ABSTRACT
Potatoes soften during cooking when the starch granules inside the plant cells during heating take up water and swell—the starch gelatinizes. Firm potatoes are recommended for bacalao because potatoes that are too soft would give a cloudy, mushy stew which is outside the style of the dish. The most common failures are stirring too much so that the pieces of fish crumble, or to overcook it so that the potatoes turn mushy. A friend once wanted to speed up cooking potatoes by grating them into the smallest possible pieces. Surprisingly, the grated potatoes never became tender. The mealy varieties, often deep fried or baked in the oven, commonly give mealy and even fluffy potatoes with a dry mouth-feel, whereas the waxy varieties, cooked in water, should feel moist and almost a bit juicy. The mystery of potatoes refusing to soften is known in Finland as well.
