Subject: no lumps??
Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking
From: dabluez (dabluez at micron.net)
Date: 14 Nov 1996 16:50:09 GMT
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So how do I make my mashed potatoes non-lumpy????
From: Planet (m-harris at worldnet.att.net)
Date: 14 Nov 1996 17:15:06 GMT
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Use a potato ricer.
From: roglb at nrv.net (Diane)
Date: 15 Nov 1996 03:45:16 GMT
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Planet says...
> Use a potato ricer.
I thought I was the only one to ever do that. I tried it once when the mixer wouldn't work, then I beat them with a spoon to make them fluffy. Usually I like the lumps though. I always say that no one can say they aren't real potatoes.
From: Brian Mailman (bmailman at hooked.net)
Date: Sat, 16 Nov 1996 11:30:06 -0800
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Diane wrote:
> Usually I like the lumps though. I always say that no one can say they
> aren't real potatoes.
Well. A person could get around _that_ easily enough by simply boiling a small potato and adding the lumpy stuff to the instant mix. Not that _I_ would EVER do anything like that!!
From: beaner at prolog.net (Jeanine)
Date: 19 Nov 1996 18:54:04 GMT
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> Use a potato ricer.
Or, my method..I tend to steam the taters in smallish chunks, then just whip 'em up with a mixer..adding the liquid and butter as I go...works for me!
From: Conner (lakemont at digital.net)
Date: 14 Nov 1996 23:55:04 GMT
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For me, the best potato-mashing tool is a food mill. The potatoes are forced through a mesh, and come out nice and fluffy.
Sandy
From: croehler at ssc.sas.upenn.edu (Christiane Roehler)
Date: 15 Nov 1996 02:52:18 GMT
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Besides better mashing techniques (see other posts), peel them before you cook them, cut them up and boil them in _salted_ water. It does not have to be heavily salted, just a bit of salt will do, perhaps a pinch (I use 3 fingers) for 3 potatoes.
From: michelle.campbell at stonebow.otago.ac.nz (Miche)
Date: 16 Nov 1996 22:56:06 GMT
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Mash them longer, or beat the bejeezus out of them in a food processor.
From: Lei Gui (leig at aol.com)
Date: 17 Nov 1996 23:50:05 GMT
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Miche wrote:
>Mash them longer, or beat the bejeezus out of them in a food processor.
I use a ricer myself, when I used the food processor, they had an odd texture, slightly "rubbery".
From: skin21 at ix.netcom.com (jennifer McAllister)
Date: 18 Nov 1996 23:22:54 GMT
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Lei Gui writes:
>I use a ricer myself, when I used the food processor, they had an odd
>texture, slightly "rubbery".
*Slightly* rubbery? The one time I made mashed potatoes in a Cuisinart, they emerged as a horrible, gummy, chewy mess. You know those bread books that tell you to check how the gluten has developed by stretching out a piece of the dough, and if it springs back, it's ready?...well...that's what these spuds were like. (Eeeeeuw, gross...)
Jen
From: dtwright at texas.net (David Wright)
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 01:31:07 GMT
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jennifer McAllister wrote:
>*Slightly* rubbery? The one time I made mashed potatoes in a
>Cuisinart, they emerged as a horrible, gummy, chewy mess.
Would that be a good start for potato bread? Serious question, since I've never made potato bread.
From: skin21 at ix.netcom.com (jennifer McAllister)
Date: 20 Nov 1996 00:32:52 GMT
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David Wright writes:
>Would that be a good start for potato bread? Serious question, since
>I've never made potato bread.
You are a mind reader! I was thinking of those ill-fated mashed potatoes on the way to work this morning and I wondered the same thing. My hunch is that it probably wouldn't work, or at least wouldn't taste very good. The potato bread recipe I use says to rice the potatoes so that they stay fluffy when you mix them into the liquid ingredients.
Maybe if you find yourself with some nasty mashed potatoes on hand (eeeeuwww...) and you feel funny about throwing them out, you could give it a try.
No, no, I take that back! If you find yourself with nasty mashed potatoes on hand, run like hell before it's too late! Save yourself before--oh, no! BUWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Oh, dear. I have been working too hard.
-- Jen
From: Mary f(pud) (maryf at earthlink.net)
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 22:15:46 -0800
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jennifer McAllister wrote:
>*Slightly* rubbery? The one time I made mashed potatoes in a
>Cuisinart, they emerged as a horrible, gummy, chewy mess.
Yeah, that was the year Dad burned out his 2nd cuisnart. These potatoes would have given super glue a run for it's money. I laughed so hard, I thought Dad was gonna hit me with the wine bottle :-).
You can do them in the cuisnart, but you have to be VERY careful :-).
From: Brian Mailman (bmailman at hooked.net)
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 09:40:13 -0800
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Mary f(pud) wrote:
> You can do them in the cuisnart, but you have to be VERY careful :-).
Yes, you can do them in a Cuisinart/food processor, but don't use the steel mixing blade or the plastic dough mixer. Use the shredding disk.
Apparently, the starch is not distributed uniformly throughout the potato; rather, it is contained in some sort of packets. Cutting through them will release the starch and make the 'taters gluey. Harold McGee writes of this in one of his cooking curiousities (title?) books.
From: Mary f(pud) (maryf at earthlink.net)
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 1996 00:07:03 -0800
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Brian Mailman wrote:
> Yes, you can do them in a Cuisinart/food processor, but don't use the
> steel mixing blade or the plastic dough mixer. Use the shredding disk.
Okay, do them with the shredding disk, i.e., rice the potatoes? But then they still have to mixed with the buttter etc right? or am I missing something :-). ?
From: jasonq at oasis.novia.net (Jason Quick)
Date: 23 Nov 1996 15:47:20 GMT
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What I like to do is use my Braun hand-held blender...you wanna talk about lumpless potatoes...I get them good and pulverized first, then add the milk/butter. I did it the opposite way once, added too much milk, and wound up with something roughly the consistency of cream of wheat. Ugh.
From: turner at reed.edu (Johanna C. Colgrove)
Date: 18 Nov 1996 19:19:27 GMT
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Miche wrote:
>Mash them longer, or beat the bejeezus out of them in a food processor.
Maybe you meant beat them in a mixer, or your food processer is different than ones you see in the US. But... don't use a food processor on your mashed potatoes. It turns them into glue. Something about the cutting edge breaks down the starches. You'll be very disappointed.
It seems like every year someone comes in saying they did their potatoes in the food processor and got glue, what happened... So, consider this your advanced warning.