Salads are served not only as independent dishes, but also as a side dish for meat and fish dishes. Very often, salads include potatoes. In a salad, fish potatoes make up up to 42% of the composition of vegetables, in meat salad - up to 60%, in a capital salad from poultry up to 47%, etc.
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Potatoes intended for salads and appetizers are boiled unpeeled and peeled. When boiling potatoes in a peel, the loss of nutrients is reduced. However, in the spring, when at this time of the year the taste of potatoes usually worsens noticeably after winter, it is better to boil it peeled in order to facilitate the transition to a decoction of substances that give the potato an unpleasant taste and smell. Therefore, it is not recommended to boil sprouted potato tubers in the skin. Cooking them in a purified form facilitates the transition to a decoction of a certain amount of solanine, while the taste of potatoes improves (then the broth needs to be poured). Potato tubers contain glycoalkaloids - solanine and chaconin (from 2 to 10 mg% in 100 g of products).
Solanine is a toxic substance. Certain doses of it can cause irritation of the mucous membranes, vomiting and diarrhea, headache, cramps 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. With the germination of tubers, 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.
Peeling potatoes
Equally sized potatoes should be washed and put in a bowl with a wide bottom. After this, 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, bring immediately boil and cook at moderate boil until cooked. After it is boiled, it is necessary to drain the water, and dry the potatoes, opening the lid, for 7-10 minutes, and then put on a baking sheet or in a tray so that it cools down quickly.
Loose-grained potatoes with an increased starch content during cooking can boil excessively and become saturated with water, after which it will become watery and tasteless. Therefore, such a potato should be cooked in a wide bowl in a small layer. About 15 minutes after the potatoes are cooked until half cooked, drain the water, close the dishes tightly with a lid and boil the potatoes without water in a water bath, for which put the potato pot in another, larger in size, with boiling water.
It is not recommended to immerse potatoes for cooking in cold water - with this method of cooking it destroys 35% of vitamin C; when cooking it with immersion in boiling water, the loss of vitamin C is reduced to 7%. Rapid boiling of the liquid during cooking should not be allowed, since air circulation contributes to the destruction of vitamin C.
Peel and cut potatoes for the salad only after it has cooled, and immediately before making the salad. It is undesirable for the shelf life of unpeeled cooked potatoes to exceed 6 hours from the time of boiling.
Peeling potatoes
Peeled potatoes are cooked in the same way as in peel. It is necessary to boil at a low boil. Peeled potatoes of friable varieties are also boiled as in 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 liner in the pan and its bottom, and you need to pour as much water into the pan as you need to fill this particular space. While the water is boiling, put the potatoes (peeled or peeled) and, tightly closing the pan with a lid, cook it until cooked. Before cooking, peeled potatoes should be sprinkled with fine salt.
Potato salads are prepared with the addition of vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, fruits, eggs, as well as fish, meat products, non-fish seafood.
Preparation of greens for salad
Squeeze green onions, lettuce, parsley, dill, remove impurities, rotten leaves and rinse several times in a large amount of water, then shift the greens from the water into 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 in the dishes and pour fresh cold water, continuing to rinse and change the water until the sand is completely removed.
Before sorting and washing the leaves of green lettuce, cut off their roots with the rest of the earth.
Onions should be cleaned and washed shortly before use; do not store onions in water or after washing, otherwise it acquires an unpleasant taste and smell.
Fresh and pickled cucumbers should be washed. Peel cucumbers with rough skin. Greenhouse and early cucumbers should not be peeled.
In fresh tomatoes, after washing them, it is necessary to cut the place of attachment of the stem. To avoid juice from tomatoes when slicing, use a sharp knife.
Before use, pickled or salted mushrooms should be separated from the marinade or brine and washed with cold water.
Salad dressing
As a dressing, vegetable oil, sour cream, mayonnaise, various mixtures of mayonnaise and sour cream, salad dressing, and mustard dressing are almost always used. If desired, you can add table vinegar, sugar, salt, ground pepper, ready-made table mustard to the salad.
Combine the sliced products with dressings, mayonnaise, sour cream always before serving.
It is recommended to cool the products prepared for salad. An exception is potatoes, when it is used in some salads freshly cooked or still warm.