Mashed potatoes

Subject: Mashed potatoes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking

From: BD (noone at verizon.net)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:54:46 GMT
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I made a nice dinner tonight. Roasted chicken, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes were gummy however. I used a generic bag on thin skinned brown potato. I cooked them like I always do, added a little milk, salt and butter. I am wondering what happened!

Barb

From: Andy (a at b.c)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:57:25 -0500
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Troll scale: 10

From: Goomba (Goomba38 at comcast.net)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:05:03 -0400
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Did you mash them or whip them with a mixer? How exactly did you arrive at "mashed" potatoes? That can make a big difference in the outcome. I usually use my stand mixer and 99% of the time they come out wonderfully, but if you overmix them the starch develops (I believe?) and that is when you get into trouble with gumminess developing.

From: Christine Dabney (artisan2 at ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:07:57 -0600
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BD wrote:
> I made a nice dinner tonight. Roasted chicken, stuffing, gravy, mashed
> potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes were gummy however. I used a generic
> bag on thin skinned brown potato.

It might also depend on the type of potatoes used. Some potatoes are just not as well suited for mashing, and might produce the result you achieved. Maybe that was the type in the bag?

Russets/Idahoes, and Yukon Golds will produce good mashed potatoes, but again, the texture will be different between the two.

From: Andy (a at b.c)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:23:26 -0500
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What part of "I cooked them like I always do" didn't raise a troll flag???

From: Christine Dabney (artisan2 at ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:27:20 -0600
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Andy (a at b.c) wrote:
>What part of "I cooked them like I always do" didn't raise a troll flag???

Because the variety of potatoes CAN make a big difference, even if you cook them the same way.

From: Andy (a at b.c)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:39:40 -0500
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Christine Dabney said...
> Andy <a at b.c> wrote:
>>What part of "I cooked them like I always do" didn't raise a troll flag???
>
> Because the variety of potatoes CAN make a big difference, even if you
> cook them the same way.

Christine,

The troll didn't mention a change in potato variety, did it?

Best,
Andy

From: Christine Dabney (artisan2 at ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:43:12 -0600
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>The troll didn't mention a change in potato variety, did it?
>Andy

She said she got a bag of generic potatoes. To me that says she didn't know what variety they were, and we don't know what variety that she used before. She never said that her previous mashed potatoes were made from generic potatoes.

Go back and read the post again. This is not a troll, in my opinion..and a very valid question.

And there are many, many times we have had this very question come up in RFC...from posters we all know.. They will say, I cooked such and such the same way I always did, and it turned out different. And we explore why such and such happened.

Don't be so quick to label someone a troll....

From: Andy (a at b.c)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:48:59 -0500
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Of course, the best way to gum up mashed potatoes is to food process them
into paste.

Considering the lack of such pertinent information, it's a Troll.

Help a false, lost cause all you please.

From: blake murphy (blakepmNOTTHIS at verizon.net)
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:27:46 GMT
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> The troll didn't mention a change in potato variety, did it?
> Andy

given the amount of rubbish you post here, it's pretty rich that you label someone asking a legitimate question a troll.

From: Goomba (Goomba38 at comcast.net)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:52:17 -0400
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Christine Dabney wrote:
> Because the variety of potatoes CAN make a big difference, even if you
> cook them the same way.

And it is a problem that is discussed here often enough to know it exists.

From: Christine Dabney (artisan2 at ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:55:37 -0600
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Goomba wrote:
>And it is a problem that is discussed here often enough to know it exists.

Not only that, but this person has posted before in this group, and has contributed to discussions. I just did a profile search on this person, and she is NOT a troll....

Christine

From: Andy (a at b.c)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:06:56 -0500
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Christine Dabney said...
> Not only that, but this person has posted before in this group, and
> has contributed to discussions. I just did a profile search on this
> person, and she is NOT a troll....

Well, you certainly went above and beyond your point of usefulness.

From: BD (noone at verizon.net)
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:48:37 GMT
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Andy wrote:
> Well, you certainly went above and beyond your point of usefulness.

No, I'm not a troll! I used my kitchen aid mixer. Maybe I did over beat the potatoes. They certainly were gummy.

From: Lin (grafixbunny2007 at yahoo.com)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:58:44 -0700
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Andy wrote:
> Well, you certainly went above and beyond your point of usefulness.

Dude ... maybe you should have stopped with that first Bud-Light at breakfast. Just sayin ...

From: Andy (a at b.c)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:17:11 -0500
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Lin said...
> Dude ... maybe you should have stopped with that first Bud-Light at
> breakfast. Just sayin ...

Lin,

Perhaps,
But my mashed potatoes come out perfect, time and time again.

Best,
Andy

From: blake murphy (blakepmNOTTHIS at verizon.net)
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:30:17 GMT
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Andy wrote:
> But my mashed potatoes come out perfect, time and time again.

i'm so happy for you.

From: blake murphy (blakepmNOTTHIS at verizon.net)
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:29:33 GMT
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Andy wrote:
> Well, you certainly went above and beyond your point of usefulness.

this is too funny. what, are you worried BD is hogging your precious air time?

From: sf (sf at geemail.com)
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:20:24 -0700
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BD wrote:
>I made a nice dinner tonight. Roasted chicken, stuffing, gravy, mashed
>potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes were gummy however. I used a generic
>bag on thin skinned brown potato. I cooked them like I always do, added a
>little milk, salt and butter. I am wondering what happened!

Too much liquid always makes mashed potatoes gummy and thin skinned potatoes are not the idea potato to use anyway. Too much liquid can mean just a tablespoon or two extra. BTDT. Awesome mashed potatoes are not easy to make!

From: Paul M. Cook (pmcook at gte.net)
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 08:41:01 -0700
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BD wrote:
>I made a nice dinner tonight. Roasted chicken, stuffing, gravy, mashed
>potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes were gummy however. I used a generic
>bag on thin skinned brown potato. I cooked them like I always do, added a
>little milk, salt and butter. I am wondering what happened!

Potatoes taste different at different times of the year. They are a seasonal food. Plus they can vary immensely from field to field or region to region. The protein and starch content are never the same. Ditto for water content. Sometimes you get bad results. I've had russets that were so bitter I had to throw them out. It just happens.

From: Dimitri (Dimitri_C at prodigy.net)
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 10:16:52 -0700
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BD wrote:
>I made a nice dinner tonight. Roasted chicken, stuffing, gravy, mashed
>potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes were gummy however. I used a generic
>bag on thin skinned brown potato. I cooked them like I always do, added a
>little milk, salt and butter. I am wondering what happened!

Usually gummy potatoes come from over mixing.

Mix as little as possible and try not to use an electric mixer.

http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/mashpotscience.htm