Mashed: A question about mashed potatos
Subject: A question about mashed potatos
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: dagashi at nettaxi.com (J.J.)
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 00:02:17 GMT
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Happy holidays all!
I haven't had time to read the group (or anything on Usenet) lately, but thought someone here might answer a question for me. I'm planning the traditional North American Christmas dinner for 10+ people and want to do as much as I can the night before. Does anyone know, will it hurt to peel my white potatos and put them in water more than 12 hours before I boil them? I've done this an hour or so before, but never thought about doing it the night before cooking. Seems like I could end up saving a bit of time or having watery spuds. :P
Any opinions are welcome, hope you all enjoy your holidays...
From: j6505 at aol.com (Rick)
Date: 15 Dec 1999 03:11:57 GMT
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I have even completely cooked and mashed my potatoes the night before. But instead of reheating in the original pan, I would put in a corningware baking dished that I lathered with real butter and sprinkled with some Paprika on top. Bake until top is slightly golden.
From: lindamagee1 at cs.com (LINDA MAGEE1)
Date: 15 Dec 1999 04:26:42 GMT
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Sure, they'll keep if you put them in water (hint--add a little lemon juice too). I did that for Thanksgiving (peeled and cut them up the night before), put them into a Zip-Loc bag and filled it with water. Cooked them just before the turkey was to be pulled out of the oven...worked fine. Oh, dump the soaking water out and add fresh before you cook them.
From: j6505 at aol.com (J6505)
Date: 15 Dec 1999 11:09:45 GMT
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Yes I have done the same, but I was scant on the lemon juice and certain to rinse well before the cooking. My friend also adds slices of apple into the soaking liquid along with lemon juice. I am not quite sure what that does, but he claims that it cuts the citrus taste later on.
Never-the-less, potatoes can be done hours in advance.
I prefer cooking them totally in advance. Why go through the trouble of peeling and dicing without doing the actual cooking and then just reheating the next day? I actually like the potatoes reheated the next day. I do it for my catering business all the time.
The more I can do the day before, the better it is for me.
I always serve a corn casserole and a green bean casserole (Durkee style) that I prepare the day before.
Have you ever noticed that everything you prepare for a Thanksgiving dinner tastes better the next day ?
From: Barrie Mather (bsmat at benalla.net.au)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 16:20:53 +1100
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It may depend on the sort of potato you use. There's plenty of time - why not experiment (measure the weight gain as well as the texture and mouth-feel of potatoes from the same source as those you plan to use for your feast. Or even several different sorts of potatoes. You could even use your guests as a panel of judges.
Certainly spuds can absorb a lot of water - an aquaintance of mine who was a potato farmer told me the irrigation bill for his 100 acre spud farm was $18,000 Australian for one year. If you can get the tubers to soak up a lot of water just before harvest, you can sell water at a good price.
From: ELN/jek4 (jek4 at earthlink.net)
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 18:24:01 -0800
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I make my mashed potatoes the night before but add 3 oz. of Cream cheese to the recipe (5 lbs.). It gives the potatoes a creamier taste and a firmer texture. Put in casserole, dot with butter, sprinkle with paprika, and heat in 400* oven until hot.
From: SteveH (sjhouse at foilspam.western.wave.ca)
Date: 23 Dec 1999 16:55:17 -0600
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Just one persons opinion, but I would suggest NOT peeling the potatoes at all. Get thin skinned white potatoes, scrub them briefly to remove surface dirt, boil 'til tender and smash 'em skins and all. The skins have most of the nutrients and a lot of the flavour, I think you'll like the result.