Fully cooking a potato in water takes around 20 minutes to 30 minutes for whole potatoes and for cut potatoes it takes around 10 minutes to 20 minutes to fully cook the potato in water.
Cubed or small potatoes take around 10 minutes to 15 minutes to fully cook in water.
Small whole potatoes take around 15 minutes to 20 minutes to fully cook in water.
Medium sized whole potatoes take around 20 minutes to fully cook in water.
Large whole potatoes take around 25 minutes to 30 minutes to fully cook in water.
You can tell when a potato is done being boiled by sticking a fork or knife into the center of the potato.
If the potato is done boiling, the fork or knife should slide in the center of the potato with little to no resistance.
Once cut potatoes are done boiling the potatoes should be soft enough to mash with a fork or knife but not mushy.
It's also better to 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.