Boil Potatoes In Salted Or Unsalted Water

[Chanelle Glugla]

Salt potatoes are a longtime upstate New York favourite, but they are definitely worthy of wider enjoyment. These delicious potatoes are a great way to enjoy mini potatoes and make a great side for any meal.

You must boil them WHOLE, to avoid the salt from getting into the centre of the potatoes, which would result in overly-salty potatoes. Mini potatoes cook up perfectly and quickly, but that said, if you want to boil WHOLE, larger potatoes, you can certainly do that.

Can I make these in an Instant Pot? Apparently you can. Try about 2-3 minutes on high pressure for small potatoes, followed by a 15 minute natural release, then vent, drain and enjoy.

Traditionally, salt potatoes are served boiled in salt water, drained, allowed to dry, then tossed in melted butter. There are other ways to enjoy your salt potatoes though, which are especially good for left-over salt potatoes, with or without butter on them.

However, one thing I've always thought to be true is that if you don't put enough in when cooking, you seem to have to add a whole lot more afterwards to lift the flavour to desired levels than you would have if you'd added it whilst cooking.
So the overall cooked vs table-added levels may in fact be lower if you add it early.

Late edit: The accepted answer on Ways to learn to season food correctly? would appear to agree with the statement that salting early is different to salting late - but I'd love to see some really solid evidence as to actually how that affects something as simple as boiled potatoes. All I have right now is 30 years of just knowing it makes a difference.

But more importantly, if you're worried about salt content, it's better to just cook the potatoes in unsalted water, and salt the mashed potatoes to your liking when you mash them. There's nothing magical about the salt absorbed during boiling... it'll taste as salty, and be as salty, as salt mixed in during mashing.

These 4-ingredient Syracuse Salt Potatoes are a classic Central NY dish. Thin salt crusts, almost impossibly tender centers, and a drizzle of melted butter make them just as irresistible as they are easy to prepare.

Eventually, the workers began to bring bags of bite-sized potatoes with them to work for lunch and toss them into the salt brine cauldrons, boiling the potatoes in their skins. When the potatoes were scooped from the boiling water, they developed the thin crust of salt around the skin that made them into an iconic Syracuse dish.

It isn't until you've drained the potatoes of their salty water and watched as the sparkly, salty crust developed; then dunked or doused them in butter and herbs and bitten into their tender centers that you realize that Syracuse Salt Potatoes are so much more than just salty potatoes. They're the absolute perfect iteration of boiled potatoes. There's no question.

What makes the salt crust happen? The same thing that allowed salt workers to process the salt brine in boiling cauldrons in the first place-- evaporation. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind the salt, which clings to solid surfaces (such as the pot or the potatoes).

All you need is butter, potatoes, salt, and herbs. Er, and water. The fifth maybe-it-counts-as-an-ingredient ingredient. The point is, it's pretty easy. However, you need to make sure you get the right stuff.

Let's talk potatoes. There are tons of them out there, but for this recipe you really need bite-sized baby potatoes. If you want your Salt Potatoes to be as authentic as possible, you want to get tan-skinned potatoes, as red-skinned potatoes aren't traditional. That being said, I've tried making them with multiple types of potatoes and I've found that, as long as you use new potatoes, you'll get good results. The smaller, the better.

Don't be tempted to buy bigger potatoes and cut them before boiling, or you're in for a world of saltiness. Remember, the skin keeps all of that salt from being absorbed by the potato's flesh, which means once you slice them, there's no saving them.

Also, don't wait for all of the water to evaporate and to see the salt crust to take your potatoes out of the pot. The crust will appear-- like a magic trick-- while the potatoes sit in the colander. Leave them in too long and you'll wind up with a salt crust so thick, no one will be able to stomach them. Not even the most dedicated of salt lovers, like myself.

I've lived in Syracuse my whole life. These potatoes are a summer time tradition. I've never had them sprinkled with herbs but the melted butter is a must. Everyone gets their own small bowl of butter to dunk either a whole bite size potato in or after they're cooked cut them in half to dunk. Absolutely delicious!

My bff brought me State fair salt potatoes in the bag as a gift She's from Salisbury Center NY and I'm from Crystal River Fl I've never met a potatoe I didn't like I'm making these tonight with bbq ribs Can't wait to try them

Thanks for sharing! I grew up in the Rochester area and had no idea these were a regional thing! I have been a bit confused as to why bags of little potatoes I buy here in Atlantic Canada don't have instructions for salt potatoes on the side, and now I know why. I will add these to my list of recipes to make when homesick.

