When making mashed potatoes what do you use and why?

[RPCookin]

I just use a hand masher most of the time. My wife and I have an inherent incompatibility with this as I lke lumps and she wants silky smooth. Since I do most of the cooking, we generally have lumpy mashed pototoes...

I grew up thinking they had to be smooth like my mom always made them, but found out that I prefer more texture than that.

Chunky mashed potatoes are fine for some restaurants but if you serve mashed potatoes with chunks at a fine dining restaurant you'll get reamed.

To Ironchef... not all "fine dining" establishments have that requirement. I've eaten in a couple of very good places here in the Denver area which serve good (= lumpy ) mashed potatoes.

 

[Jikoni]

Thanks Urmaniac13, it looks like a garlic press alright.You guys acutally subject potatoes to this?Oh be nice, lumpy does it for me.Anyway, different peeps, different strokes. Enjoy your spuds whichever way you like them.

 

[texasgirl]

I use a mixer. I only like chunks in potato salad. My mashed potatoes HAVE to be smooth. Anything that I mix into it, get mixed in with a spoon after the mixer.

 

[BigJim]

Mashed Potatoes

Hi Texasgirl:
this is bigjim, one thing that mother taught me when she was teaching me
how to cook when I was a boy, was any leftover mashed potatoes go into
making potato salad. that`s why when i make potato salad, I always mash
my potatoes. I have three grown son`s and they would`nt have it any
other way. I really like this website. I get talk to people from all over the
globe. Texasgirl, you take care and God bless......

 

[ironchef]

The problem with mixers are that they overwork the potato and they break the potato's starch granules which gives off that gummy and overly creamy texture. The potato may become smooth, but it will never have that same texture that comes from using either a ricer or even a food mill.

The type of potato being used also plays apart. Russets and Reds have higher starch contents and tend to produce a heavier mashed potato, especially if they get overworked. Yukon Golds have a nice balance of starch and texture and can be made into a lighter and fluffier mashed potato. White potatoes fall between Yukon Golds and Reds in terms of texture and starch.

 

[ironchef]

To Ironchef... not all "fine dining" establishments have that requirement. I've eaten in a couple of very good places here in the Denver area which serve good (= lumpy ) mashed potatoes.

I think in about the early to mid 90's, there was a trend in "chunky" mashed potatoes found in all kinds of restaurants which was commonly called "Smashed Potatoes" due to the fact that there would be bits and pieces of potato still in there.

With the trend going towards more smoother type purees or mousselines (i.e. Salsify, Sunchoke, Celeriac, Yuca, etc.), chunkier versions of mashed potatoes are being phased out in many restaurants, at least on the fine dining end of the spectrum.

 

[middie]

I use a mixer because it's the only thing
I have

 

[auntdot]

Oh gosh, one of our first purchases on Ebay was a ricer.

No, not the usual flimsy ricer one finds in grocery or cooking supply stores, this is a King Kong ricer.

Don't know where or how it was made, but this is one large, and well made, ricer.

Cannot fill the bowl and rice the suckers, it is that big and don't have the strength to do the job.

Can only do it with the bowl about half full.

Sometimes will just rice the taters, add some butter, pepper, a tad salt, and enjoy them that way.

Or make them into mashed spuds.

Also, sometimes, take the boiled potatoes and use the hand masher. Depends upon whether we want to have a few lumps in the mix.

And will use the hand mixer. Have never found them 'gummy' but am very careful with the mixer and with a bit of butter and then cream; they taste okay to me. And they are smooth But then again I grew up with mash being made that way, and it is comfort food.

The fun with mash is what we can add to them.

Garlic cloves, mashed turnips, carrots, or parsnips. Maybe some mustard, or whatever spice we feel like.

And then, of course, the question is gravy or not.

Love mashed spuds, and there are so many ways to make them.

Take care and God bless.

 

[Sandyj]

I'd like to have no lumps in my mashed potoatoes, like my mom's. But, sad to say, my mashed potatoes often do have a few lumps here and there. I have thought of buying a ricer, but then that's just one more thing to clean. My mom never uses a mixer or a ricer...just the masher thing-y. The potatoes have to be cooked evenly enough, I'm guessing, to make them easy to mash. Shocking to me is that my daughter's (daughters' <-- and that apostrophe is significant) friends have often never had anything other than mashed potatoes from a box. It's not that intimidating of a dish that someone would rather have it from a box, aye?

 

[Michael in FtW]

I didn't vote because I use all three. It totally depends on the texture I am trying to achieve.

I like "rustic" (lumpy with skins) - it's a masher. For some things like gnocchi where I need a dryer fluffly potato - I use a ricer. For "creamed" potatoes .... velvety smooth with butter, sour cream, etc. - it's a hand mixer.

