Potatoes: fluffy mash, crisp roasties and fried potatoes that don't turn to mush
Which variety to use for mash and which for salad, why mash turns gluey, how baking soda makes roast potatoes crisp, why to soak slices and when to salt fried potatoes. Plus double-fried chips and proper storage.
Two types of potato
All potato varieties fall into two groups. Floury potatoes are high in starch: they fall apart when boiled and the flesh turns fluffy and dry. Waxy potatoes have less starch: the flesh holds its shape and is smooth and slightly moist after cooking.
How to tell without a variety name: cut a potato in half and rub the halves together. If they stick and white starchy juice appears on the cut, it's floury. Floury varieties usually have white or cream flesh, waxy ones yellow.
- Floury: mash, jacket potatoes, crisp roast potatoes, chips, potato pancakes.
- Waxy: salads (Olivier, vinegret, potato salad), soups, whole boiled potatoes, gratin, sliced fried potatoes.
Perfect mash: the ratio
Per 1 kg floury potatoes: 150–200 ml hot milk, 50–100 g butter, salt to taste. More butter means richer flavour — restaurant mash is sometimes a third butter by weight of potato.
Cut the potatoes into large, even chunks and cover with cold water: in boiling water the outside falls apart before the middle is tender. Salt the water from the start — 10 g per litre. Cook over medium heat for 20–25 minutes until a knife goes in without resistance.
Why mash turns gluey
Potato cells swell with starch as they cook. Break them mechanically — with a blender or mixer — and the starch leaks out, turning the mash into a stretchy paste. There's no fixing it afterwards.
- The best tool is a potato ricer or sieve: they push cells through without tearing them.
- A regular masher works too — use straight up-and-down strokes.
- Never use a stick blender or food processor.
- Mix in the butter first — fat coats the starch — then the hot milk.
- The milk must be hot: cold milk cools the mash and makes lumps.
Crisp roast potatoes
The secret of a crisp crust is a rough surface and hot fat. The potatoes are parboiled first, then shaken in the pan to fluff up the edges, and roasted in sizzling fat.
- Cut 1 kg floury potatoes into large 4–5 cm chunks.
- Drop into boiling water with 1 tbsp salt and ½ tsp baking soda per 2 litres. Cook 8–10 minutes — the edges should start to soften.
- Drain, leave for 2 minutes to steam dry, put the lid on and shake the pan hard.
- Pour 4–5 tbsp oil or dripping onto a tray and heat in the oven at 220 °C for 10 minutes.
- Tip the potatoes into the hot fat (it will sizzle) and turn to coat on all sides.
- Roast for 40–50 minutes, turning once after 25 minutes.
Jacket potatoes
Wash and dry large floury potatoes. Prick them 5–6 times with a fork to let steam escape. Rub with oil and scatter generously with coarse salt — the skin turns crisp and salty.
Bake straight on the oven rack at 200 °C for 50–60 minutes for 250–300 g potatoes. Don't wrap them in foil: they steam in it and the skin stays soft. They're done when a knife slides into the centre with no resistance at all.
Straight out of the oven, cut a cross in the top and squeeze the sides to release steam so the flesh doesn't go wet. Fill with butter, sour cream, spring onion, cheese.
Pan-fried potatoes
Fried potatoes turn to mush for three reasons: surface starch, an overcrowded pan and salting too early.
- Cut into sticks or slices, rinse in cold water until it runs clear and dry thoroughly with a towel.
- Use a wide pan, ideally cast iron, and 3–4 tbsp well-heated oil.
- Lay the potatoes in one or two layers. If you have a lot, fry in two batches.
- Don't cover the pan — under a lid the potatoes steam.
- Don't stir for the first 5–7 minutes, until a crust forms. Then turn with a spatula 2–3 times.
- Salt at the very end, 1–2 minutes before they're done: salt draws out moisture and the crust goes soft.
Chips: double frying
Chips that are crisp outside and soft inside only come from two stages. The first fry at a low temperature cooks the potato through; the second at a high temperature builds the crust.
Cut floury potatoes into 1 cm batons, soak in cold water for 30 minutes and dry completely. First fry: 150–160 °C for 5–6 minutes — soft but pale. Lift out and cool for at least 20 minutes. Second fry: 180–190 °C for 2–3 minutes until golden. Salt as soon as they come out of the oil.
Potato pancakes that don't go grey or fall apart
Grated potato darkens quickly in air. Onion helps: grate potato and onion alternately — the onion slows browning. Or add a pinch of citric acid.
Squeeze the mixture in muslin or a sieve to remove excess water, but keep the starch that settles at the bottom of the bowl: pour off the water and return the white sediment to the mix. It binds the pancakes instead of extra flour.
Per 1 kg potatoes: 1 onion, 1 egg, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt. Fry in well-heated oil in 3–5 mm layers for 3–4 minutes per side.
How to store potatoes
The best conditions are dark, cool (4–10 °C) and well ventilated. A pantry, a frost-free balcony in winter or a cellar will do.
Don't keep potatoes in the fridge: below 4 °C starch turns into sugar. They taste sweetish and when fried they darken quickly and form more harmful acrylamide.
Keep potatoes away from onions: onions give off moisture and gases that make potatoes sprout and spoil faster.
Questions and answers
Why did the potato fall apart in my soup or salad?＋
You used a floury variety. Soups and salads need waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes. If you only have floury ones, boil them in their skins and cut them once cold.
Can I make mash ahead?＋
Yes. Spread it in a dish, dot with butter and cover with foil. Reheat at 160 °C for 20–25 minutes. Or on the hob over a bain-marie with a spoon of hot milk.
Do new potatoes need peeling?＋
No. Their skin is thin and tasty — just scrub well. Boil in salted water with a sprig of dill and toss with butter.
Why soak potatoes before frying?＋
Water rinses off surface starch. Without it slices don't stick, don't burn and form a crisper crust. The key is drying them well afterwards.
How long do boiled potatoes keep?＋
2–3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. They're best fried the next day — you get lovely crisp potatoes.
Try it in practice
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