How to Shred Potatoes with a Knife

Knives are extremely flexible tools that can be used for a wide variety of mundane jobs. You can chop meat with a knife, peel vegetables with it, and even peel potatoes with it.

Knives are an essential component of any kitchen’s toolkit. They are simple to operate and can be required for a variety of purposes, including slicing meat and chopping vegetables, for example. You only need to keep in mind one thing, and that is that they are sharp. 

How to Shred Potatoes with a Knife?

How to Shred Potatoes with a Knife: A Detailed Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Rinse and peel the potatoes before shredding them with your knife. If you already have peeled potatoes, skip this step.

Technique:

If you want to cut one potato into long, thin strips, start by firmly holding it in the hand that is not your dominant hand, and then rub it back and forth across the blade of the knife. Continue for all potatoes.

Boiling Potatoes Before Shredding Them:

Make sure the potatoes are cold before you try to shred them if you want to skip the step of cooking them first. Because products stored in the refrigerator have a tendency to become rigid, it is recommended that you either let them sit in the refrigerator overnight or put them out on the counter for about 30 minutes before using them.

Chopping Potatoes into Long Thin Strips:

Once the potatoes have been peeled, firmly grasp one of the potatoes in the hand that is not your dominant one. It can be easily sliced into long, thin strips if you rub it back and forth across the blade of your knife. Continue for all potatoes. If you want to wow people, even more, you can level out the size of each potato strip by using a fork or a spoon to scrape along the sides of each potato strip.

Using Boiled Water Instead of Cold Water:

It is not necessary to add any salt or acidity (vinegar or lemon juice) to the water if it has been brought to a boil and then let it cool (totally) before the shredding process begins.

Be very certain that the water that has been boiled has reached room temperature before you add it to the potatoes; otherwise, you will end up with mashed potatoes instead of roasted potatoes.

Using Cold Water Instead of Boiled Water:

If you want to use cold water instead of boiling water, then you need to ensure that you add some salt or acidity (vinegar or lemon juice) to the water because this gives them a superior consistency.

Boiling the water is the recommended method. Because potatoes are typically used in dishes that also contain starch, there is no need to worry about the potatoes becoming very mushy even if cold water is used instead of water that has been boiled.

Shredded Potatoes Are Hard When Cooling Down:

Try adding some extra virgin olive oil or melted butter to your shredded potatoes once they have cooled off a little. This can help soften them up if they become too firm when they have chilled completely. This brings out their flavour and returns their texture to their original soft state.

Freezing Potatoes Before Shredding Them:

If you want to shred potatoes ahead of time so that you may use them later, you should first freeze the potatoes in their entirety and then cut them into long, thin strips. Because of their tendency to crumble, potatoes that have been frozen are notoriously difficult to cut into strips.

Potato Shreds Can be Cooked Like Rice:

Rice can easily be replaced with shredded potatoes if you want a different texture. You can have a quick and simple side dish ready in no time at all by simply sautéing shredded potato strips in the oil and seasonings of your choice over medium heat.

You can substitute oil with hot water or milk, and if you want to, you can even add meat to the mixture. But because it doesn’t take that much time to put together, this is something that is typically done when there isn’t a lot of time left on the clock before supper (especially if you already have pre-shredded potatoes ready).

How do you shred potatoes with a mandolin?

A Guide with Detailed Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Shred Potatoes Using a Mandolin

