Boiled: potatoes that won't cook
Subject: potatoes that won't cook
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: jjensen at alumni.uvic.ca (jen)
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 18:52:45 -0000
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i've just gone through all the reviews on an epicurious recipe that my daughter wants me to try. the recipe is for greek chicken and potatoes and a number of the comments complain that the potatoes didn't cook enough (after 1 hr. 45 min. at 375).
i've often had potatoes that i could boil for a long time without them cooking through (while the other potatoes in the pot slowly become mush). i thought i'd read somewhere what causes this but i'm drawing a complete blank on it.
does anyone know?
cheers,
jen
From: J Quick (nobody at nowhere.com)
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 19:25:41 GMT
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Jen wrote:
>a number of the comments complain that the potatoes didn't cook enough
Ignore the comments. The potatoes will be completely cooked if the oven temperature is accurate. Potatoes can be completely cooked without turning to mush, sometimes as an intentional goal of a recipe such as that one.
> i've often had potatoes that i could boil for a long time without them
> cooking through (while the other potatoes in the pot slowly become mush). i
> thought i'd read somewhere what causes this but i'm drawing a complete
> blank on it.
Acidity will help to keep the structure of the starch intact. The potatoes are cooked through: they just aren't mushy. Compare the taste and texture of a slice of potato cooked this way with a raw slice.
For potato salad, use waxy potatoes (low starch) and acidulate the cooking water with a little vinegar to keep the diced potatoes nicely firm.
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 11:36:46 -0500
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jen wrote:
> i've often had potatoes that i could boil for a long time without them
> cooking through (while the other potatoes in the pot slowly become mush). i
> thought i'd read somewhere what causes this but i'm drawing a complete
> blank on it.
I've had the same thing happen, potatoes that won't get done. And they're not just "firm" as someone else has averred. They're still half raw. I know the difference between firm but cooked thoroughly and still half raw. I've had it happen with baked potatoes, boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, etc. I have had it happen at home and in restaurants. I once sent a dish back *three* times because the potatoes weren't cooked enough and finally gave up, deciding that it wasn't the chef's fault, that they were just uncookable potatoes.
An undercooked potato really grosses me out and so if I come across a piece when I'm eating it just spoils the rest of the meal for me because I'm always expecting the next piece to be that way as well. So, I also would like to know what causes this and what, if anything, one can do to get the damned things to cook properly to to somehow identify and weed out the ones that are not going to cook properly.
From: J Quick (nobody at nowhere.com)
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 03:40:40 GMT
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Kate Connally wrote:
> I've had the same thing happen, potatoes that won't
> get done. And they're not just "firm" as someone
> else has averred. They're still half raw.
In this case, it's caused by the insufficient heating of the granular amylose and amylopectin within the Solanum tuberosum above its gelatinization temperature in an acidic aqueous solution.
In other words, the starch in the potato was undercooked in its lemon sauce.
;-)
From: jen (jjensen at alumni.uvic.ca)
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 05:59:52 -0000
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J Quick wrote:
> In other words, the starch in the potato was undercooked in its lemon sauce.
what about those potatoes that don't cook when boiled in water? while their little buddies are turning to mush because they're being boiled too long?
From: J Quick (nobody at nowhere.com)
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 06:33:21 GMT
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jen wrote:
> what about those potatoes that don't cook when boiled in water? while
> their little buddies are turning to mush because they're being boiled too
> long?
They're both cooking. The small ones cooked faster than the large ones. That the small ones begin to absorb water and breakup first merely shows that they cooked faster, not that the larger ones aren't being cooked. Dice those potatoes into a consistent size first and they will all cook in about the same amount of time. Or you could wait to add the small ones to the pot until after the large ones have cooked for a while. I cook mashed taters in a pressure cooker in about 10 minutes or so, start to finish including prep and cleanup. I first dice them into approx. half-inch cubes.