I'm originally from Binghamton ,NY and have been eating these for years and when i go to visit its always Salt potatoes and Speedies and Hoffman hotdogs(red ones not white) , and i am making the salt potatoes now as i type this , i always add the full amount of salt when boiling about 25 minutes , drain and add a stick of butter back to the pot ,melt and enjoy, i Love Love Love these !!! Slick in Knoxville TN

Funny, we like the white one and not the red. They just started selling Hofman's franks here in the deep South. Like these now better than Sabrett's or Shalean's. all the great hotdogs are made in NY it seems.

Definitely worth making. Had mine with sour cream rather than butter, but I can imagine how luxurious herbed butter would be. Concentrated potato flavor, juuuuuust the right amount of salt - what's not to love? I'm saving the brine for future batches. I figure I should get at least three or four more uses out of it before it gets too grubby to re-use.

We are having them for Thanksgiving dinner this year. No turkey - we are only two people so it is filet mignon, green bean casserole, caesar salad, and your potatoes. Dessert is 7-layer caramel cake. 2020 has n0t been tradition so why should we be.

We lived in upstate, Horseheads for a bit and were introduced to salt potatoes. I haven't made them in years. My daughter mentioned them the other day, so I thought I'd give them a whirl.
Thanks for posting the recipe, I couldnt remember if I needed kosher or sea salt.
By the way, serving these along side my husband's famous smoked ribs!

I'm from Syracuse and you can't live a summer without salt potatoes! In the 1960's, 1970's and 80's being invited to a clambake at Hinderwadl's in North Syracuse (now closed) was heaven! Fresh local corn, clams and salt potatoes! And then there is Heid's in Liverpool. No salt potatoes there, only the best hot dogs on earth!!! (Hoffman hot dogs and coneys) Take them across the street and eat them on a bench in Onondaga Lake park and then stroll over to the Salt Museum. Syracuse is known as "The Salt City." You can buy a bag of salt potatoes at most Syracuse grocery stores, complete with salt, to take home to boil. So good!!!

I grew up and still live in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. This is the best description and recipe for this dish that I have ever seen online. Yes, an upstate classic with fresh corn and steamed clams. I like to mix in pork fat, clam juice and a bit of lemon to the melted butter. I know it sounds like simple cooked potatoes to the unaware - but once you try them properly prepared as described in this recipe - well, you'll understand. The salty crispness and creamy inside really is distinct.

I'm from Syracuse NY and grew up with salt potatoes. The New York State Fair always gave samples of these out. Now I live in North Carolina. I usually order them on line for the summer parties. I was requested to make them for a Christmas party but can't order them now I am going to use this recipe. Thank you for sharing it.

Salting the water in which you cook starches (pasta, rice, potato) is an effective way of enhancing the flavour of the finished product - boiling starches absorb salt well (which is why adding chunks of potato to an overall salty stew will lessen the apparent saltiness of the dish.

But salt does other things. When I am making roasted potatoes, I parboil them for 5 minutes before drying and roasting them in oil. if you divide them into two batches and boil one half in unsalted water and the other half in well salted water (1tbsp/2 quarts water), the salted potatoes will brown and crisp much better than the unsalted ones. I'm not sure why this is, but I would encourage you to try it because it's amazing to see.

-by osmosis, being the water salty results in a lower content of water in the potato. That is, the potato absorbs LESS water while cooking (there are some videos in YouTube showing this fact.) With less content of water, potatoes become crispier after roasting.

Pasta absorbs boiling water as it cooks, so the salted water actually seasons it. But whole unskinned potatoes absorb little if any water when they cook/boil, so they do not get seasoned. Although I have no data, I suspect that neither the small increase in boiling temperature nor the tiny bit of osmosis resulting from salting the water would be of much consequence. However, cut and/or peeled potatoes might indeed be seasoned somewhat, depending on how much cooking water they absorb.

i thought potatoes were more dry after i boiled with salted water vs unsalted - was making mashed potatoesi added salted while mashing potatoes while I boiled them unsalted and they were juicersalt draws the water outcan boil potatoes faster is cut to smaller pieces anyways no salt necessary

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