List Those Gadgets That You Thought Were Great, But Now Gathering Dust?

[caseydog]

I normally use 2% milk, because that's what I buy. But I'll use cream if I have it. And butter, salt & pepper, of course.

Sometimes I'll toss in a dollop of mayo. Gives the taters extra flavor and makes them nice and creamy.

I prefer cream, but if all I have is milk, that is fine. I also use butter, salt and pepper. Sometimes I use minced garlic, but not always.

I use my KA stand mixer for larger batches of mashed potatoes. That is kitchen gadget I don't use much, but for some things, it is perfect. I store it in the laundry room now, and bring it out a half-dozen times a year. I could get along fine without it, but to me, it is worth keeping.

CD

 

[Shining Wizard]

Eww no.
Never a blender for mashed potato.
It makes it like wallpaper glue

 

[Linda0818]

Eww no.
Never a blender for mashed potato.
It makes it like wallpaper glue

Been doing it that way my whole life and have never had an issue with the potatoes being gummy.

I suppose it depends on how long you blend them and whether or not you use the highest speed. I blend them low and slow and they come out perfect every time.

 

[Andy M.]

You can have my potato ricer, although I still insist that someday I'm going to use it. Of course, it would cost ten times more to ship it to you in Canada than buying a brand new one.

I like "rustic," skin on mashed potatoes. A ricer won't work with skin on potatoes. But, if you like smooth mashed potatoes, and make them a lot, a ricer is a great tool.

CD

If you put unpeeled potatoes into a ricer, it will mash the potatoes and leave the skin behind.

I prefer smooth mashed potatoes.

 

[Andy M.]

I just whip out my hand mixer. Done.

I don't like the texture the mixer creates.

 

[Linda0818]

I don't like the texture the mixer creates.

That's cool. I totally get that

I just love mashed potatoes, pretty much however they're fixed. Skin on, skin off, whipped, mashed, doesn't matter. I'm a potato junkie, LOL

I remember, when I was a kid, there was no blender (hand-held or otherwise) used in the mixing of those potatoes. My mom would task my dad with the job and, every time, he would pull out the big, metal 'manual' potato masher and that's the only way my parents would fix them.

 

[Andy M.]

That's cool. I totally get that

I just love mashed potatoes, pretty much however they're fixed. Skin on, skin off, whipped, mashed, doesn't matter. I'm a potato junkie, LOL

I remember, when I was a kid, there was no blender (hand-held or otherwise) used in the mixing of those potatoes. My mom would task my dad with the job and, every time, he would pull out the big, metal 'manual' potato masher and that's the only way my parents would fix them.

My mom use to mash them with a big fork!

 

[Linda0818]

My mom use to mash them with a big fork!

Wow. Now that's dedication!

 

[dragnlaw]

If I'm making a mashed potato just for me - I will use a fork.

 

[taxlady]

I just whip out my hand mixer. Done.

But that's for mashed potatoes. I didn't buy the food mill for mashing potatoes. Using the food mill for potatoes was an after thought.

 

[caseydog]

I have a tomato knife I got as part of a Henckels set decades ago. It's nothing like those old TV specials, just a straight 6" serrated blade like a mini bread knife. I use it regularly. Great for cutting bagels and other small breads like a baguette.

I actually use my bread knife to slice tomatoes.

CD

 

[taxlady]

Been doing it that way my whole life and have never had an issue with the potatoes being gummy.

I suppose it depends on how long you blend them and whether or not you use the highest speed. I blend them low and slow and they come out perfect every time.

You wrote that you used a hand mixer. That's not the same as a blender. I used a blender for potatoes once. They turned into glue. It was a horrid mess to try to get it out of the blender. We didn't eat that batch of mashed taters.

 

[Kathleen]

My grandmother's father was a butcher. He used her chef's knife that was part of a set that she had purchased at Montgomery Wards to butcher a pig. The knife was destroyed. The blade is broken, jagged, etc. However it slices tomatoes beautifully. I still have it. My grandmother got another chef's knife of not great quality, but the tomato knife was the keeper!

 

[taxlady]

You can have my potato ricer, although I still insist that someday I'm going to use it. Of course, it would cost ten times more to ship it to you in Canada than buying a brand new one.

I like "rustic," skin on mashed potatoes. A ricer won't work with skin on potatoes. But, if you like smooth mashed potatoes, and make them a lot, a ricer is a great tool.

CD

You can get sort of that effect with a food mill. If you put potatoes with the skins on into the food mill, most of the skin goes through the little holes and makes speckled mashed potatoes.

 

[caseydog]

Eww no.
Never a blender for mashed potato.
It makes it like wallpaper glue

If you are referring to the hand mixer, it is not the same thing as a blender.

CD

 

[Linda0818]

You wrote that you used a hand mixer. That's not the same as a blender. I used a blender for potatoes once. They turned into glue. It was a horrid mess to try to get it out of the blender. We didn't eat that batch of mashed taters.

Oh, okay, gotcha. I was simply thinking "hand blender", not an actual blender you would use to make, say, things like milkshakes.

Hand mixer is where I needed to go

Okay, looking back, I did say mixer.

Now I'm confused. I'll let y'all carry on while I go pour some wine

 

[Shining Wizard]

I have always found that the electric whisk/hand mixer or blender allows the starch in potatoes to bind together too much, causing the gluey texture.
It doesn’t matter how much I am making, it’s always a good ole masher, butter, salt, cream and fork.
I still get very creamy mash, and biceps too

 

[pictonguy]

I normally use 2% milk, because that's what I buy. But I'll use cream if I have it. And butter, salt & pepper, of course.

Sometimes I'll toss in a dollop of mayo. Gives the taters extra flavor and makes them nice and creamy.

I use Yukon gold potatoes and steam them with the skin on. For 2lbs of potatoes I generally use about 1/4 cup (60g's) of unsalted butter and around 1/2 cup (120g's) of warm whole milk and sometimes I'll use sour cream and of course salt and pepper.

After I steam the potatoes I use a food mill. I tend to conform to the less the mashed is moved in a circular motion (whipped) the less sticky, glue-like texture happens, not what I want at all.

If I want a puree like Joel Rubicon's famous potato puree then the ratio's go out the window where a 2:1 ratio of potato and butter by weight is called for and some warm whole milk to bring it all together for the consistency you might want.

 

[caseydog]

When I use the KA stand mixer, I use the regular paddle, and run the machine at a low speed, and get the potatoes just to that "rustic" consistency, and it certainly doesn't get over-processed. Everyone seems to like it.

I think the consistency of mashed potatoes depends on what you are serving them with. One of my favorite pairings is chicken fried steak and rustic mashed potatoes (with skins), with the same white gravy I use on the CFS.

CD

 

[taxlady]

Oh, okay, gotcha. I was simply thinking "hand blender", not an actual blender you would use to make, say, things like milkshakes.

Hand mixer is where I needed to go

Okay, looking back, I did say mixer.

Now I'm confused. I'll let y'all carry on while I go pour some wine

@Shining Wizard was confusing us with his use of the term blender when he meant what I would call a mixer. Probably slightly different terms in Australia and North America.

I have seen people use mixers for mashed potatoes with good results. I have always done it without power tools since that episode with the thick, gluey mess in my blender - the kind used for shakes and smoothies.

And I'll join you in that glass of wine.