Mashed: Advice on Why Liquefied Mashed Potatoes

Subject: Advice on Why Liquefied Mashed Potatoes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: bananad18 at yahoo.com (bananarama)
Date: 29 Jan 2003 11:43:59 -0800
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Never before have I had problems w/mashed potatoes from scratch. All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk they turn to a liquefied glop of goo. Is it the type of potato? What could be wrong?
From: ktsheehy3624 at cs.com (Ktsheehy3624)
Date: 29 Jan 2003 19:58:00 GMT
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What kind of potatoes did you use? Since you have made mashed potatoes before, I assume that you drained them thoroughly and dried them out over low heat on the surface.
From: nancree at aol.com (Nancree)
Date: 29 Jan 2003 22:46:22 GMT
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bananarama wrote:
> All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk
> they turn to a liquefied glop of goo. Is it the type of potato?

How did you mash them? Using a food processor to mash potatoes is not recommended--it makes them gluey. I've read why, but can't remember.
From: Sheryl Rosen (catmandy at optonline.net)
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 22:54:06 GMT
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bananarama wrote:
> All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk
> they turn to a liquefied glop of goo. Is it the type of potato?

Need more info.
Did you mash them with a masher?
Beat them with a mixer?

You may have overworked them...if so, the starch came out of the potatoes, and when the liquid hit them, it turned to glue.
From: hahabogus (not at applicable.com)
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 01:43:04 GMT
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Sheryl Rosen wrote:
> You may have overworked them...if so, the starch came out of the
> potatoes, and when the liquid hit them, it turned to glue.

If they were snot like... You over worked them with power tools. Been there, done that and bought the postcard.
From: Kendall F. Stratton III (k3 at (86_THE_SPAM)maine.rr.com)
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 18:12:55 -0500
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bananarama wrote:
> they turn to a liquefied glop of goo. Is it the type of potato?

Call me old-fashioned... but nuthin' beats the 'ol fashioned russet 'taters mashed... with a little bit of real butter, some whole milk, some kosher salt, some white ground pepper... all whipped manually and topped with an extra blop of butter on top... Served beside Fried Chicken, Baked Pork Chops, Grilled Steak... whatever.... Mmmmmm!!!

Someone please pass the gravy!!!
From: Bill (BigC300 at carolina.rr.com)
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 23:15:18 GMT
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bananarama wrote:
> All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk
> they turn to a liquefied glop of goo.

>Never before have I had problems w/mashed potatoes from scratch.
>All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk
>they turn to a liquefied glop of goo. Is it the type of potato? What
>could be wrong?

You know, my wife had that same problem with the mashed potatoes we took to the family reunion recently. She made them in that new Kitchen Aid mixer and didn't realize how powerful that thing is. She only ran that Kitchen Aid Professional 6 quart mixer for about five minutes on high speed with the wire whip to fluff em up...they turned to goo!

I believe I'm gonna have to watch the wife carefully next time we try to make some real homemade mashed potatoes! :-)
From: Peter Aitken (paitken at CRAPnc.rr.com)
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 01:01:00 GMT
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Bill wrote:
> You know, my wife had that same problem with the mashed potatoes we
> took to the family reunion recently. She made them in that new Kitchen
> Aid mixer and didn't realize how powerful that thing is.

A potato is made up of many cells, and inside each cell is some starch. WHen you mash them, the ideal goal is to separate all the cells from each other without breaking the individual cells open. The more cells that are broken, the more starch is released, and the gummier and nastier your mashed potatoes are. This is why it is important to not overcook the potatoes, because it weakens the cells and makes them more prone to breaking. It is also why the best way by far the do the mashing is with a ricer or food mill, because each little bit of potato is forced thru the hole only once, separating the cells while breaking as few as possible. A hand masher is not as good because, in order to get the lumps out, much of the potato is repeatedly "mashed" with more cells breaking. Use of a power device such as a mixer or food processor is an invitation to disaster.

I used to think that cooking the potatoes whole, or at least in large chunks, was the best way to go when making mashed. Turns out I was wrong. Cutting the potato up into moderate sized pieces lets them cook quicker, so the outside of each piece does not get overcooked (with resulting cell breakage) by the time the inside is done.
From: whinysista at aol.commode (WhinySista)
Date: 30 Jan 2003 11:07:51 GMT
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Bill wrote:
> She only ran
>that Kitchen Aid Professional 6 quart mixer for about five minutes on
>high speed with the wire whip to fluff em up...they turned to goo!

Five minutes' worth of beating with anything electric is a pretty long time. Five minutes on high in a KitchenAid is a recipe for baby food.
From: Jack (jackn2mpu at monmouth.com)
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 11:50:06 -0500
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WhinySista wrote:
> Five minutes' worth of beating with anything electric is a pretty long time.
> Five minutes on high in a KitchenAid is a recipe for baby food.

Amen on 5 minutes being WAYYYYYYY too long! Once the potatoes are cooked (cut into 4 pieces each for thorough cooking), it takes me less time than that to mash them with a hand masher, along with some butter and milk. Drain, mash, add butter and milk, mash a little more - maybe 3 minutes all told.
From: ant22 at post.com
Date: 30 Jan 2003 09:57:50 -0800
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bananarama wrote:
> All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk
> they turn to a liquefied glop of goo.

Hi! I'll like to add my opinion. I would say add the butter, but mix them without the milk. If boiled, the potatoes are already saturated with water. If they get too sticky add a little drizzle of milk at a time but not too much. I use a Braun handstick blender. If I mix it too long, it becomes like cream of wheat. So defintely hold back on the milk.
From: bob in schenectady (avssi at NOSPAMhotmail.com)
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 21:03:49 GMT
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ant22 wrote:
> Hi! I'll like to add my opinion. I would say add the butter, but mix
> them without the milk. If boiled, the potatoes are already saturated
> with water. If they get too sticky add a little drizzle of milk at a
> time but not too much. I use a Braun handstick blender. If I mix it
> too long, it becomes like cream of wheat. So defintely hold back on
> the milk.

I like to use a little cream (along with the butter) instead of milk. Want to "kick it up"?? Add a little Chive Cream Cheese as well! It's awesome for an occasional change!

Bob (somewhere near) Schenectady
From: stan at temple.edu
Date: 3 Feb 2003 17:36:02 GMT
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bananarama wrote:
> Never before have I had problems w/mashed potatoes from scratch.
> All of a sudden after mashing when adding a teeny tiny bit of milk
> they turn to a liquefied glop of goo. Is it the type of potato? What
> could be wrong?

How about letting us in on how you make mashed potatoes and the type of potatoes you use. I don't see how anyone can answer your question without that kind of information.
From: Pat Roehr (texpat at cox-internet.com)
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 16:16:47 -0600
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Stan wrote:
> How about letting us in on how you make mashed potatoes and the
> type of potatoes you use. I don't see how anyone can answer your
> question without that kind of information.

Are they gluey? I had this happen to me years ago. My husband brought home 50 lbs. of potatoes he'd picked up cheap (we had lots of kids). When I tried to mash them, as soon as I added milk and butter, they turned to a thick gluey substance, and it didn't matter how much more milk I added, they were still gluey. My theory is that the potatoes were old.

On the other hand, if they're becoming TOO liquid, how well did you drain them before you began mashing them? If they have too much of the water they were cooked in, that would add more liquid than you wanted.