In contrast to oven baking, when potatoes are boiled the starch granules absorb not only the internal moisture but also some of the surrounding water. … This causes the starch granules to rupture and spill their moist starchy contents, resulting in mashed potatoes that are wet and pasty.
If your homegrown potatoes are turning to mush when you cook them, you may be wondering why. Well, it’s nearly always to do with growing conditions… If your potatoes have been growing in very dry soil, the potatoes themselves will have a fairly low moisture content when harvested.
Well, cover the pot with a lid. Cook the potatoes in gently boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes for small Red Potatoes, New Potatoes or cubed large potatoes, and 20 to 25 minutes for quartered potatoes. You can use a fork to test to see if they are tender enough.
Why do potatoes fall apart when boiling?
If potatoes are produced during a very dry growing season, they will tend to have a higher than normal solid content and less moisture. When these are cooked, they absorb more water than usual and, as a result, fall apart at the end of cooking. How do you keep potatoes from breaking when boiling? Cover the pot.
A question we ran across in our research was “Why do potatoes explode?”.
My favorite answer is sometimes a potato could be even moister and the water, especially in a larger size potato may be trying to escape as steam from the middle cells of the potato. It hits the outer cells, already expanding from heat and bursts open.
Then, why do potatoes explode in the oven?
This is what my research found. whether by oven or microwave, the potato is heated above the boiling point of water. The volume ratio of water to steam is approximately 1:1700. So, when the potato is heated; an unpleasant surprise can sometimes happen.
The volume ratio of water to steam is approximately 1:1700. So, when the potato is heated; an unpleasant surprise can sometimes happen. If you are lucky, the explosion occurs in the oven or microwave during cooking; thus only making a ruined potato and a major mess.
Which side of the potato do you poke the holes in?
What with the potato halves laying flat side down, your potato situation is now much more stable. However, you probably still want to steady the potato and keep it from sliding when you poke the holes in it. When poking the holes, have the sharp side of the knife facing away from your other hand.
How many people stab themselves with potatoes every year?
They hold the potato steady with one hand while repeatedly poking and stabbing it with the other hand using a knife, fork, or ice pick. The statistics are not known as to how many people cut or stab themselves every year using this method.