This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's say you have to make a recipe that includes potatoes, let's say sliced, you'll most likely proceed as follows: Peel the potatoes, wash them, slice them, wash them again, pat them dry and add them to your recipe.
But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad idea. Let's see why.
But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad idea. Let's see why.
Last modified on: May 19th 2025
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's take a closer look:
1) Wash the potatoes, then peel them => nothing to say, this is essential, unless your recipe uses potatoes with the skin, in which case you just need to wash and brush them carefully.
2) Cut the washed potatoes into slices => also classic, but without it being really visible, a discreet white substance appears (after a while) on the cut surface, which is the starch contained in the potato.
Now, this starch, although tasteless, is an excellent natural thickener which can be very useful in the rest of the recipe. Let's imagine you're making a leek-potato soup, for example, using the unwashed potato slices will improve the velvety texture of your future soup, and the same applies to a gratin.
That's why the answer to the question "Should potatoes be washed twice?" is "It depends!" :
- If the potatoes are to be used in a recipe where you're looking for a velvety, creamy, binding texture (soups, "raw" gratins, etc.) => no, they shouldn't be washed a second time, but added freshly cut.
- If the potatoes are to be used in a recipe where crispness or crunchiness is required (chips, fries, etc.) => yes, they should be rewashed to remove the starch.
Note that if you cook or precook the potatoes before use (for a gratin or tartiflette, for example), any starch is eliminated by cooking.
To sum up: Depending on the recipe you choose, wash the potatoes once or twice, i.e. keep or eliminate the starch they produce on the surface.
1) Wash the potatoes, then peel them => nothing to say, this is essential, unless your recipe uses potatoes with the skin, in which case you just need to wash and brush them carefully.
2) Cut the washed potatoes into slices => also classic, but without it being really visible, a discreet white substance appears (after a while) on the cut surface, which is the starch contained in the potato.
Now, this starch, although tasteless, is an excellent natural thickener which can be very useful in the rest of the recipe. Let's imagine you're making a leek-potato soup, for example, using the unwashed potato slices will improve the velvety texture of your future soup, and the same applies to a gratin.
That's why the answer to the question "Should potatoes be washed twice?" is "It depends!" :
- If the potatoes are to be used in a recipe where you're looking for a velvety, creamy, binding texture (soups, "raw" gratins, etc.) => no, they shouldn't be washed a second time, but added freshly cut.
- If the potatoes are to be used in a recipe where crispness or crunchiness is required (chips, fries, etc.) => yes, they should be rewashed to remove the starch.
Note that if you cook or precook the potatoes before use (for a gratin or tartiflette, for example), any starch is eliminated by cooking.
To sum up: Depending on the recipe you choose, wash the potatoes once or twice, i.e. keep or eliminate the starch they produce on the surface.
Lasts posts
Butter vs. grease
We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?December 1st 20251,3455
Getting out of the fridge early
Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?November 24th 20251,2605
Who's making the croissants?
When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...November 23th 20251,141
Oven height
When we put a dish or cake in the oven, we naturally tend to put it on the middle shelf, and that's what we usually do. But in some cases, this position and height can be a little tricky, so let's find out why.October 8th 20253,1635
The importance of sieving
In recipes that use a fine powder (flour, powdered sugar, etc.), you'll often see the advice to sift before using it. To sift is to pass the powder in question through a sieve (a very fine strainer) before incorporating it into your recipe. It's often advice, but is it really useful?September 3rd 20257,8223
Other pages you may also like
The golden-brown finish on puff pastry
Let's take a look at the tricky matter of producing puff pastry with an attractive, golden-brown finish. French pastry chefs call this "dorure" (literally, "gilding"). Behind this quirky term there lurks a real problem (and the solution): when using puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) for a pie, or...February 8th 201848 K 24.6
A few tips for effective kneading at home
When you have to knead dough for bread or some other recipe, you may well use a food processor or the type of machine known as a stand mixer. The best-known brands are Kenwood and KitchenAid. They are useful tools, but here are a few tips to help you get the best out of them.June 23th 2021284 K 23.8
Tranché, dissociated, failed, in short... missed!
When preparing a sauce or a cream, there's always a (small) risk that the creamy preparation you're working on will suddenly separate into two parts of different textures: a liquid part, for example, and a more or less solid part, or even become lumpy. It's terribly frustrating, but we'll see...June 19th 202313 K5
Egg yolks and caster sugar
We often come across recipes where we need to mix egg yolks with caster sugar. This would appear to be a very ordinary and simple thing to do but, be warned, these two ingredients can behave oddly together.February 15th 201883 K 24.3
Chive flowers
Did you know that? Chive flowers are not only a beautiful purple color, but they are also edible and delicious.May 29th 201948 K4.4
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 1 comment already posted on this page