Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Kimia

So my mash always turns out lumpy. Always. I batter them with my masher and they are still lumpy!!!

Is it me or is there another way of ensuring that they are fluffy and smooth?

The Black Oil

Maybe a bit of milk into the mix?

Ponster

Are you sure that you're cooking them for the required time? Before mashing they should be dry and floury. The addition of some warm milk and a masher should result in a nice smooth mash.

the beer revolu

As said, make sure the potatoes are fully cooked - I always steam mine, usually in their skins. Mash with one of these

and add butter, milk and salt and pepper.

Other options would be to use cream instead of milk and add an egg yolk for a richer mash.

Without the ricer, if the potatoes are properly cooked, you should still get good mash.

Dizzyblonde

I steam my potatoes (roosters are perfect for mash) and then mash them with butter and milk. Then I whip them with a fork to make them light and fluffy.

we'llallhavetea_old

definitely sounds like theyre not cooked for long enough. bit a butter, pepper, yum!

Magic Monkey

Ultimated Mashed Potatoes. If you don't have a thermometer, or don't want to try that recipe, it sounds like you're undercooking your potatoes.
Make sure they're all the same size, then simmer them, don't boil, until a thin-bladed knife can easily pierce the centre of all the pieces. Drain, pass through a potato ricer (you can get these for around €10 in M&S), return to the pot to dry out over a low heat, mixing all the time. Mix in cold diced butter and hot milk as desired - you can add some peeled whole garlic and thyme sprigs to your milk to infuse their flavour.

Alternatively, take whole potatoes, wash them, dry them. Pierce with a fork all over, put in a roasting tray on a bed of coarse salt, and bake @ 180-200c for 1 hour. Scoop out the flesh, add butter and milk as above.

iWillBeReborn

My method. Quarter the potatoes and then Boil/Simmer.

Mash the life out of them before adding anything.

Then add butter. Mash the life out of them. Then add a small amount of milk and salt.

I found that cutting the potatoes into quarters helped with the boiling a lot and not adding anything until well mashed help with the non lumpy'ness.

A good mashing tool helps. Mine was about 25 Euro in Arrnots but well worth the money.

bonkey

I don't know where you live so I can't comment on teh type of spud you're using, but a good mashed potato needs a floury potato.

Here, in Switzerland, the supermarkets don't just tell you what typ of spud it is (Charlotte, Agata, etc.) but also have seperate packaging to distinguish floury from waxy.

If the potato you're using is too waxy, you'll never get a good mash out of it. Even using a ricer...you'll just end up with "gritty" rather then "lumpy"...unless you completely overcook them, in which case you'll just have "watery and horrible".

Kimia

Thanks for all the replies!

I think what I'm doing wrong is that I'm boiling them to bits. I boil them, but then they simmer quite vigorously so even if i do them in the skin, the skin kind of comes off and they get really mushy. Yet they are still lumpy.

Should I be gently simmering them instead?

nice1franko

A potato ricer is the main thing you need. Then you'll have no lumps. After that, you can tweak it to get the consistency and flavour right.

olaola

I always steam them so they don't get too waterlogged. I also heat the milk before I add it. And for REALLLY good mash, I use a mouli. A ricer is also good.
Loads of butter will save any mash though!

Dizzyblonde

Kimia, if you don't have a steamer then cut them in quarters as said before and only put enough cold water on them to barely cover them. Throw in a pincehof salt, bring to the boil with a lid on, then tilt the lid very slightly and simmer very gently for 20 - 30 minutes until tender.
By boiling the bejabbers out of them you've been letting them get waterlogged.

THIS type of collapsible steamer is excellent for potatoes.

Kimia

That's exactly what's happening! And I love this:

'boiling the bejabbers out of them'

I will try gently simmering them in the future. Thanks everyone!

rubadub

olaola wrote: »

I always steam them so they don't get too waterlogged.

+1, I would steam them in a pressure cooker, does them in no time. If you take them out just after the pressure has dropped they are still extra hot and excess mositure evaporates off them quickly.

RustySpoon

Start by slowly simmering roughly equal sized potatoes.
When cooked drain and in the pot put in some milk, cream (optional), butter, diced onions (or chopped spring onions or chopped chives or a bit of all 3!) and salt and pepper.

Slowly heat mix until boiling and add in the spuds. You can rice them before or mash them in the pot with a masher.

