The best technique for boiling potatoes is to start the potatoes in cold water with some salt, then bring the potatoes and water to a boil, and once boiling, reduce it to a simmer and ensure that the potatoes are cooked evenly from the outside in.
Cook and boil the potatoes until they are fork tender, and then drain the potatoes immediately.
If you leave potatoes in boiling water too long, what happens is the potatoes will absorb too much water and lose their structure and become mushy and fall apart.
The excess water that is absorbed into the potatoes when boiling the potatoes too long can result in runny mashed potatoes and the potatoes will also be difficult to serve as a side dish as they will not hold their shape.
To boil potatoes without them turning to mush, start the potatoes in cold water, which ensures even cooking.
Also boil the potatoes just until they are fork tender and a fork can be easily slid through the boiled potatoes.
Fully cooking potatoes until fork tender takes around 20 to 30 minutes for most potatoes and for some whole potatoes they can sometimes take as long as 45 minutes to fully boil until they are fork tender.
Check the potatoes after 10 to 15 minutes and then continue checking them by trying to stick a fork or knife into the potatoes and see if they become soft enough to easily slide the fork or knife into.
You should rinse potatoes after boiling if you want fluffy mashed potatoes, but if you want creamy mashed potatoes you should not rinse the potatoes after boiling.
Or if you're making potato salad with the boiled potatoes you should rinse the potatoes after boiling with cold water, which cools the potatoes quickly so that you can handle the potatoes sooner and it also removes excess starch that can also make the potato salad gummy.
For fluffy mashed potatoes you should rinse the potatoes with hot water after boiling to remove excess starch and create a fluffier texture and then after rinsing the potatoes you should dry the potatoes well before mashing them.
For creamy mashed potatoes you should not rinse the potatoes after boiling if you want a richer and creamier mash, as the starch in the potatoes is important for this texture.
Drain the potatoes and then mash them while still hot to get a creamy consistency or your mashed potatoes.
When boiling potatoes you should boil the potatoes uncovered after the water has reached a simmer.
Covering the pot when boiling potatoes can cause the potatoes to become mushy and cook unevenly.
Although the lid can speed up the initial boiling by trapping heat, leaving the lid off once the water is boiling will allow for a more controlled simmer of the potatoes and prevents the potatoes from cooking too quickly on the outside while also remaining raw on the inside.
When boiling potatoes you should start the potatoes in cold water, to ensure that the potatoes cook evenly from the outside to the core of the potato.
If you start the potatoes in boiling water, it will cause the outside of the potatoes to cook much faster than the inside of the potatoes, which will result in the potatoes being unevenly cooked and become mushy on the outside and hard in the center.
The trick to boiling potatoes is to cut the potatoes up in slices or small pieces and then start the potatoes in a pot of cold water, then cover the potatoes by around an inch of water and add salt.
Then bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer and simmer the potatoes until fork tender.
Doing this will allow the potatoes to cook on the inside and outside at the same time.
Then after the potatoes are done you can drain the potatoes and season them to taste.
Once the potatoes are boiling you should reduce the heat to a medium-low simmer and cook the potatoes for around 15 minutes to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the potato slices or cuts and once the potatoes are fork tender the potatoes are done boiling.
Once the potatoes are done boiling you can drain them and return the potatoes to a warm pot and season the potatoes and add butter, olive oil, salt and pepper if you prefer or add any other seasoning that you prefer.
Garlic and herbs also go great on potatoes.
Putting salt in the water before boiling potatoes also helps and the reason why you put salt in water when boiling potatoes is because the salt helps to season the potatoes from inside out, as potatoes dense starch cells absorb the salted water as the potatoes cook.
Salting the water for boiling potatoes also is the best way of flavoring the entire potato, because any salt that is added after cooking the potatoes will only season the surface of the potatoes.
Also salting the water when boiling the potatoes also can result in a creamier texture and crispier exterior when roasted, but the main reason for salting the water before boiling the potatoes is to avoid bland potatoes.
Salting the water when boiling potatoes also helps the water move into the potatoes when boiling as the water molecules will migrate to a greater concentration.
Soaking potatoes before boiling the potatoes also helps when boiling the potatoes.
When you soak the potatoes before boiling the potatoes, it helps the potatoes cook evenly and prevents the potatoes from developing a gummy texture by rinsing off excess surface starch.
Soaking the potatoes before boiling the potatoes is also helpful if you peeled the potatoes and cut the potatoes ahead of time to prevent the potatoes from turning brown.
Although if you want the potatoes to have a richer potato flavor, then it's better to scrub the potatoes and then boil the potatoes in stock or milk instead of soaking them in water.
This is because the water can cause some loss of some of the potatoes nutrients.
Soaking the potatoes and rinsing the potatoes also rinses away excess starch, which can prevent a sticky or gummy texture and can lead to a more evenly cooked potato.
Soaking the potatoes also keeps the potatoes from browning and so if you peel the potatoes and cut the potatoes in and, soaking the potatoes in water keeps the potatoes from oxidizing and turning brown before you cook them.
Soaking the potatoes also allows for meal prep and allows you to get a head start on your meal preparation by prepping the potatoes hours or even a day in advance.
Soaking the potatoes is mainly beneficial for boiling the potatoes or removing starch.
Although soaking the potatoes is not a necessary step for all cooking methods.