Potatoes are one of the most popular side dishes in North America.
They’re versatile, tasty, and go with just about anything. Boiling potatoes is an easy way to prepare them for a meal or just have some on hand for snacking.
But do you know what happens if you overboil potatoes? Well, let’s find out in this article.
Can you over boil potatoes?
Yes, you can. For some dishes, this won’t matter because the texture is meant to be soft and mushy in the first place. But if you are making anything else it will be a problem and should be avoided.
A potato might get overcooked even if it is cooked for a while.
It can happen if you leave the potato in hot water for too long, or if you use a kind of potato-like Russet, King Edward, Marabel, or Vivaldi.
If this happens don’t worry about it! You can always change up the recipe and make something else.
How long should you boil potatoes?
You need to know what you will do with them. Soft and fluffy, floury potatoes take less time to cook than hard, waxy potatoes.
If you want to make mashed potatoes, boil the water first. Then put the potatoes in for 10 minutes. If you are going to fry them, it takes 20 minutes instead of 10. You can tell if they are done by testing with a fork after 15 minutes.
What not to do when boiling potatoes?
While boiling potatoes, you should not start with warm water because it will ruin the taste. Poke a few of them with a fork 10 minutes after they started boiling to see how soft they are.
If they are done, then take them out of the pot. You can’t let potatoes sit in hot water because they will cook from residual heat.
The best way to make boiled potatoes is to cut them into even pieces so that each part cooks evenly in the pot.
Best practices
To make potato salad, you need to use potatoes that are firm and waxy.
These potatoes take longer to cook. Make sure you have already cut them into the pieces you want in the salad.
If you cook them whole, it is possible for the outside to be overcooked while the inside is not done yet. However, if want your potato salad with skin on, this can be okay too.
The best potatoes for potato salad are Yukon gold, red potatoes, Yellowfin, Fingerlings, Anya, Charlotte, Cornish Kings.
If you want mashed potatoes for dinner, you will need to cook them first. You can use a potato ricer or an electric mixer to make the potatoes nice and smooth.
You will need floury, soft potatoes that cook quickly. Cook them until they are soft enough for a mixer to mash them up nicely. Mix in milk and butter so they get creamy!
For French fries or baked potatoes, you need to cook them until they are not quite fully cooked. You need to do this because they will be boiled again in the oven or fryer.
So for floury potatoes, boil them for about 5 minutes and then remove them from the water; for waxy potatoes, boil them for 8-9 minutes and then remove them.
I over-boiled my potatoes, what to do now?
You have over-boiled the potatoes. What should you do now? You can try different things if you want to or just cook them longer.
Dry them out
You can dry the potatoes out a little. You can use a skillet with oil to fry them. Be careful not to have too much oil if using it in the skillet. The water in the potatoes might splash everywhere, so use less than you would for regular fries.
You can put potatoes in the oven to dry them out. Put the drier ones on top and then turn on the broiler at the end if you want them crispy.
Make mashed potatoes instead
You can use over-cooked potatoes for mashed potatoes. If you are making mashed potatoes, there are many things that you can add to them. You could put butter, bacon bits, chives, fried onions on it.
Try potato cream soup
You can turn potatoes into soup. You can also make cream soup with them and add bacon. Another option is to make a more interesting cream soup by adding curry powder and coconut milk.
Try potato croquettes
Potato croquettes are delicious food.
You will need some flour, cheese, butter, and whatever seasoning you like. You can skip the cheese if you like but we think that it adds a nice flavor and is a pleasant surprise.
We got this recipe for potato croquettes from Jo Cooks; she knows what she is doing so we recommend that you use her recipe. These will primarily be an appetizer but no one will judge if you use them as a side dish!
FAQ’s
How do you know if a potato is overcooked?
If the potato is wrapped in foil, it will have a brown spot on the bottom. If you place the potato on the bottom of a pan and it has steam rising from it, then that means that it is overcooked.
How long can you leave boiled potatoes in water?
You can store peeled potatoes in water for about 24 hours. Peeled potatoes left out by themselves at room temperature will get dark overnight, so submerge them in a bowl of water, cover and refrigerate.
Why do potatoes boil over?
Potatoes boil over because the steam inside the bubbles turns into a liquid when it hits something that is cooler than 100 degrees. If you keep your spoon on top of the pan too long, it will become too hot and will not be able to pop the bubbles.
How do you keep boiled potatoes from getting mushy?
To keep potatoes from getting mushy after they are boiled, cover the pot with a lid. Cook them on high heat until they are soft enough that you can push a fork all the way through them. If you don’t cover the pot with a lid, too much water will boil off and your potatoes will be soggy.
Is a hard potato overcooked or undercooked?
Do you have a hard potato? Try poking it with a fork. If the fork goes in and comes out dry, the potato has been cooked fully.
But if there is still mush on the fork when you pull it out, then your baked potato needs to be cooked some more. An undercooked potato will be difficult to poke with a fork.