If you live at a high elevation, the temperature that water boils drops due to the lower atmospheric pressure, so food often takes longer to cook. This also may cause big chunks to cook much more slowly than small chunks, because less heat is being applied to the food and won't be able reach the interior of the food as quickly. Using a pressure cooker goes a long way to negate this problem by allowing the water to reach a temp of about 250deg. F before boiling.
General cooking tip: add food to a pot or pan based on how long they should take to cook, from slowest to fastest, so that they all finish cooking at about the same time, particularly when ingredients cook at vastly different speeds. This isn't news to many of the people on this forum, but worthwhile advice is worth repeating on occasion.
From: jen (jjensen at alumni.uvic.ca)
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 20:20:08 -0000
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J Quick wrote:
> They're both cooking. The small ones cooked faster than the large
> ones. That the small ones begin to absorb water and breakup first
> merely shows that they cooked faster, not that the larger ones aren't
> being cooked. Dice those potatoes into a consistent size first and
> they will all cook in about the same amount of time.
i was using 'little buddies' as a joke. i always cut vegetables the same size when cooking them. it's a no brainer.
i guess kate and i are the only ones who've ever had potatoes (cut the same size and cooked in the same fashion) not cook through.
one of the mysteries of life, i suppose.
From: Z GIRL (z_girl at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:51:59 GMT
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jen wrote:
> i guess kate and i are the only ones who've ever had potatoes (cut the
> same size and cooked in the same fashion) not cook through.
I have to, Its always a potato that is low in starch content like a Yukon gold. I have learned from experience to use these only it I want to cut them up before cooking them. For the most part I stick to Idaho potatoes. ;-)
Barbara
From: jen (jjensen at alumni.uvic.ca)
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:51:48 -0000
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Z GIRL wrote:
> I have to, Its always a potato that is low in starch content like a Yukon
> gold. I have learned from experience to use these only it I want to cut them
> up before cooking them . For the most part I stick to Idaho potatoes. ;-)
i was just thinking to myself that i've only had the problem with russets!
at any rate, i've sent an email to the US Potato Board. let's see if they can help :-)
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 11:26:54 -0500
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jen wrote:
> at any rate, i've sent an email to the US Potato Board. let's see if they
> can help :-)
Can't wait to find out what they have to say.
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 11:26:20 -0500
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Z GIRL wrote:
> I have to, Its always a potato that is low in starch content like a Yukon
> gold. I have learned from experience to use these only it I want to cut them
> up before cooking them . For the most part I stick to Idaho potatoes. ;-)
Barb,
I've had it happen with russets, Yukon gold, new red potatoes, and white potatoes. And I might cook up to 8 potatoes from the same "batch" and only some of them will not cook. They others are fine. They all look the same when I buy them. I always buy loose ones and pick over the pile to find the best looking ones, so they are generally much more uniform than when you buy a bulk bag. It boggles my mind.
From: Z GIRL (z_girl at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:39:13 GMT
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Kate Connally:
> I've had it happen with russets, Yukon gold, new
> red potatoes, and white potatoes. And I might cook
> up to 8 potatoes from the same "batch" and only
> some of them will not cook. They others are fine.
Kate, I have never had it happen with the new red potatoes and I do use them frequently so go figure. I love the idea of a support group, I will bring the Kahlua ;-)
Barbara
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 11:23:12 -0500
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jen wrote:
> i guess kate and i are the only ones who've ever had potatoes (cut the
> same size and cooked in the same fashion) not cook through.
Jen,
I have a friend here that has had it happen to her, so that makes 3 of us! Maybe we should start a support group. ;-)
From: Miss L.Toe (x at x.com)
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 17:19:04 -0000
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jen wrote:
> i've often had potatoes that i could boil for a long time without them
> cooking through (while the other potatoes in the pot slowly become mush). i
> thought i'd read somewhere what causes this but i'm drawing a complete
> blank on it.
Never try to cook Potatoes and Tomatoes at the same time , in the same pot. Somehow the Tomaotoes stop the potatoes from getting cooked.