Boiled Potatoes for Salad

NOTE: Potato salad starts with boiled potatoes. In our testing, we found that low-starch potatoes such as Red Bliss provide the sturdy texture needed to stand up to dressing. Russet or baking potatoes will fall apart and produce a sloppy-looking salad. There's no need to salt the water for cooking the potatoes—in our tests we found that it does not penetrate. And make sure to cook the potatoes with their skins on to prevent them from becoming water-logged. Cool the potatoes slightly, peel if desired, and then dress.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place potatoes in 4-to 6-quart pot and cover with water. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking, until thin-bladed knife or metal cake tester inserted into a potato can be removed with no resistance, 25 to 30 minutes for medium potatoes and 15 to 20 minutes for new potatoes.

2. Drain and cool potatoes slightly. Peel if desired. Cut potatoes (use serrated knife if they have skins) as directed in following recipes while still warm, rinsing knife occasionally in warm water to remove gumminess. Proceed as directed in one of the following recipes.