How To Cook Potatoes | How To Cook Mashed Potatoes

To be honest, there is nothing really special to say about cooking potatoes. If you are using them for mashed potatoes recipe or any other recipe. But there are a few tips and tricks, like always. They won’t make wonders but they will add that extra little bit…

So how to cook potatoes in general or how to cook mashed potatoes?

1. There are two schools of cooking potatoes. You can either wash them and cook them with the skin still on or you can peel them first and cook them later. Pro and cons? If you do not peel your potatoes you can save time. When they are cooked they will be much easier to peel. I guess they also keep a little more of their taste. On the other hand – if you peel them you get rid of all the dirt so it’s a bit more sanitary plus the potatoes will cook faster, especially if you peel them and then cut them into a few pieces (don’t make the pieces too small). So which way should you go? Your choice, most of the time I peel them.
2. Put the potatoes into a pan and cover them with cold water. Make sure the water is cold, not hot. How much water? All the potatoes should be covered by it. Add some salt and cover the pan. Live a little room for the steam to escape or you will make a mess.
3. Bring the water to a boil, then turn down the heat a little.
4. Potatoes are cooked when they are soft. You can try that by piercing them with the tip of the knife. If the knife goes in nicely and the potato is soft – they are done. It usually takes 15-20 minutes for peeled and cut potatoes to cook. It also depends how many potatoes are you cooking etc…
5. If you think they are done, drain all the water and then put them back on the stove on low heat. This will make more of the excess water to evaporate and potatoes will have more flavor. If by step one you didn’t peel the potatoes then you must rinse them with cold water and then peel them into an empty pan. Since you only have a few big pieces that you will take out of the water by hand, there will also be no excess water.

Another way how to cook mashed potatoes is to put them into a microwave oven.  Potatoes are one of the foods that can be easily cooked in a microwave oven and still retain nearly all of their nutritional value. Only make sure you cover them with ventilated plastic wrap to prevent moisture from escaping. The result is similar to a steamed potatoes. I must confess I never tried this, so I can’t give you first hand experience.

So now you know how to cook potatoes if you are making mashed potatoes or any other food that includes cooked potatoes. If you want to go one, read one of our mashed potato recipes.