Minimize Potato-to-Pan Sticking - Tip of the Day

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Jun 16th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Sick and tired of scraping potatoes from the bottom of your pan?

cmbellman/Flickr

There's nothing quite like the annoying tendency for starchy potatoes to stick to a cooking surface. Luckily, there are numerous techniques home cooks use to fight the cemented spud:

Preheat your pan first. This isn't a 100-percent nonstick tip, but it does help fight the problem. (Anthony Sedlak of "The Main" has suggested that a sprinkling of salt directly on the pan also helps.)
Oil 'em up: Toss spuds in oil first. And if calories aren't a problem, add more oil during cooking if the taters start to stick.
Wash and dry: Rinse the outside of your spud to free it of clinging starch.
Cast iron: A well-seasoned piece of cast iron will work beautifully for potatoes on the stove top. Toss or flip them now and then; they should slide with ease without requiring a sea of oil.
Nonstick materials: If you use these pans, they will certainly help, as will products like nonstick foil.

Happy spudsing!

Filed Under: Tip of the Day
Tags: potatoes, potatoes sticking to pan, PotatoesStickingToPan, stuck potatoes, StuckPotatoes