Should you remove foam when boiling potatoes: important advice for cooks

23.12.2024 07:37

Almost all cooks have noticed the formation of foam when cooking boiled potatoes.

Many housewives immediately remove this mass.

In other words, they act in the same way as when making soup.

But is this action correct? Is it necessary to remove the foam that forms when cooking nightshade?

These questions were answered by the expert of the online publication Belnovosti in the field of cooking, chef, fourth-class baker Yulia Arkhipova.

potato
Photo: © Belnovosti

Why does foam appear when boiling potatoes?

If the foam that appears when making broth is coagulated protein, then the release of air mass when making boiled potatoes is explained differently.

Thus, the appearance of foam when cooking vegetables is associated with the release of starch, the source of which, as is known, is a representative of the nightshade family.

What to do with foam that appears when boiling potatoes

Contrary to popular belief, this whitish mass does not contain any dangerous compounds.

In other words, such foam is absolutely harmless. Therefore, it can be left.

There is no need to remove foam when preparing boiled potatoes, also from an aesthetic point of view.

If you need to remove this mass when cooking broth or soup (to improve the appearance of a liquid dish), then you should not do the same when making a potato side dish: the foam will be removed when you drain the water anyway.

However, if the potato is an ingredient in the soup, you will have to skim off the foam.

Author: Kurchev Anton Deputy Editor-in-Chief
 
Expert: Julia Arkhipova Expert / Belnovosti

Content
  1. Why does foam appear when boiling potatoes?
  2. What to do with foam that appears when boiling potatoes