Parboil Potatoes

Parboiling is the act of cooking food partially so that its cooking time is reduced when added to a recipe. Potatoes are commonly parboiled owing to their tendency to take a lot longer to cook normally. This article explains how to parboil potatoes before including them in a recipe requiring parboiled potatoes.

Steps

 * 1)  Clean the potatoes. Check to see if the recipe requires them peeled or unpeeled and peel them if needed.
 * 2)  Fill a saucepan with room temperature water.
 * 3)  Add the cleaned potatoes.
 * 4)  Bring to a light boil. Boil small to medium potatoes for approximately 7-10 minutes; boil larger potatoes for approximately 12-15 minutes. If you're not sure how "done" the potato is, stick a fork into it. Preferably there should be a cooked outer edge and a raw middle; the potato should still be firm and your fork should meet resistance after the initial edge lets it through easily.
 * 5)  Remove the potatoes from the heat once this time has elapsed.
 * 6)  Dip the potatoes straight into cold water. This stops the cooking immediately. They are now ready to be used as required in your recipe.

Tips

 * Parboiled potatoes are great for using on pizzas, in curries, for salads or fried up as hash browns or potato patties. Some people love to parboil potatoes prior to roasting.
 * Parboiling works best with potatoes that are meant for boiling. Some potatoes will be very floury or soft and can crumble with even parboiling.
 * Some recipes might ask for the potatoes to be parboiled already cut; follow the recipe's instructions for both the style of the cut and the time for parboiling.

Warnings

 * Overcooked potatoes cease being parboiled. You will need to use these for a different recipe!

Things You'll Need

 * Peeler (optional)
 * Saucepan
 * Bowl of cold water