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Potatoes, Boiled
When about to boil potatoes, pick them out as nearly as possible of one size, or the large ones will be hard when the small ones are reduced to pulp. If this cannot easily be done, cut them to one size. Wash them well, remove the specks or eyes, and pare them as thinly as possible, not only to avoid waste, but because the best part of the potato is near the skin. As they are pared, throw them into cold water, and let them remain in it until wanted. An iron saucepan is preferable to a tin one for cooking them, as it prevents them boiling so fast, and the more slowly they are boiled the better. Put them into a saucepan with barely enough cold water to cover them, and as soon as the water boils throw in a little more cold water. This will check the heat, and keep the potatoes from breaking before they are done through. Thrust a fork into them occasionally; and as soon as they are soft take them up, pour off the liquor, and let them stand by the side of the fire with the saucepan partially uncovered till the moisture has evaporated and they are quite dry. If they are allowed to remain in the water after they are done enough, they will certainly be spoilt. Serve very hot. When potatoes are done before they are wanted, they should be drained and left in the saucepan by the side of the fire, and instead of the lid a folded cloth should be laid over them. This will absorb the moisture and keep them hot and in good condition for some time. In order to make boiled potatoes look floury, boil and drain them as above, and whilst they are drying by the side of the fire shake the saucepan vigorously every minute or two. This will give them a very good appearance, but it is rather wasteful, as a good portion of the potato sticks to the side of the pan. Time, according to the quality of the potato, from half an hour to an hour and a half. Probable cost, 1d. or 1 1/2d. per pound. Sufficient, two or three potatoes for each person.
A method rather than a recipe, and most of it still holds: even sizes, cold-water start, and thorough drying off the heat. The timings and the vessel are where it shows its age.
- The hinge: dry them off the heatDraining and then letting the potatoes steam dry in the uncovered pan is what separates a good boiled potato from a waterlogged one. Two or three minutes over the lowest heat, or on a warm switched-off burner, drives off the surface moisture.
- Timings are far too longHalf an hour to an hour and a half reflects large, mature, sometimes rather old winter potatoes cooked deliberately slowly. Modern potatoes cut to roughly 2-inch pieces are done in 15 to 25 minutes; whole medium potatoes take 25 to 35. Test with a knife tip rather than watching the clock.
- "By the side of the fire"This means gentle, indirect heat at the edge of a range hearth. On a modern hob it is the smallest burner at its lowest setting, or a warm burner just turned off.
- Iron versus tinThe recipe's reason is simply that iron 'prevents them boiling so fast'; a heavier pan moderates the boil. Any heavy-based stainless or enamelled pan does the same job. Bare cast iron can sometimes darken the potatoes slightly.
- The splash of cold waterAdding cold water at the boil was a way of checking the heat on a fire that could not be turned down. With a controllable hob, simply lower the heat to a bare simmer.
- No salt is mentionedThe recipe omits it. Salt the water generously, about a tablespoon per 2 litres, or the potatoes will taste flat no matter how well they are dried.
- Flouriness depends on the varietyShaking the pan roughs up the surface starch, but only a floury type will fluff. Use Maris Piper, King Edward or russet; waxy potatoes will hold their shape and stay smooth rather than flour. As the recipe notes, shaking does cost you some potato to the side of the pan.
- Yield and costTwo or three potatoes per person is the recipe's own reckoning. Reckon 175-225 g per person as a side dish. The stated 1d. to 1 1/2d. per pound is of historical interest only.
The insistence on paring thinly because "the best part of the potato is near the skin" is a piece of practical thrift that happens to be broadly sound nutritionally, the layer just under the skin being relatively richer in minerals and the skin itself in fibre. The wide time range, up to an hour and a half, fits potatoes stored through the winter and growing steadily older, drier and slower to cook, so that a cook had to judge her own stock rather than follow a clock. The warning against leaving potatoes standing in their water, and the folded cloth laid over the pan in place of a lid, are the marks of a kitchen where dinner was frequently held back and a sodden potato was a visible failure.