Boiled: Cooking Potatoes

Subject: Cooking Potatoes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: freonids at aol.com (Dave)
Date: 19 Aug 2000 12:04:56 GMT
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Question??? Why would someone boil potatoes either with or without skins? Does it have to due with moisture content? Please help?
From: penmart10 at aol.com (Sheldon)
Date: 19 Aug 2000 12:08:54 GMT
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> Why would someone boil potatoes either with or without skins?

Cook's choice.
From: Stan Horwitz (stan at tempest.ocis.temple.edu)
Date: 19 Aug 2000 13:56:19 GMT
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> Why would someone boil potatoes either with or without skins?

Like anything else in cooking, it depends on the cook's preference and the intended use of the cooked potatoes. For example, boiling potatoes for use in potato salad is essential. Boiling potatoes for use in home friend potatoes is a matter of personal preference.
From: "hahabogus \(Alan\)" (hahabogus at hotmail.com.invalid)
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 09:03:41 -0500
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When boiling potatoes what are your other choices? If you plan on eating spuds boiled what else could you do to them? The question is vague. It is like saying why would anybody eat their vegies cooked or uncooked. If you don't like potatoes boiled then don't eat them, but if you like boiled potatoes then those are your choices.

The skins of potatoes have some nutrient value and they add flavour and texture as well as visual appeal. Some cooks use smallish spuds and only peel the ends of the potato...this is mostly for visual effect in my opinion. New potatoes are generally cooked unpeeled (with some mint) as their skins add flavour and isn't as thick or tough and chewy as older spuds.
From: Edwin Pawlowski (esp at snet.net)
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 21:04:44 -0400
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> Why would someone boil potatoes either with or without skins?

Your choice. The flavor is different with it on.

Sometimes we make mashed potatoes witht he skins if then are small and the skin is thin. This is very good with the red ones.

Sometimes we just eat them boiled, adding a little butter and salt, maybe some Italian seasoning. Other times we will brown them in a pan adding a sprinkle of garlic salt.
Ed
From: Robert W. Keereweer (chef at chebucto.ns.ca)
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 01:09:43 -0300
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: Why would someone boil potatoes either with or without skins?

The potatoes will have more flavour if cooked/boiled with their skins on. For example, when I make potato salad, I boil the potatoes with the skins on. After they have cooled, I then peel a cubed them

Rob.
From: Yeff (yeff at spamcop.net)
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 00:26:15 -0400
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Robert W. Keereweer wrote:
> The potatoes will have more flavour if cooked/boiled with their skins on.
> For example, when I make potato salad, I boil the potatoes with the skins
> on. After they have cooled, I then peel a cubed them

I'm curious, what do you do with the skins?
Not waste them I hope?

-Jeff B.
yeff at erols dot com
From: hartmans at mediaone.net (Jack and Kay Hartman)
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 05:49:54 GMT
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Yeff (yeff at spamcop.net) wrote:
>I'm curious, what do you do with the skins?
>Not waste them I hope?

Mine usually go in the compost pile.

Kay
From: Harry A. Demidavicius (harryd at telusplanet.net)
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:56:08 GMT
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Kay Hartman wrote:
>I always boil potatoes with the skins on. I almost always peel the
>potatoes after boiling. I prefer most potato dishes without the skin.
>The reason I leave the skin on for boiling is that the potato has more
>potato flavor when cooked in the skin.

I second the above. I also use as little water was possible.
From: TL (no at nowhere.net)
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 13:36:52 -0500
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I third the below! Any break in the skin allows water to get into the potato, causing a texture change I can sense.

Also, poking through the skin with a fork or knife to see if the potatoes are done will let water in.

How do I know this? I was cooking some and forked one. They weren't done so I let them cook a bit more. When it came time to peel and dice them the one that was poked was much mushier.

A few days ago I boiled some brown ones. The water was about half way up the body of the taters and it took about half hour. FYI.

Tim

>I second the above. I also use as little water was possible.
>Harry
From: malan6 at uswest.net (Alan)
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 14:03:18 -0500
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Kay Hartman wrote:
>>I always boil potatoes with the skins on. I almost always peel the
>>potatoes after boiling.

I cook them with the skin, and eat them with the skin. Seems to taste better, and there is the idea that some of the nutrients are in the skin or just under it and they go away if you peel them. . . .
From: Smee (ziln at hotmail.com)
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 11:34:12 -0700
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> Why would someone boil potatoes either with or without skins?

Are you asking why people boil potatoes, as compared to some other method of cooking?