How to Prepare Boiled Potatoes, Carrots, Beets for Salad

Sometimes you need to boil vegetables such as potatoes, carrots or beets for your salad or other dish.

This article will help you to to make it in the right way. Make sure your vegetables still contain all important nutrients after boiling!

Take a cooking pot with size enough to fit the vegetables you want to boil plus at least 2-3 inches above them.
Fill cooking pot with water and put on the burner and wait until water begins to boil.
Put 1 spoon of salt to the water
Don’t peel vegetables, just wash them with water.
Put vegetables to the boiling water and put cover on the pan.
Adjust heating so water with vegetables will not bubble too much.
From time to time check vegetables with knife if they are ready. Prepared vegetable will feel soft when being pierced by knife.
When vegetables are ready, get them out of the water and let them cool down so you can safely peel their skins.
After peeling you boiled vegetables are ready for salad!

If you need to prepare several kinds of vegetables, boil them separately, otherwise they will loose color and taste. Also boiling time of different vegetables of different kinds and sized is not equal.
For salad it is better to boil vegetables with their skins, it helps to prevent loosing important nutrients.
Don’t let boiled vegetables to stay long in the water after they are prepared – they will became tasteless
The bigger vegetables is the less nutrients it will loose while boiling
If possible try to boil vegetables of the same size together, it will allow them to be ready in the same time.

Sonia says:

November 12, 2011 at 3:09 pm

I boil beets in plastic bag so it won't loose its color
- Sunil says:
  
  December 7, 2011 at 10:17 am
  
  Thanks for the method of boiling beets in plastic bag to retain original color.
Annie says:

May 7, 2010 at 7:00 pm

I learned from my [American] mom to prepare vegetables and we always peeled them first. The first time I saw it done this way was my Russian friend, Olga... What do you know?
- Julia Volhina says:
  
  May 7, 2010 at 7:38 pm
  
  I believe vegetables boiled skin on preserve more nutrients and the texture which is important for the salads.
  
  I also like potatoes boiled skin on, cooled down to room temperature, sliced into pieces and dressed with vegetable oil, as a side dish.
  - Annie says:
    
    May 9, 2010 at 11:18 am
    
    That I do! With fresh parsley and dill! Another dish I got from a Russian friend. She encouraged me to go to the Russian store in Detroit, and buy Russian oil - it does have a stronger flavor.