Two Things You Shouldn’t Do When Making Mashed Potatoes
Many people call fall and winter “soup season”, but I have always considered these colder months “mashed potatoes”. Whether you eat it as a (non-negotiable) Thanksgiving side or as a midweek meal, there is little that is soothing and satisfying as a plate of creamy mashed chicken legs.
It’s a simple enough concept : cook some potatoes and then mash them with fat until creamy. Season them with salt and eat. All of this is not difficult, but there are two main ways to ruin the process of eating mashed potatoes, and I am to blame for both. (It was a long time ago. I’ve grown so much since then.)
Big mistake # 1: rubbing with knives
Almost every novice potato grower makes this mistake. Food processors, blenders, etc. Seem to be an effective way to knead mashed potatoes, but the problem is that you are not grinding at all – you are destroying them. Instead of fluffy and creamy legs, you get a sticky, sticky mass.
Mashing is much more gentle than mixing or whatever happens inside the food processor. Reachers, potato cleaners and wooden spoons chop up cooked potato slices while keeping the starch molecules more or less intact. These molecules rip apart the fast-moving, ultra-sharp blades. This released starch is then mixed with the liquid in the mash to form an unappetizing paste.
If you’re a potato lover who really hates mashed potatoes, go for an even richer one. Reachers break the potatoes into tiny (rice-like) pieces by pushing them through small holes. These extruded – but still fluffy – hilling spots are then coated with dairy and fat, creating a kind of fluffy potato emulsion rather than a sticky mixture.
Big mistake # 2: throwing the peel in the chute
Dumping the potato skins into the wastebasket won’t ruin the flavor or texture of the mash, but it will ruin the experience. I almost ruined Christmas Eve once by trying to get rid of potato skins this way at my parents’ house. (I used to dump a lot of vegetable skins in the trash can and was dismayed to find that potatoes were an exception.)
Again, the combination of annoying starch and sharp blades is to blame. The rind is slippery and thin, which allows it to slide easily through pipes and wrap around the blades at your disposal; and trying to break them with these blades releases the starch, forming a thick, sticky paste.
This is a bad scene and shouldn’t be done during the holidays when the plumbers are already overcrowded. The simplest solution is not to create a problem at all, but if some potato newbie clogs your vault with a peel, all is not lost. Baking soda and vinegar can help clear up blockages, although I have to admit I haven’t tried this particular method because I haven’t stuffed my trash can with potato skins after that harrowing ordeal that fateful Christmas Eve. (An ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of medicine, or in this case, baking soda.)