Potatoes are the star of the Sunday roast, but if you get them wrong, it can be disastrous. The perfect roast potatoes should be golden and crisp with a light, fluffy interior.
However, this can be hard to achieve consistently. That’s why Stephen Parkins-Knight, a senior brand innovation chef at Waitrose, has shared his top tip for the perfect potatoes every time. If you use this tip, you can expect potatoes that everyone loves.
Many people swear by salt for their potatoes, but Parkins-Knight says that baking soda is a better addition. He recommends adding half a teaspoon of the baking soda to the water you are using to par-boil your potatoes.
Boil them as usual and then, once they’re fork tender, drain the water and put a lid on the pan. Once the lid is on, shake the saucepan whilst holding the lid on to rough up the surfaces of the potatoes.
This will create ragged edges which crisp up beautifully in the oven. Once they are cooked perfectly and have the beautiful golden crisp that makes potatoes so delicious, they should be served immediately.
According to Parkins-Knight, baking soda performs better than salt to create the perfect potato.
He said: “The alkaline environment breaks down the pectin in the potato surfaces more aggressively than salt alone. This super-charges the “roughing up” process after boiling.
“The surfaces become much more ragged and starchy, which, when shaken, creates an even more extensive exterior for the fat to cling to.
“So you get a crust that is not just crispy, but flaky and you then get deep golden brown, with an almost malted, savoury flavour.”