 

[kadesma]

Depends on the texture I want, if it's a country type potato, I use a masher, my garlic potatoes are done with a ricer...Love both, so does the whole family.
kadesma

 

[BigJim]

different ways of making mashed potaotes

Hello Kadesma:

this is bigjim, with all these replys on making mashed potatoes, I think
everyone makes which every way that they like best, and that is the joy
of cooking. that is the best thing about that I like. where abouts are you
locaded in california, I live in Fresno, geting ready to move to Kingsburg,
about 20 miles south of fresno. moving out in the country, I can`t wait.
you take care and God Bless.....

 

[cloudybutnice]

I prefer a masher as I think it gives a better 'mash' consistancy. I particularly hate the stuff you get in ready meals, I just don't know how people can eat that.

 

[SizzlininIN]

I use both the masher and the mixer. I use my antique hand masher to mash them down some with the butter, S & P. Then I pull out my hand mixer and mix them a little more. I don't like them smooth so I stop when there is some texture left.

As for what I add to them .... it depends on my mood. Sometimes.....

butter, S & P and milk
butter, S & P and sour cream
butter, S & P and cream cheese
butter, S & P, sour cream, green onions and crumbled bacon
butter, S & P, sour cream and roasted garlic

 

[Debbie]

I have used a mixer and a masher.. but I heard somewhere that its not good to use a mixer, because it changes something in the texture of the potato.. hmmm can't remember what they said... but I heard that using a ricer is the best thing to use, cause it only mashes the potatoes once... but ick to much trouble for me, and ewwww to clean it out each time ick! So I just take out the masher, and nobody seems to complain LOL

 

[kadesma]

Hello Kadesma:

this is bigjim, with all these replys on making mashed potatoes, I think
everyone makes which every way that they like best, and that is the joy
of cooking. that is the best thing about that I like. where abouts are you
locaded in california, I live in Fresno, geting ready to move to Kingsburg,
about 20 miles south of fresno. moving out in the country, I can`t wait.
you take care and God Bless.....

Hi BigJim,
I agree, that is what is so nice we can ech say how we like something and share ideas with friends.I'm located in Modesto and have friends in Clovis. We too live in the country although we are being surrounded by homes being built on what was once wonderful farmland..Enjoy your new home You will love the country..
kadesma

 

[DuckFeet]

Hello Kadesma:

this is bigjim, with all these replys on making mashed potatoes, I think
everyone makes which every way that they like best, and that is the joy
of cooking. that is the best thing about that I like. where abouts are you
locaded in california, I live in Fresno, geting ready to move to Kingsburg,
about 20 miles south of fresno. moving out in the country, I can`t wait.
you take care and God Bless.....

Small world... I have lived in Reedley for 17 yeas!

 

[AllenOK]

I voted for the stand mixer and the masher. I prefer to use my Kitchenaid mixer for mashed, however, since it's on the fritz right now, I bought a cheap hand masher and use that. I do have a ricer floating around somewhere, but I haven't used it in over 10 years.

I prefer lumpy mashed. I also like the skins on. I think the best mashed are made with Yukon Golds, salt and pepper, cream, and garlic.

 

[240brickman]

I've always been a fan of "semi-lumpy" mashed potatoes; I agree that if they're too smooth, they remind me too much of Potato Buds. I do keep the Mashed Potato Flakes on hand, but I just use them as a filler or thickener.

I browsed this thread, and I think I may be the only one here who does TWO things: I use my stand mixer for about 75 percent of the cooked potatoes, and I use a good, old-fashioned masher for the rest (all of the potatoes are then folded together in a big serving bowl). This applies whether I'm preparing for 2 people, or for 100.

[I should point out that although I do own a ricer--a really big one that I picked up at a flea market--I have never used it. It's mainly decorative, although it may be useful some day as a Blunt Weapon]

When I'm cooking the potatoes, prior to mashing, I'll throw a few whole garlic cloves into the water (anywhere from 2 to 6 or more, depending on the quantity I'm preparing). I'll process these in the mixer, along with the potatoes. The mashed, simmered garlic adds flavor without being too overpowering. If I want raw garlic flavor, I'll smash a clove or two into the finished product, right at the end.

After that, it's all about the sour cream, S & P, butter, etc. I happen to be a big fan of gravy on my mashed potatoes, and if there's gravy available, I'll use every last bit of it!

--J

 

[SierraCook]

Ah, you use a hand mixer. I was thinking that you use a stand mixer. You should actually adjust your poll then because I think most people use stand mixers rather than hand mixers to make homemade mash.

That is not necessarily true, ironchef. Unfortunately, not all of us have a stand mixer. Although, I would love to have one, but I just don't have enough counter space. I use a hand mixer or a potato masher to make my mashed potatoes.