Salads are served not only as independent dishes, but also as a side dish for meat and fish dishes. Very often potatoes are included in salads. In a salad, fish potatoes make up 42% of the composition of vegetables, in meat - up to 60%, in a capital poultry salad - up to 47%, etc.
Potatoes intended for salads and snacks are boiled unpeeled and peeled. When potatoes are boiled in their skins, the loss of nutrients is reduced. However, in spring, when at this time of the year the taste of potatoes usually deteriorates noticeably after winter, it is better to boil it peeled to facilitate the transition into a decoction of substances that give the potatoes an unpleasant taste and smell. Therefore, it is not recommended to cook sprouted potato tubers in the skins. Cooking them in a purified form contributes to the transition into a decoction of a certain amount of solanine, while the taste of the potatoes improves (then the decoction must be poured). Potato tubers contain glycoalkaloids - solanine and chaconin (from 2 to 10 mg% in 100 g of products).
Solanine is a poisonous substance. Certain doses of it can cause irritation of the mucous membranes, vomiting and diarrhea, headache, convulsions and hallucinations. Poisoning can occur if the amount of solanine in 100 g of the product exceeds 20 mg%.
Most solanine is found in the peel, green tubers, sprouts. When tubers germinate, solanine turns into pulp, such tubers become bitter.
Potato tubers that have turned green on more than 1/4 of the surface are unsuitable for food.
Boiling potatoes in their skins
The matched potatoes of the same size must be washed and placed in a bowl with a wide bottom. After that, pour boiling water (0.6-0.7 liters per 1 kg) or immerse in boiling water so that the water is 1 cm higher than the potatoes, salt (10 g of salt per 1 liter of water), close the lid, immediately bring until boiling and simmer until cooked through. After it is cooked, you need to drain the water, and dry the potatoes by opening the lid for 7-10 minutes, and then transfer to a baking sheet or into a tray so that it cools down quickly.
Loose potatoes with an increased starch content during cooking can become overcooked and soaked in water, after which they become watery, tasteless. Therefore, such potatoes should be cooked in a wide bowl in a small layer. About 15 minutes after the potatoes are boiled until half cooked, drain the water, close the dishes tightly with a lid and cook the potatoes without water in a water bath, for which put the pot with potatoes in another, larger in size, with boiling water.
It is not recommended to immerse potatoes for cooking in cold water - this method of cooking destroys 35% of vitamin C in it; when boiling it with immersion in boiling water, the loss of vitamin C is reduced to 7%. Do not allow the liquid to boil violently during cooking, since air circulation contributes to the destruction of vitamin C.
You need to peel and cut potatoes for salad only after it has cooled down, and just before preparing the salad. It is undesirable that the shelf life of unpeeled boiled potatoes exceeds 6 hours from the moment of boiling.
Boiling peeled potatoes
Peeled potatoes are boiled in the same way as in a peel. It must be cooked at a low boil. Peeled friable potatoes are also boiled in a peel.
Steaming potatoes
For this, special devices or a metal insert are used. There should be a distance of at least 4-5 cm between the insert in the pan and its bottom, and as much water should be poured into the pan as needed to fill this particular space. At a time when the water boils, you should put the potatoes (peeled or peeled) and, hermetically closing the pan with a lid, cook them until fully cooked. Peeled potatoes should be sprinkled with fine salt before boiling.
Potato salads are prepared with the addition of vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, fruits, eggs, as well as fish, meat products, non-fish seafood.
Preparing greens for salad
Sort green onions, lettuce, parsley, dill, remove impurities, rotten leaves and rinse several times in a large amount of water, and then transfer the greens from the water to a colander or sieve, pour out the remaining water, and rinse the dishes well from the remaining sand, and only after that, put the greens back into the dishes and pour fresh cold water, continuing rinsing and changing the water until the sand is completely removed.
Before sorting and rinsing the green lettuce leaves, cut off their roots with the remnants of the earth.
Onions should be peeled and washed shortly before use; do not store onions in water or after washing them, otherwise they will acquire an unpleasant taste and smell.
Fresh and pickled cucumbers must be rinsed. Peel cucumbers with hardened skin. Greenhouse and early cucumbers should not be peeled.
In fresh tomatoes, after washing them, it is necessary to cut out the place of attachment of the stalk. To prevent juice from flowing out of tomatoes when cutting, you should use a sharp knife.
Pickled or salted mushrooms should be separated from the marinade or brine before use and rinsed with cold water.
Salad dressing
As a dressing, vegetable oil, sour cream, mayonnaise, various mixtures of mayonnaise and sour cream, salad dressing, mustard dressing are almost always used. Optionally, you can add table vinegar, sugar, salt, ground pepper, ready-made table mustard to the salad.
Combine chopped products with dressings, mayonnaise, sour cream always before serving.
It is recommended to refrigerate the products prepared for the salad. Potatoes are an exception when they are used in some salads freshly boiled or while still warm.
Salad decoration
To decorate salads beautifully, it is recommended to use the same products that are in their own composition, primarily those that attract attention with their bright colors: red tomatoes, fresh sweet peppers, red radishes, carrots, green onions, green lettuce, parsley leaves, celery, dill sprigs, cucumbers, eggs.
Mayonnaise, sour cream can also serve as decoration. For registration, you need to leave about 1/5 of the products available in the recipe. Green salad, greens can be entirely used to decorate the look of salads, snacks and various cold dishes.
