How Long Do You Boil Potatoes (And Why)?

How Long Do You Boil Potatoes (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 5-4 Minutes

The potatoes are the fourth-largest crop grown in the world after wheat, rice, maize. It is consumed by more than half of the population of the world in short it is consumed globally. It is the staple food in many parts. Potatoes are the starchy tuber of the plant Solanum tuberosum and it belongs to the Solanum family. That was originally believed to be cultivated by the native Americans. Potato plants are herbaceous and grow about 60cm in height and their fruit grows inside the soil.

How Long Do You Boil Potatoes

How Long Do You Boil Potatoes?

It is used to prepare several numbers of dishes. In different countries, it is used in different ways and different dishes are prepared. It has some nutritional values too. The raw potatoes consist of 79% water 17% carbohydrate, 77% starch, 2% protein present in it. It provides about 77 kilocalories of food energy, it is a good source of vitamin B6 for about 23% and vitamin C 24%.

They have a proper balance of nutrients like protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, sugar. They have several minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper. It consists of plenty of vitamins too like vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin A, vitamin E, Vitamin K2, beta-carotene, and lutein which plays an important role to make your body healthy.

They are very rich in fat components because of the presence of saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids which are capable enough to make you fat if consumed on regular basis with high quantity. Potatoes have many other usages than eating them and cooking them. It is used to brew drinks that are alcoholic like vodka, and akvavit. They are steamed by the farmers rather than feeding raw, as they are used as fodder for the livestock.

Method Duration
Boiling5-4 Minutes
Baking45 Minutes

Why Does It Take That Long To Boil Potatoes?

Potatoes come in many different shapes like long and thin, short and fat, and some are in strange curves and shapes. If you boil the potatoes then they can be stored for about a week in the refrigerator but they might lose taste and moisture. The boiled potatoes have more water content in them as boiling makes the potatoes absorb water to make them soft. If potatoes are not boiled properly they will taste unpleasant as they are raw.

It is really important to eat properly cooked food items whether it is meat or vegetable. Consuming anything raw is just not a good idea, this may affect your health by affecting your digestive system. The raw potato contains antinutrients like protein trypsin inhibitors and lectins which affect your organs especially the digestive system by hampering the absorption process of nutrition. The impact of antinutrients can be reduced if they are cooked properly. Cooking partially inactive trypsin inhibitors and reduce about 50% to 60% of lectin in potatoes.

The raw potatoes have a high amount of glycoalkaloids in them which might be poisonous if consumed by humans in greater quantities. In nightshade family members have glycoalkaloids chemical present in this family. If potatoes are exposed to sunlight this can initiate the production of chlorophyll which causes pigmentation in them turning them green in color. Eating raw potatoes affected by bacterias can cause problems in your digestive system it causes gas, bloating, and sometimes severe diarrhea too.

Conclusion

Potatoes are the staple food in many parts of the world. It needs to be cooked properly before consuming otherwise this can be problematic for you. The antinutrients present in them can be hazardous and make your digestive system weak if consumed for a long time. To avoid this bacterial growth in the raw potatoes it should be stored in a dark and cool place as sunlight can ruin them by bacterial growth. Raw potatoes are also considered a good diet source but not the one which is green in color.

References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_MWmIDzNMSYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=potato+as+food&ots=z_H5Ov5lbA&sig=l_ov7lnyvrGmm98rLVrMbGeHMY0
  2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EePNniHaROoC&oi=fnd&pg=PP17&dq=potato+as+food&ots=bExWKeWe22&sig=DJaLCQnatgEUI1MHrd61xur6DsY
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AboutNidhi

Hi! I'm Nidhi.

Here at the EHL, it's all about delicious, easy recipes for casual entertaining. So come and join me at the beach, relax and enjoy the food.

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