also serve them with a Turkish-style smokey tomato sauce.

7. Scorching Your Spuds

You risk burning them if you cook them on a sheet pan or foil without salt. The procedure of cooking potatoes directly on the baking sheet is what causes the bottom to overcook. 

Alternatively, season them with salt and cook them on a sheet pan. The salt ensures that the potatoes cook properly. The salt bed protects the potatoes from direct contact with the baking sheet. 

And to roast potatoes, make a 14- 12 inch layer of kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or Morton) on a baking sheet as potato protection.

8. Not Steaming Your Potatoes

If you can’t get the boiling right, steam your potatoes instead. Steaming potatoes is a breeze. After washing your potatoes, place them whole, peeled or not, in a steaming basket (available in the kitchen utensil department of any big supermarket store). 

Fill a saucepan large enough to hold the steamer basket halfway with water, sufficient to cover the bottom. Cover the saucepan. Steam the potatoes on high heat until they are soft enough to be pierced with a fork. This will keep your potatoes from soaking up excess water due to overboiling.

How Long Does It Take To Boil Small Potatoes? What’s The Best Potatoe To Boil? How To Boil Potatoes On A Stove How To Boil Potatoes In A Microwave How To Boil Potatoes In A Slow Cooker

Boil Small Potatoes Recipe

Course Main Course
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • Small potatoes
  • Water
  • Salt

Instructions
 

Boiling Potatoes On A Stove

  • Using a vegetable scrubber, scrape the potatoes clean. Depending on your creation, you can chop your potatoes into tiny chunks. You can leave the skin on or peel it off depending on your preferences. Some claim that keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.
  • Put the potatoes in a saucepan and fill it halfway with cold water or broth, then add ½ teaspoon sea salt.
  • Bring the water to a rolling boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover it with a lid and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, around 10-15 minutes for tiny and diced potatoes or 20-25 minutes for big potatoes.
  • Drain the potatoes in a colander. Submerge potatoes in an ice bath to quickly chill them for recipes that require cooled potatoes.

Boiling Potatoes In A Microwave

  • Using a vegetable scrubber, scrub the potatoes thoroughly. Depending on your creation, you can chop your potatoes into small chunks. Depending on your preferences, you can leave the skin on or peel it off. Some claim that keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.
  • Put the potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl. Fill the potatoes with 1 inch of water and season with salt. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and poke holes to allow air to circulate.
  • Microwave for 5 minutes on high. Check if the potatoes are properly cooked; if not, cook for another five minutes or until cooked.
  • Drain the potatoes in a colander. You might also want to submerge the potatoes in an ice bath to chill them for recipes requiring quickly cooling potatoes.

Boiling Potatoes In A Slow Cooker

  • Using a vegetable scrubber, clean the potatoes. Depending on your cooking, you can chop your potatoes into tiny pieces. You can keep the skin on or scrape it off, depending on your preferences. Some say keeping the skin on helps them keep their form when boiling.
  • Put the potatoes in the slow cooker. Cover with one inch of broth or water. Cook the potatoes on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or until soft.
  • Drain the potatoes in a colander. Submerge potatoes in an ice bath to quickly chill them for recipes that require cooled potatoes.

Video

Keyword chopped-up potatoes, crisp fries, saucepan, vegetable

Conclusion

You may boil potatoes whole or diced – either method is acceptable. The trick in either situation is ensuring that the entire or cubed potatoes are nearly the same size. This will ensure they cook at the same rate. 

When boiling entire potatoes, tiny potatoes should be removed from the water early, and larger potatoes should be cooked for a bit longer.

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