How to make mashed potatoes
“How to make mashed potatoes”
Making mashed potatoes is a great way to get started in the kitchen. It is relatively easy and forgiving (meaning you can’t really mess it up) and is something that everybody loves.
I do my mashed potatoes a little bit different, in the sense that I actually add in some different ingredients than most people do. Let me explain.
I always begin with the end in mind. What does that mean exactly? It means that I decide how I want the finished product to look, taste, smell, etc. Before I put anything together. For example:
How to make mashed potatoes – Rich, creamy and full flavored
Ingredients
- 5 small potatoes (1 ½ to 2 pounds) Russet Potatoes -- peeled, quartered
- 8 ounces (1 cup) Heavy Cream
- 4 ounces (1 stick) Butter
- Salt & Pepper -- to taste (about 2 teaspoons Salt and 1 teaspoon pepper)
Instructions
- 1. (Optional) Peel potatoes.
- 2. Wash, quarter and place the potatoes in water, bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 25 minutes until the potatoes are very tender.
- 3. Heat Milk and Butter in a separate sauce pan, or in microwave, until butter is completely melted.
- 4. Drain water from potatoes completely.
- 5. Mix in the warm butter and milk to the potatoes and blend with mixer or potato masher until the mixture looks consistent throughout.
Now, if you want to make your potatoes just a little “lighter,” just replace the cream with whole milk or half and half and cut down the butter to just a few tablespoons.
How to make mashed potatoes – Unique
Now that you have a basic recipe how to make mashed potatoes, you can create you own creations simply enough. Just add what you want. For example:
*Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatoes – add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of bacon crumbles
*Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes – add 2 to 3 tablespoons of blue cheese crumbles
*Horseradish Mashed Potatoes – add 2 to 3 tablespoons of prepared Horseradish
How to make mashed potatoes – Fluffier
Years ago when I learned how to make mashed potatoes professionally, I used to make 20-30 pounds of mashed potatoes at a time, a few times a day. One of the problems with making this much is that we never knew how fast or slow they would sell. So we had to hold them hot for extended periods of time. This makes the potatoes gummy and pasty and start turn brown. To combat this I used to add in a little bit of sour cream and sodium bicarbonate-aka baking soda. This helps the potatoes to stay light and fluffy for longer because the acid in the sour cream reacts with the baking soda creating carbon dioxide bubbles that make the potatoes lighter.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 cup of sour cream or buttermilk to our recipe for “fluffier” potatoes.
Watch how to make mashed potatoes
Want to see more about how to make mashed potatoes and other dishes? Click here!
Now that you have learned how to make mashed potatoes, try making gravy to go along-click here to learn how!
