SaurabhOverboiled potatoes can really ruin your mood. Especially f you were making a dish that did not require something like that. However, there are some methods that can help you save them and use them in cooking without spoiling your dish.
You can overboil potatoes, but you should do it only for recipes like mashed potatoes or purees which require a blended, smooth texture to be made. Some recipes do not require overboiled potatoes, so overboiling can really spoil your dish.
If you didn’t want your potatoes to get over-boiled but it happened due to some reason, don’t worry. Let’s see how you can recover over-boiled potatoes. We will also learn how long you can boil them, and much more, so let’s dive right into it!
How To Recover Over Boiled Potatoes?
You cannot completely recover over-boiled potatoes back, however, that does not mean they are of no use. You can try heating them to remove excess water in them after they are over-boiled to recover them a little bit.
The heat will make the excessive water in the over-boiled potatoes evaporate. Then, you can use them in anything you like.
If you wanted to make something in particular that did not require these kinds of potatoes you might get a little disappointed.
However, you can definitely use them in recipes that require a little bit of softer potatoes if you are willing to change what you actually wanted to prepare for your meal.
There are many recipes like mashed potatoes or potato cream soup that require softer potatoes. In these cases, you can definitely use over-boiled potatoes to make delicious dishes.
How Long Can You Boil Potatoes?
This completely depends on the type of potatoes and what you want to do with them.
For instance, soft potatoes will take less time to boil than hard ones. Similarly, if your recipe needs potatoes a little softer, they may take longer than other recipes that do not need them completely boiled and soft.
Perfectly cooked boiled potatoes maintain their form after boiling, have a creamy consistency, and peel effortlessly.
Varying according to the size of your potatoes, cook potatoes on the burner for about 12-30 minutes. The best way is to also keep checking them after every 10 minutes.
That way, you will not ruin them. In case you want to get your potatoes boiled in much less time, you can put them in a microwave with a timer of 6-8 minutes.
If you want to not use a microwave and even then want to cook them faster on the stove, try cutting them into smaller pieces. That way, they will boil quicker than usual.
How Do You Tell If Potatoes Are Over Boiled?
If you find excessive water in your boiled potatoes, you can tell they are over-boiled. You can also check their consistency with a spoon.
Just grab a serving spoon and try pressing them at the edge of your pan. If they release water that means the potatoes are overcooked and need to be recovered.
The perfect cooked potatoes should be buttery and soft, and not mushy. It’s probable that you overboiled your potatoes if they’re more watery than usual after you mash them.
You may slightly roast the potatoes to make them dry. You may cook them in a pan with a little amount of oil. When using oil in a pan, be cautious not to use it very much. The moisture in the potatoes may splash about, so use a lesser amount than you need for ordinary chips.
You can also try drying the potatoes in the oven before directly frying them. That way, you will reduce the risk of water splashing out. Place the drier ones on the upper side. Finish with a grill if you like having them a little crunchy.
How Do You Not Overcook Boiled Potatoes?
Top the pan with a lid. Boil the potatoes over moderate flame till a knife can easily slip in and out of them. This will keep your potatoes from absorbing too much water as a result of overcooking.
However, you must not overcook the boiled potatoes. Remember to check on them after every few minutes to know if they do not get completely dry and lose their texture.
Cooking potatoes may appear to be straightforward, however, if you miss a note of time, you might simply ruin them.
Your initial inclination might be to trash the failures and begin again if you’ve accidentally left your potatoes on the burner for longer than you meant or mistakenly cooked them at overly high heat.
However, until they’re actually charred beyond repair, don’t toss them in the bin right away. Overcooked potatoes, on the other hand, can be completely recoverable if handled properly.
Can You Over Boil Potatoes For Mashed Potatoes?
You can definitely over boil potatoes for mashed potatoes. Over-boiling is something that is an advantage for making mashed potatoes since over-boiled potatoes become very soft which makes them very easy to mash.
While you are preparing mashed potatoes there are many things that can be added to them for better taste and to complete your meal.
You can even add slices of bacon, broccoli, and anything you like as a dressing. That way, you will enhance the taste as per your liking.
Note that if your over-boiled potatoes have absorbed a lot of water, that might be a problem for even mashed potatoes. Mashing potatoes may get messy and ruin your dish and utensils.
But even if they are over-boiled and you wanted to make mashed potatoes in the first place, you can easily get them recovered and use them.
Recognizing whether the mashed potatoes are ready is one of the very essential aspects of the process. A fork or knife is an easy and reliable measure to check. The potatoes are ready when the knife or fork reaches the center of the potato with very minimal effort.
When you probe the potatoes with a fork or a spatula, you should not experience any stiffness to know your potatoes are ready and properly boiled.
Pro Tip: To get the potatoes soft, try using a potato masher or electronic blender. Furthermore, floury and squishy potatoes that get cooked rapidly are required. Cook them till they’re mushy enough to mash up well in a blender.
What To Do With Over-Boiled Potatoes?
Firstly, you can try to recover your over-boiled potatoes by placing them on the stove and removing excess water from them.
However, if you wanted to make anything in particular and this texture of potatoes won’t help you make that, you can try making something different.
You can try recipes that require the texture of potatoes that are a little over-boiled. If you think over-boiling has spoiled the taste of your potatoes and do not want to eat them as it is, you can try a recipe that needs frying them.
Adding different spices and frying them can instantly enhance the taste of the potatoes that you thought were actually spoiled due to over boiling.
A Few Tips to Boil Potatoes The Right Way
- Do not preheat water before putting potatoes into it. This can ruin the taste of the potatoes.
- If you aren’t sure about how much time is needed to boil your potatoes after 10-15 minutes try poking them with a fork. Or knife. That way, you will know for sure!
- If your potatoes are boiled and you’ve turned off your stove, do not let your potatoes sit in the warm water for long. Otherwise, you might oversteam them.
- Are your potatoes too hard? If so, cut them into pieces and then boil so that they cook evenly from the inside as well.
