Potatoes – they are just as easy to cook as they are to undercook. You might not even realize when you’ve undercooked them until you take a bite or try to mash them. Potatoes are extremely versatile and go well with a variety of dishes, stews, and broths. If you’ve never had a potato, then you should go cook some right now – try not to undercook them though.
Potatoes have been undercooked one too many times and we’re here to speak up for them. We will be sharing some tips on how to fix undercooked potatoes. The majority may not bother trying to fix them, they either toss them or try to eat them undercooked. If you fall under either category, you need to take a sit and read this.
How Do You Know If A Potato Is Undercooked?
To check if a potato is undercooked, simply use a fork to pierce it. If the fork goes through undisturbed and the potato slides off easily, then the potato is fully cooked; but if the piercing feels hard and it doesn’t slide off easily, then it’s likely undercooked. Another way to know if a potato is undercooked is by pushing a thin wooden skewer through it. If the skewer reaches the potato’s core with little to no resistance, then it is cooked.
You can also test the potato by cutting it in half before piercing it with a fork. If it goes through easily, then it’s cooked. Generally, when potato is undercooked, you’d be able to tell from its core after cutting it open.
How to Fix Undercooked Potatoes – Working Tips
You can fix undercooked potatoes by letting them cook for some more time, while you check it in intervals until it’s well-cooked.
To avoid getting undercooked potatoes, you should always use a simmer. Boiling them vigorously will make the potatoes soft on the outside and hard on the inside. You can also cut them in half before cooking, this will ensure the inside gets just as soft as the outside. Another way to avoid undercooked potatoes is to use a steam pressure cooker.
There are many ways to cook a potato – you can boil, fry, microwave, bake, grill or roast them.
Boiled Potatoes
So, to fix your undercooked boiled potatoes, returning them into the same water might get them messy and sloppy. You can boil some fresh water and add them in, then let them boil for another 10 minutes at 212 degrees F and if you boiled large potatoes, you can cut them in half before reboiling. You can also recook them in a microwave instead.
Baked Potatoes
If they were baked, you should return them into the oven before the insides cool, otherwise, you should use a microwave instead. You can preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 350-450 degrees F and let them bake again for another 15-20 minutes. If they were roasted, simply slice them, add some oil and seasoning, then roast again until they’re fully cooked.
Mashed Potatoes
To fix undercooked mashed potatoes, you can try adding some melted butter, cream or milk and cook them a little longer on low heat until the lumps are soft.
OTHER METHODS
A faster way to fix undercooked potatoes is by poking some holes in the potatoes with a fork, then microwaving them for about 2-5 minutes.
You might not be able to just boil them again or bake them again. For example, if you’re making a potato salad and you already have everything mixed, you can microwave it for 30-40 seconds at a time, then keep checking if they are as soft as you want.
What Happens If You Eat Potatoes That Aren’t Fully Cooked?
Besides the unpleasant taste, you would suffer some indigestion. Undercooked potatoes contain resistant starch that is indigestible. You might not necessarily get a disease or some kind of infection from eating undercooked potatoes, but the risk of potatoes having an increased amount of harmful compounds like solanine or other glycoalkaloids is higher when they are undercooked.
Undercooked potatoes can be toxic when much is consumed. One might experience symptoms like drowsiness, vomiting, indigestion, abdominal pain, increased sensitivity, bloating, gas, cell disruption, diarrhea, headaches, itchiness, fever, flushing, and confusion.
We highly recommend avoiding potatoes with a lot of green on the skin or those with sprouts – they are very harmful cooked or undercooked.
Read also: How to Know When Scrambled Eggs Are Done & How Long It Takes
Will Potatoes Soften in Stew? How Long Does It Take?
Yes, potatoes will soften in a stew. Cooking potatoes in stew will take about 30-40 minutes. You should note that cutting them into smaller pieces will get them softer much faster. Another thing to consider is that stews with any kind of acidic content like vinegar or tomatoes will cause some condiments like potatoes or carrots to take twice as long to soften.
To make potatoes soften in a stew, you can bring down the heat to a medium or low and leave the mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring it to avoid burning. You can also cook the potatoes separately until they are about 80% done before adding them to the stew.
Read also: 10 Best Chile De Arbol Substitutes
Potatoes will not cook in tomatoes because tomatoes are acidic and the sourness will slow the cooking. If they will cook at all, it will take twice or thrice as long as cooking them in just water. We recommend cooking them separately until they are about 80% done before adding them to the stew, then let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes.
Yes, you can reboil undercooked potatoes. To do this, you would need to drain out the water they are currently in because reboiling them in the same water can make them messy and unappealing. You can boil some fresh water and add them in before their insides get cool. If you are unable to reboil them before the interior cools, you should use a microwave instead. Simply recook the undercooked potatoes until they’re soft.
Yes, you can microwave undercooked potatoes. One of the fastest ways to fix undercooked potatoes is by poking holes in the potatoes with a fork, then microwaving them for about 2-5 minutes. This would get them properly cooked and ready to eat. This method works best for any kind of undercooked potatoes. Be it boiled, baked, or roasted.
Conclusion
If you want to avoid undercooking your potatoes, then this is the article for you. We discussed how to fix undercooked potatoes, some good ways to avoid this problem from the start, and other related topics that we could all benefit from.
