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Mashed Potatoes Tip List
To Prepare:
- Cut potatoes into small even pieces so that they cook quickly & evenly. Small pieces of cooked potato mash up easier than large pieces.
- Cover potatoes with cold water then place on stove to cook. Add salt once the water starts boiling. Starting the potatoes in cold water will help them cook evenly (if you start with boiling or hot water, the outer potato cooks faster and you’ll have chunks of mush floating in the water).
- Cook until potatoes are just tender. Remove from heat and drain immediately. If you cook them too long, they become water logged and turn into tasteless, runny mashed potatoes (glop). If you don’t cook them long enough, the mashed potatoes can have hard lumps.
- Once you’ve drained the potatoes well, place the pot of potatoes back on the stove on low heat (lid off) to remove even more of the moisture, just a couple minutes will do and shake the pot frequently so the potatoes won’t burn.
- You can mash potatoes with a potato masher, a potato ricer or a blender. It is possible to overmix with a blender so don’t overdo it. Mash potatoes to desired consistency before adding any ingredients, this will help prevent lumps.
- When adding cold ingredients like milk or butter, bring them to room temperature first, this helps prevents lumps. Some suggest to heat the milk first (just warm to near boil) which draws an added flavor from the potatoes and makes a creamier texture.
- Add a healthy pinch of baking soda along with the milk to help fluff up the potatoes (another option is baking powder mentioned in 45 Cooking & Baking Tips).
- Instead of the potato masher, use a fork or spoon to stir potatoes once you start adding ingredients, this helps cream the potatoes nicely. I prefer using a wooden spoon at this stage.
How Many Potatoes Do You Need?
- Count on 3 medium potatoes making about 2 cups of mashed. I prefer making 2 cups per person (adults) so there’s lots to go around plus leftovers.
Flavor Twists:
- When cooking, add an onion (cut in quarters) or clove of garlic to the water, remove once potatoes are cooked.
- For a touch of tang, try buttermilk instead of regular milk.
- For richer mashed potatoes, try whipping cream instead of milk, whip first until stiff then mix in.
- Try whole milk or half and half for richer tasting potatoes.
- Mix in some cream cheese for creamy potatoes with added flavor.
- Try adding sour cream for creamy potatoes.
- Mix in fresh herbs like chives, dill, parsley for added flavor.
- Try mixing in roasted garlic for an easy garlic mashed potatoes dish.
- Try adding cheeses like Parmesan, shredded Cheddar.
- Dare I say it? Top your mashed potatoes with freshly cooked bacon bits.
- Try flavoring your butter with garlic or lemon before adding to mashed potatoes. Melt the butter with minced garlic or lemon peel, heat for a couple minutes then add to potatoes.
Keeping Them Warm:
- You can make the mashed potatoes ahead of time and keep them in the slow cooker on low heat, this will keep the potatoes nicely for a few hours (mentioned in 50 Quick Tips For The Kitchen).
- If the potatoes are done before the rest of the meal is ready, prepare them then cover with a towel. This should keep the potatoes warm for about 1/2 hour.
Leftover Mashed Potato Ideas:
- Fry them up with onions the next day.
- For handy individual portions, freeze in muffin tins, pop out then place in airtight bags and place in the freezer. Remove what you need for meals.
- Use as a tasty topping for meat pies.
- Mix in one egg white, place potatoes in a buttered casserole dish and top with a bread crumb crust and shredded or Parmesan cheese. Heat in the oven and serve.
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I put in a few spoonfuls of cheesewhiz to give my mashed potatoes a cheesy flavor.
Better than using a fork after mashing, keep an eye out for a vintage potato masher. Modern ones are a metal plate with various holes in it. the older ones are a single thick wire sticking out of the handle and then running across in a deep wave. basically it mashes and whips in the same movement. they are worth their weight in gold and you need to be careful not to mash too much or you will end up with thoroughly whipped potatoes very easily.
I looked at the tip of adding baking soda, I went back to the source and you had baking powder. Which one do you use? Thanks.
Good catch Carol, I hadn’t noticed that! But I do have two separate references that mention baking soda OR baking powder to help make the mashed potatoes fluffier, I clarified that above. Thanks!
I don’t peel my potatoes when I mash them! I’ve always heard that there is more vitamins in the peel, so… (really, I’m just lazy.) My family loves them that way.
I have found that cutting the potatoes in smaller chunks really does speed up the cooking process, as does cooking them in the microwave instead of on the stovetop. Either way, I start with hot water to speed up the time it takes the water to boil. My mother in law taught me to not only add room temperature butter, but to heat the milk to hot and add it to the potatoes, then use an electric hand mixer to get really smooth potatoes. If you cover them with a damp towel, it helps, as does keeping them in a warm oven (about 250 degrees). I find that making sure my serving dishes are warm keeps the mashed potatoes from cooling off too fast.
I mash the potatoes after draining.never heated them before mashing and can’t even think of using hot water,yck! also never warm milk or butter.Seems like an awful lot of extra work.And use a hand masher.I don’t know where all these tips come from but they seem rather silly to me.And I never had lumps!!
As in all things, it is what you prefer as to how you do it.
My NEW #1 tip is to use a potato ricer! At Thanksgiving, I had 20 pounds of potatoes cooked and ready to mash, but with my weak old wrists, I was getting NOwhere using my regular old “wavy-wire” potato masher! I remembered picking up a potato ricer at a garage sale, and I decided to give it a try. Any way you mash them, 20 pounds of spuds is a LOT, but the ricer was easier than the masher, and the results–YUMMY! I will never make mashed potatoes any other way again. NO lumps, and none of that kind of “pasty” texture you get if you don’t stop at just the right time with an electric mixer. These potatoes were just PERFECT!
For about four cups of leftover mashed potatoes, add one egg and about 1/4 C flour (adjust for amount of potatoes). Mix well. Scoop out about a half cup of mix and flatten as for a hamburg patty. Place into a frying pan that is coated with some heated oil. Cook until one side has browned, turn and brown the other side.