Did you know potatoes are not only substantial sources of energy but are packed with nutrients? Sure, current diets have made potatoes look bad for being carbs and all, but actually, they’re a brilliant addition to your diet as long as you don’t overdo them.
We’re sure you think cooking potatoes is the most natural thing on earth, but there are a few tricks to get them exactly right. Every food in this world needs time and practice to master, potatoes included. Here are 12 mistakes everyone makes when cooking potatoes.
You’re not washing them
We know what you’re thinking: why wash potatoes if I’m gonna boil them? Well, there’s plenty of dirt in potatoes, even if they look clean, so scrub them with abundant water and pay special attention to the nooks and crannies. You need not use soap, just give them a good scrub.
Choosing the wrong potato
You might think all potatoes are the same, but they’re not. There are many varieties, and each works better for certain dishes.
The starchy varieties, like Russet, is excellent for baking. The waxy potatoes are better for boiling, and the all-purpose potatoes like the Yukon gold are a bit more versatile. Explore different potatoes and find the best one for what you’re trying to cook.
Removing the peels
If you’re peeling your potatoes, you’re missing out on all its minerals and dietary fiber. The skins are perfectly edible and are the most nutritious part of the root vegetable. Leave the skins on, and you’ll be eating healthier already.
Over-salting potatoes
This is just too common. Potatoes are mostly plain-flavored, but a little salt brings them to life. The problem is we overdo it, mainly because the inside of the potato is difficult to season. Add black pepper instead of so much salt to enhance the flavor of mashed potatoes, hash browns or fries. And follow the advice below.
You’re not adding salt to the water
Potatoes are often flavorless because you can’t season the inside quickly. If you boil your potatoes in salted water, they’ll absorb some of that salt and season themselves. You’ll end up with tastier potatoes that you don’t have to season later.
You’re boiling instead of steaming
Of course, you can boil potatoes, but you should try steaming them, too; they end up firmer and lose less of their nutrients. Just use a steaming rack and let them cook over boiling water until they’re fork-tender. Try it, and you might never come back to the old ways.
You’re cooking soggy hash browns
Making hash browns has its challenges, too. The most common mistake is using grated potatoes that are too humid, you’re using too much oil, or your oil is not hot enough.
Grate your potatoes, rinse them with water, pat dry, compact them with your hands and fry them with little oil at high heat and you should be ok.
You end up with unattractive mashed potatoes
Mashed potatoes are tricky; if you add the heavy cream and butter when cold, your mashed potatoes will turn out gluey. You must heat all the ingredients separately before adding them to your fully cooked potatoes. And notice we said heavy cream and not milk because milk makes for thin mashed potatoes, and we don’t want that, do we?
Your potatoes disintegrate in soups
You might fool everyone, but we’re sure you wanted your cubed potatoes to end up intact in your soup, but they turned into a mushy mess. What happened? Your potatoes disintegrated because you added them to your broth too soon.
Potatoes do need some time to get fully cooked, but you can add them to your concoction halfway through; they’ll survive the boil.
Your potatoes stick to your baking sheet
This often happens when you’re backing a tray-full of baby potatoes, they stick. There’s a solution: add salt to your baking sheet, creating a bed for your potatoes, they’ll cook just as well, but they won’t get burned as easy, and they’ll never stick.
You’re using aluminum foil
We’ve all done this. We see everyone doing it, and that’s how we do it too. Grilling or baking potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil is a common practice, but it might not be the best approach.
Aluminum cook potatoes fast, yes, but it traps all the moisture inside the foil, resulting more often than not in mushy potatoes.
You’re not making your French fries from scratch
French fries are the quintessential side dish for burgers, hot dogs, fried fish, and more. But as much as we love those lovely golden canes, we’ve become lazy. Store-bought fries are made of pureed potatoes and other starches and are no substitute for authentic fries.
Get yourself a potato cutter to cut your fries and make them at home. 100% potato, never frozen and delicious.
Become a potato master
Potatoes are quite complicated, they’re hard to cook, and can often end up mushy or burned—practice, practice, practice. There’s no other way of mastering potatoes.
And don’t believe all you read, potatoes are tasty, but they’re also good for you. Don’t ditch them just because they’re a source of energy. Embrace them and make them part of a balanced diet.
