Hemicellulose, the carbohydrate that makes up potatoes, softens when cooked, but when you add an acid like vinegar, the hemicellulose will remain solid instead. Even when the acidic element is diluted in the boiling water, the potato won't fully soften, McGee explained to the outlet.
03/5Why vinegar is added to boiling potatoes? This hack has been suggested by several home cooks and chefs and the reason behind it is that vinegar can help the potatoes retain their shape. Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape.
A little vinegar goes a long way
Once you've determined that you're using the correct type of potato for boiling, adding vinegar to your pot of water will help them retain their shape.
The thing is, when you cook potatoes (or dry beans) in an acidic environment, they will never get soft. You'll always be left with, at the very least, a bit of an al dente effect, if not a full-on crunchy texture.
"Vinegar is an inherently acidic material, so if we add a few drops of vinegar into that boiling water that is going to increase the rate of denaturing and it's going to make that happen faster and help the poached egg hold its shape better."
Soak the potato strips in water with a dash of apple cider vinegar. Soaking the potatoes draws starch to the exterior of the potato. This prevents fries from sticking together and helps them get crispy. Vinegar delays potatoes from turning brown and also speeds up the starch extraction.
Baking soda!
Vinegar allows you to boil the potatoes the longest and keep them firm but I didn't get the soft outer surface I wanted. (I did get very creamy middles though!) Good, but not quite. Baking soda starts softening the outside right away, long before the middles are cooked.
Next time you find your spuds refusing to soften, whether simmered with tomatoes, cooked with a lemon marinade, or stewed in a vinegary sauce—it's probably not the potatoes at fault. Give them a par-boil in good old salted water first, before you dress them in that tart, mouth-puckering acid.
7 – Add Baking Soda to Your Dish
To do this, you can add some baking soda to your stew or dish. Adding about ¼ or ½ of a teaspoon of baking soda into your dish can help neutralize some of the acids in the food, which will then allow the potatoes to soften a bit more.
The potatoes cooked in the alkaline water were also of a significantly different consistency, softer than the potatoes cooked in acidic or regular water. This project has proved that an acidic pH of water will produce firmer boiled potatoes, while an alkaline pH of water will result in softer boiled potatoes.
Peel potatoes with a vegetable peeler, if desired, or leave the skin on. Cut into large 2-inch chunks or keep them whole. Add potatoes to a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Sprinkle in a pinch or two of salt and bring to a boil.
Just like you might use a squirt of lime juice to keep guacamole from browning, a bit of lemon juice or white vinegar in the bowl with the potatoes will ward off gray hues. Use one teaspoon to a half gallon of water to get all the anti-browning impact with no noticeable flavor changes.
But for maximum preservation power, you'll want to do this: Brine the vegetables (to add crispiness and flavor), then drain them, then boil them in a vinegar solution. Package the vegetables and liquid into jars, cover them in the remaining hot vinegar solution and can them.
Acid is an important component in any recipe, but if you're working with potatoes, it's best to add it after it's cooked, if at all. That includes not just vinegar, but also lemon juice and tomatoes, according to Harold McGee, author of "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" (via Bon Appétit).
CONSTITUTION: Solanin is removed from potatoes by dipping the potatoes in vinegar of 30-60 deg. C, containing 0.3-1.0 vol% of acetic acid, for 2-5 minutes.
The addition of a mildly acidic vinegar to a starchy veggie like potatoes not only deepens the flavor profile, but it also helps to tenderize the tubers.
Boiled Potatoes Time Guide
Peeled, cubed potatoes cut into small, one-inch pieces should cook in 10 to 12 minutes, once the water reaches a boil. Larger pieces (about 2 inches across) may need longer, around 15 minutes. Medium whole potatoes should boil 20 minutes before they'll be tender.
Why potatoes can absorb too much water. If your potatoes have been growing in very dry soil, the potatoes themselves will have a fairly low moisture content when harvested. What this then means is that when the potatoes are build they absorb more water and fall to pieces quite quickly. So annoying!
Steam the potatoes instead of boiling
You're only waiting for a small amount of water to boil, not a whole pot. So the next time you're prepping potatoes for another dish or just softening them on their own, try steaming them instead of boiling.
Reasons For Why Is Baked Potato Still Hard? As mentioned before, the main reasons for a hard baked potato are not enough cooking time, the wrong oven temperature, or a big potato size. To avoid this problem, make sure to follow the right cooking steps and use the correct oven temperature.
The Mistake: Adding Potatoes to Boiling Water
Potatoes require a long cook time. When you add them to boiling water, the exterior can cook faster than the inside, leading to an unevenly cooked and lumpy mash. Always start potatoes in cold water.
Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.
For most potato dishes it's important to add the potatoes to cold water and allow the water to come to a boil with the potatoes in the water. The potato starch can react as soon as it comes in contact with hot water, which will promote uneven cooking and mealy potatoes.
"Baking soda [what Americans call bicarbonate of soda] breaks down the pectin in the potato and draws starch to the surface. What do you get? Wonderful browning and a crispiness you wouldn't otherwise achieve.”
Well, that would depend on its intended use. For instance, vinegar is potent at fighting mold while baking soda is great at fighting wine and coffee stains. The former is a better disinfectant but the latter is a phenomenal deodorizer.