How to use the online timer
Twenty-five minutes covers potatoes cut into even chunks and boiled in salted water, which is the version that turns into mash, salad or the base of half a dozen other things. Whole potatoes take considerably longer, a jacket in the oven longer still, and small new potatoes are done well before the time is up — the cut is what sets the figure, not the vegetable.
Start them in cold water rather than dropping them into boiling water, so the outside does not disintegrate while the middle is still raw, and count from the moment it comes to the boil. Keep the pieces roughly the same size. The countdown runs in this browser tab, so leave the page open while you get on with everything else.
The test is a knife or a skewer into the largest piece: it should slide in with no resistance and slide out without lifting the potato with it. Drain them properly and let the steam blow off for a minute before mashing, because wet potato makes wet mash. Floury varieties fall apart and mash well; waxy ones hold their shape and suit salads.
Common questions
Cold water or boiling water to start?
Cold, brought up to the boil with the potatoes already in. Dropping them into boiling water cooks the outside long before the middle, and the edges break up while the centre is still hard.
Which potatoes should I use?
Floury ones fall apart and mash well; waxy ones hold their shape and suit salads and roasting. Using the wrong type is behind most disappointing mash, regardless of how carefully it was timed.
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