Southern Stewed Potatoes (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between stewed potatoes and mashed potatoes? ›

What's the difference between mashed potatoes and stewed potatoes? The main difference is that you add cream or milk to your mashed potatoes or creamed potatoes, whereas all you add to your stewed potatoes is butter.

Pre-cooking the potatoes is not necessary for most stew recipes. When added raw, the potatoes will absorb the flavors from the stew, creating a rich and delicious taste. However, if you prefer your potatoes to be softer and creamier, you can parboil them for a few minutes before adding them to the stew.

Old Potatoes: Very old or stored potatoes can become starchy and may not soften as well during cooking. It's best to use fresh, firm potatoes. Acidic Ingredients: If your soup contained highly acidic ingredients (e.g., tomatoes), it could have affected the texture of the potatoes.

If your baked potato is still hard after an hour, it may not have been cooked long enough. Baked potatoes typically require longer cooking times at higher temperatures to ensure they are soft and fully cooked.

ANSWER: Waxy potatoes or those called boiling potatoes stand up well in soups and stews. These have thin skin and are high in moisture and low in starch. Potatoes that are low-starch and high-moisture hold together better. Yukon Gold potatoes are on the medium-starch side and will hold their shape in soups.

Cooked potatoes with the skin are a good source of many vitamins and minerals, such as potassium and vitamin C. Aside from being high in water when fresh, potatoes are primarily composed of carbs and contain moderate amounts of protein and fiber — but almost no fat.

Overcooking the Veggies

Your onions will be fine, but mushy potatoes and carrots are a no-no. Instead, add them about 20 minutes before the end of cooking. When they're tender, the stew is done.

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.

Peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Add the potato chunks to a pot and add just enough water just to cover them. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, for 25-30 min. They should be soft and easily pierced with a fork.

Cut the potatoes into rissolettes and blanche them (i.e. cook them briefly, not to full doneness). Use the water you used in the soup and put the potatoes back in when you go to warm the soup again for serving. Since they're cut fairly small, they should be just about done without being mushy when you go to eat.

How to stop potatoes from going into mush? ›

How to Cook Potatoes that absorb too much water. For this season, if you've been struggling with potatoes that turn to mush, we'd recommend you steam them whole instead of boiling them. We've actually done a bit of testing on this and they definitely hold together far better if steamed whole (with skins on).

The larger the potato pieces, the longer they'll last in water. If you're prepping with smaller pieces, don't soak for more than 12 hours.

Potatoes, too, struggle with cooking if boiled in a tomato sauce. In fact, they may never get tender enough for your purposes. This effect on cook time can be chalked up to the amount of acid in tomatoes. With a pH range of 4.3 to 4.9, tomatoes will turn any boiling water or solution into a highly acidic mix.

Their dense nature and size mean that whether you love a white potato or a sweet potato, getting them tender to the core just takes a while. You can speed up the process when boiling or roasting or frying by cutting them up small or slicing them thin or even grating them.

Other acidic ingredients, like wine or tomatoes, can also prevent your potatoes from properly cooking. Baking Kneads explains this is a result of the potato's pectin chains and their inability to soften when they come into contact with acidic ingredients.

Stewing involves cooking meat, fish, vegetables or fruit in their own juices, or in a small amount of additional liquid. Compared to boiling, stewing preserves more of the nutrients and flavour of the food. Additionally, this particular cooking method requires a smaller amount of fat than frying.

How to Thicken a Soup with Mashed Potatoes. Stir in ¼ to ⅓ cup mashed potato per 1 cup soup or stew. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, then adjust mashed potato amount to achieve the desired consistency.

Here's a hot tip for a soup thickener you've probably never thought of: frozen hash browns or leftover mashed potatoes. You can use these frozen favorites or leftover sides to quickly thicken creamy soups to create a heartier flavor and the perfect soup consistency.

Many people cook potatoes to mash in a fair quantity of boiling liquid, while many stews are simmered. As stews often have liquids other than water, we avoid taking them to a full boil for a few reasons: they make circulate inefficiently, leading to scorching on the bottom of the pot.