Lovely!

superficies

I think rustyspoon has the method just right there! Relatively gentle simmer for 20 mins or so, then mash them up before adding anything to them. Then heat your wet ingredients and seasonings in a pot and add the spuds to them, remash and then--in my ricer free house at least--I find the trick to smoothness is to switch from the masher at this point and get to work with a good quality medium sized spatula for the last working over. This pretty much always smoothes it out well.

satcie101

I have used this video and the mash potatoes turned out gorgeous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DKhmEBh54

Mrs Fox

Bump!

Just a quick question for a perfect mashed potatoes:

Which potatoes are best for mash? Russet or Irish White?

ConTheCat

What I find great is if you slightly overcook the potatoes, mash with butter

reallyrose

I'm a fan of russets.

Mrs Fox

Well I have two potato dish to serve this evening and I bought a bag of russet and a bag of Irish white. I am to do one mashed and one roasted in goose fat.
So you reckon mash the russet and roast the Irish white?

Darkginger

One thing that will lift your mashed spuds above the norm is to use warm milk instead of cold. One way of doing that is to make a well in the centre of the potatoes, after mashing a bit, and add just a small amount of milk at a time, so that the hot potatoes warm it through before you incorporate it. Either that or just heat it in a pan or the microwave before adding - don't boil it though!

Kimia

My mash potatoes have improved since my last post! My secret? TONS of butter. I remember seeing Saturday Kitchen one morning and James Martin was making mash and he was putting (real) butter in. He said "When you think you have enough butter, put in some more. And when you think you've put in too much butter, put in some more" :pac:

Dizzyblonde

I use roosters, but I steam them rather than boil them so they won't fall apart. I use lots of butter too, and when I've finished mashing them I whip them with a fork - it makes a huge difference

Cicero

I never mash using milk...I always dry mash first...break down all the lumps ...this can take a minute or two but its worth it...if you add milk before you mash, the lumps can just glide through the masher holes...add milk after you have well mashed the dry potato first..coarse salt also helps the mashing process...for luxurious mash on special occasions, add a small bit of cream at the end..chopped scallion and sea salt can help out a mash that has turned out slightly lumpy , giving it extra flavour and bite..

Mrs Fox

I too add cream towards the end, depending on the mash.
I press it through a ricer first, add loads of cold butter, season, whisk it like mad and then, only then, if need be, I'll add cream.

trackguy

Darkginger wrote: »

One thing that will lift your mashed spuds above the norm is to use warm milk instead of cold. One way of doing that is to make a well in the centre of the potatoes, after mashing a bit, and add just a small amount of milk at a time, so that the hot potatoes warm it through before you incorporate it. Either that or just heat it in a pan or the microwave before adding - don't boil it though!

Agreed. I heat the milk and the butter in a small pan before adding to the potato. Seasoning with salt & white pepper is a must in my opinion also.

I drain the potatoes completely after cooking. I then cover the pot with a tea towel and then the lid and leave to sit for 2/3 minutes. The towel absorbs all the moisture from the potatoes and they're then ready to mash.

nice1franko

I don't know where exactly you draw the line between mash and "pomme puree" but, as far as I know, the way the the famous french chef Joel Robuchon who's famous for it (he pioneered it I think and used to serve it just as a starter on it's own) made was something like this:

Bake Ratte potatoes (don't know f you can get them here - Maris Pipers are an acceptable alternative) whole on a bed of sea salt (the salt helps remove moisture), take them out of the oven and crack the skins open immediately to let the steam out. The idea is that you want to replace as much of the natural moisture in the potato with butter. So let it steam away then gouge out the mash, pass it through a drum sieve and whisk in some little hot milk and *loads* of butter. The end product should be about one third potato. Heart attack stuff, I know. I don't think cream is in the recipe at all.

Marty McFly

RustySpoon wrote: »

Start by slowly simmering roughly equal sized potatoes.
When cooked drain and in the pot put in some milk, cream (optional), butter, diced onions (or chopped spring onions or chopped chives or a bit of all 3!) and salt and pepper.

Slowly heat mix until boiling and add in the spuds. You can rice them before or mash them in the pot with a masher.

Lovely!

Hi im a novice at cooking but am trying to learn, Do you skin the potoatos first? What temperature do you simmer at?

Also how much milk, cream, chives, salt an pepper do you put into the mix?

Thanks.

BailMeOut

Steam the spuds and use warm milk and lots butter, salt and pepper.

I also sometimes bake the spuds, then scoop the insides out and mash as normal. Really tasty this way. Added twist is to scoop the mash back into the skins and bake again for twice bakes potatoes.