1. Prepare the potatoes by washing and peeling them.
2. Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then place each half on a separate rack in your mandolin slicer. 3. Be sure to leave enough area between each one so that you have room to turn them over when you are slicing them (otherwise they might not slice evenly).
3. Place your hand guard in a secure position on top of the lid, turn the machine on, and begin to carefully turn the potatoes towards you with the tongs while simultaneously pressing down on the thickness guide to ensure even cutting into long thin strips (note: you can always adjust this guide later for thicker or thinner cuts).
4. If additional potato slices need to be cut, continue to use your tongs to press any sliced pieces back onto the tubular metal casing/blade of the slicer.
5. Repeat steps 3 through 4 until all of the potatoes have been cut. If the blade gets too sticky, you might need to clean it off with a damp cloth or tissue, but this will depend on how quickly you are cutting them and how much resistance they are giving you! Before you begin slicing, lay down some baking parchment on your workspace to prevent excess starch from leaking onto it. This will give you more control over the situation.
6. After thoroughly washing in ice water to remove any excess starch or powder that may have been released during the slicing process, place the vegetables in a pot of boiling water to begin the cooking process (or use cold water with salt or lemon juice added).
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender when tested with a fork, knife, or toothpick.
8. After thoroughly draining the mixture in a colander or sieve, either serve it immediately or wait until it has cooled before incorporating it into any of your favourite recipes.

How do you shred potatoes with a cheese grater?

How to Shred Potatoes Using a Cheese Grater: A Detailed Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare the potatoes by washing and peeling them.
2. Cut each potato into thin discs, being careful not to cut all the way through so that the discs remain intact as whole pieces of potato after being butterflied (otherwise, you would have some extremely short and blunt bits of shredded potato!). To make this process simpler, take each one and set it with its flat side down against your cutting board at an angle. You are able to continue butterflying your potato slices so long as you maintain control of one end.
3. Put the potatoes, which have been “butterflied,” into water that is boiling (or cold water added with salt or lemon juice). Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender when tested with a fork, knife, or toothpick (the best way is to check every 5 – 10 min).
4. After thoroughly rinsing in a colander or a sieve, either serve the mixture immediately or wait until it has cooled before incorporating it into any of your favourite recipes.

Note: You may also use this method with sweet potatoes; however, you will need to steam the sweet potatoes separately for 20 minutes before you boil them.

This step is necessary if you want to guarantee that the sweet potatoes are fully cooked before you combine them with the hot liquid. This will, of course, take a few minutes longer, but it will assist to lessen the possibility of them falling apart during the boiling process due to their more tender flesh. 

How do you shred potatoes with a vegetable slicer?

How to Shred Potatoes Using a Vegetable Slicer: A Detailed Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Scrub and remove the skin of the potatoes (if they are very large, you can also quarter or even halve them before peeling). Place one half at a time onto the rack that comes with your mandolin slicer. Be sure to leave enough area between each one so that you have room to turn them over when you are slicing them (otherwise they might not slice evenly).
2. Place your hand guard in a secure position on top of the lid, turn the machine on, and begin to carefully pull the potatoes toward you with the tongs while simultaneously pressing down on the thickness guide to ensure an even cut into long thin strips (note: you can always adjust this guide later for thicker or thinner cuts).
3. Continually use your tongs to press any cut pieces back onto the tubular metal casing/blade so that additional potato slices can be cut. If this is necessary, continue. Continue making adjustments to the potatoes and flipping them until all of the potatoes have been cut.
4. If the blade gets too sticky, you might need to clean it off with a damp cloth or tissue, but this will depend on how quickly you are cutting them and how much resistance they are giving you! Before you begin slicing, lay down some baking parchment on your workspace to prevent excess starch from leaking onto it. This will give you more control over the situation.
5. Give it a thorough washing in cold water to eliminate any excess starch or powder that may have been released during the slicing process, and then place it in a pot of boiling water to prepare it for consumption (or use cold water with salt or lemon juice added). 5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender when tested with a fork, knife, or toothpick. 6. After a thorough draining in a colander or sieve, either serve the mixture immediately or wait until it has cooled before incorporating it into any of your favourite recipes.

Conclusion:

This method will take a little more time since you will need to slice each potato separately; however, it is an excellent technique to generate incredibly thin shredded potatoes that you can use in salads and casseroles.

Note: You may also use this method with sweet potatoes; however, you will need to steam the sweet potatoes separately for 20 minutes before slicing them. This is necessary if you want to ensure that the sweet potatoes are completely cooked through before you slice them.