Perfect Mashed Potatoes

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a heaping helping of piping hot and buttery mashed potatoes.  There are several ways to make delicious mashed potatoes.  Here are a few variations on “mashed potato recipes”.

Old-Fashioned Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potatoes made with a hand potato masher, like the one above, will give you that irregular, a little bit lumpy, texture in your mashed potatoes.  For those who want mashed potatoes like Grandma used to make, this is probably the way to go.  Peel potatoes, boil, and drain before mashing.  Add milk, butter and salt to taste.

Peel-On Mashed Potatoes: In recent years, peel-on mashed potatoes seem to have made a comeback.  Scrub potatoes, remove bad spots, and then boil.  Mash coarsely with a hand potato masher, add milk, butter and salt to taste, and serve.

Riced Mashed Potatoes: Riced mashed potatoes are made with a potato ricer, which gives them a grainy texture, and pellet shape, just like grains of rice.  Some potato ricers include different attachments for smaller or larger rice grains.

Whipped Mashed Potatoes: Use this technique for fluffy, perfectly smooth mashed potatoes.  Peel potatoes, boil, drain, and whip with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy.  Add milk, salt, and butter to taste.

Which Kind of Potatoes? Idaho russet potatoes are the usual standby for any type of mashed potatoes, but for peel-on mashed potatoes, try baby red potatoes.  They have a thinner skin and smoother texture than regular Idaho potatoes.  For a real treat, try Yukon gold potatoes for any recipe.  They have a natural buttery color and taste, and are very smooth.     Don’t forget, you can also mash sweet potatoes! They’re great with a little butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.

The potato masher above is made of stainless steel, and measures 10.5 inches long.  It is available at Sur la table for 14.95.

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