Is it taking you longer to cook potatoes?

[redmike]

Is it taking you longer to cook potatoes?

I remember when medium sized potatoes were ready to eat after boiling them for 20-25 minutes.

When I lived in Arad, Israel, they could take up to 40 minutes and I wrote it off to the higher altitude even though it didn't make much sense.

Well today I cooked chicken and potatoes in the oven at 400F/200C/Gas 6 and the potatoes were cut into small pieces.

But after 45 minutes the potatoes were still hard although the chicken was already cooked.

I took the chicken out, and gave the potatoes another 20 minutes and they were edible but still not not soft inside.

The obvious answer is to par boil the potatoes but that doesn't answer my original question.

"Is it taking you longer to cook potatoes?".

 

[Andy M.]

A lot depends on the potato too. Waxy potatoes like reds and Yukon golds don't soften as much as a starchier potato like a russet (baking potato). Otherwise, altitude is the only other factor I can think of as long as the water is boiling. In the oven that's not an issue, just the potato.

 

[RPCookin]

I haven't noticed anything. It's faster for me now because I moved from Denver at a mile above sea level to the Bahamas where my house is literally 20 feet above sea level. In Denver, water boils at 206° F., so it naturally takes longer.

We most often only have russet potatoes available, and they take about 10-15 minutes to boil, depending on what size I cut them to. I'll be using some new reds today in my stew beef, and I'm looking forward to the change from russet.

As Andy said, baking time in the oven isn't affected by altitude.

 

[pacanis]

It's taking me longer to do some things.
Boiling potatoes aint one of them.

 

[lyndalou]

It's taking me longer to do some things.
Boiling potatoes aint one of them.

+1 That is sooo true

 

[redmike]

Potatoes are taking so long to cook!

Not talking about the small new potatoes which cook very quickly but Russets that I bought yesterday and many other types before that.

I cut up potatoes into small chunks and put them into the oven along with some chicken to which I added lemon juice, garlic and honey.

http://i42.tinypic.com/110a9h3.jpg

Oven temperature was set to 400°F/200°C /Gas 6 and the chicken thighs and legs were cooked after about 50 mins.

But the potatoes were still hard!

I gave them another 20 mins and they were edible but not soft inside.

I have noticed this problem with boiling them too.

Twenty minutes used to be OK but now I'm looking at maybe thirty five minutes or more.

I use an oven thermometer and the problem existed in Israel when I was there and in Lisbon where I'm now living.

Are the potatoes just old?

I remember taking fresh potatoes out of the garden and they were generally cooked in about 15 minutes.

Thanks for any replies,

Michael

 

[redmike]

Altitude is the only other factor I can think of as long as the water is boiling. In the oven that's not an issue, just the potato.

I didn't know that, and will surf to see why that is so.

Thanks,

Michael

 

[redmike]

I didn't know that, and will surf to see why that is so.

Thanks,

Michael

I realized before checking ;-)

Altitude affect the boiling point of water

Michael

 

[forty_caliber]

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[letscook]

As a matter of fact last month I was cooking a 5 lbs of russet potatos and it seem like forever till they got done, then when the were fork tender pulled them out and mashed them, they seemed a little gummy, I then proceed to add the rest of my ingredients (I was making peroiges filling) and got the mixer out to mix everything together and all of sudden I had a bowl of play dough, one gooey sticky blob. I been doing perogies for years using the same amounts, pot of water, fillings of cheeses and cottage cheese. It shocked me. Threw it all out went to the store to buy more items and restarted it using the same ingredients and everything came out fine. I have no Idea why it happened. It was a first for me.

 

[redmike]

As a matter of fact last month I was cooking a 5 lbs of russet potatos and it seem like forever till they got done, then when the were fork tender pulled them out and mashed them, they seemed a little gummy, I then proceed to add the rest of my ingredients (I was making peroiges filling) and got the mixer out to mix everything together and all of sudden I had a bowl of play dough, one gooey sticky blob. I been doing perogies for years using the same amounts, pot of water, fillings of cheeses and cottage cheese. It shocked me. Threw it all out went to the store to buy more items and restarted it using the same ingredients and everything came out fine. I have no Idea why it happened. It was a first for me.

Glad in a way that it's not just me.

Sorry that it happened to you.

I was beginning to think that I had some kind of potato karma ;-)

 

[Addie]

Would the age of the potato have a different effect on the cooking time? It is too early for the ones coming out of storage to hit the stores. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am under the impression that they are harvested in the late fall and hit the stores immediately. After that need has been filled the rest go into a controlled storage facility. I am thinking it may be the stored ones that are giving the problem. The stored ones usually hit the stores somewhere around early spring. That is when you notice they are dirtier and old looking.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I too had this issue just the other day. After reading this post.
I was at the finish line for my beef stew and had added my carrots. When the carrots were almost done, I added the potatoes. Carrots always take longer for some reason.
It took almost 45 minutes for the potatoes to be fork tender. Good thing the carrots can stand up to cooking this long. They got over 1 hour on them.