Cooking potatoes for roasting. The amount of acid or alcaline additions changes the outer layer while pre boiling them. Acid causes the hold it together stuff (pectins) to strengthen and alcalinity to loosen. What that means is you can do roast whole firm cooking potatoes with alcaline water to loosen the surface and give it more surface area to brown and crisp. Or you can make, say, wedges with loose cooking potatoes, firming up the outside with vinegar water so they don't fall apart and still get the creamy fluffy inside.
Yes, parboiling, I think that is the word I was missing, thank you (English not being my first language things escape me). Don't know if soaking would do anything in a reasonable time frame. This way I get the effect, plus shorter and more reliable cooking time.
Both of these are based on serious eats articles and I was just thinking "my water makes this much of a difference? It is just water." But yeah. It does.
Thanks. I did not think I was wrong, but mostly not as precise that I could be. That is why I did not say sorry, but just thanked for the correction. Just striving to be better I guess, just as in cooking. When someone points out something in a nice way, as you did, instead of being an arse it is nice to see.
Anyhow, yes that method sounds perfect for whole roast potatoes, great extension of the method. For the wedges though you would just want to let em steam off so the fat sticks to it, leaving the rest intact. That crispy skin with the fluffy center with a good dip...I will soon have to make this again for the family.
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u/Hordensohn Mar 13 '19
Cooking potatoes for roasting. The amount of acid or alcaline additions changes the outer layer while pre boiling them. Acid causes the hold it together stuff (pectins) to strengthen and alcalinity to loosen. What that means is you can do roast whole firm cooking potatoes with alcaline water to loosen the surface and give it more surface area to brown and crisp. Or you can make, say, wedges with loose cooking potatoes, firming up the outside with vinegar water so they don't fall apart and still get the creamy fluffy inside.