I bought a box of new potatoes today and am really annoyed that they fell to bits while cooking. The entire outer layer of each potato came off and the inside was all mushy. Yuck! Is there anything I can do to save the rest of the box!I scraped them carefully, didnt cut them and once the water started boiling I turned them down to just above simmering. Is the rest of the box even worth cooking!
245sam,
Dec 13, 7:40am
Just a thought, datoofairy, do you have a microwave and have you thought of cooking some of those potatoes in the microwave to see if they hold together better without being in water whilst cooking!
Hope that helps.:-))
gilligee,
Dec 13, 7:44am
Are you starting from cold water!
nfh1,
Dec 13, 7:46am
Sometimes they just do - could you take them back!
datoofairy,
Dec 13, 7:50am
I think the water was warm, not hot but not cold either. No, I didnt peel them. I have the most perfect potato scraping knife. Its a very old small vege knife that is now really blunt. Its scraps perfectly but doesnt cut. It has never occurred to me to microwave them. Wouldnt they dry out with no water!
nfh1,
Dec 13, 7:53am
I usually put them in boiling water, but sometimes they all split.Is it to do with the high level of starch!Could you steam them!
datoofairy,
Dec 13, 7:54am
It wouldnt be worth me taking them back.It would cost me more for the petrol than the box is worth.
245sam,
Dec 13, 7:55am
datoofairy, you would need to put the potatoes in a dish with 1 or 2 tbsp water so that the potatoes actually cook with the steam, then cover the dish leaving a small vent for the any excess steam to escape.I often microwave potatoes although we have not yet had any of this season's new potatoes.
Hope that helps.:-))
nfh1,
Dec 13, 7:56am
How annoying. Are they from the supermarket!If so give them a ring and they will refund you next time you go in.
245sam,
Dec 13, 7:58am
I was always taught that any vegetable that came from below the surface of the ground should always be put on to cook in cold water. I believe that datoofairy's potato problem is not really "the high level of starch" but more likely the high water content of the new potatoes.:-))
datoofairy,
Dec 13, 7:59am
Thanks everyone :o) 245sam, I will try the microwave tomorrow night and see how they go, thank you :o)
nfh1,
Dec 13, 8:05am
I cook all my veg in cold water, but someone told me that new potatoes should always go into boiling water.I thought if they were high in starch, they absorbed more water which made them disintegrate, but I could be wrong on both counts!
davidt4,
Dec 13, 9:21am
The best way to cook all root vegetabes, including new potaotes, is to start them in cold, heavilysalted water; bring slowly to a simmer, start checking after 5 minutes at a simmer.This way cooks them evenly and there is less likelihood of the outer layers flaking off.If you can cool them in the cooking water that will help the texture.
seniorbones,
Dec 13, 9:32am
I get sick of this! I purchased a sack of potatoes, agria which are meant to be the best, before I got half way through they have all sprouted! and the ones I did cook did exactly that.turned tomush.I now steam my potatoes and they turn out beautiful, take the same time as boiling them and once they have been on for around 15mins I cook other veges in the water simmering underneath for the remaining 5-10mins :-).and yes all root veges should be in a cold water start.
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