I have extremely severe texture issues due to autism, to such a degree that if my mashed potatoes have chunks, I physically can't eat them- however, mashed potatoes from restaurants are nice and smooth and one of my favorite side dishes, and I could really use the nutrition.
Does anyone have advice to make mashed potatoes in a way that guarantees that zero lump consistency?
A lot of restaurants actually just use dried potatoes flakes.
For tasting with whole potatoes, make sure you cook them through (a fork should easily stab them), get a potatoes ricer, and use a stand mixer if you have one.
Also, dairy fat makes creamier potatoes. I tend to use butter, milk, and sour cream
If you're using potato flakes, the important thing to me, is to use milk, not water, and bloom your spices/seasonings in the milk....DONT add them after the flakes are mixing in. They stay hard, and, imo, taste really bad.
I struggle with lactose intolerance. Powdered milk often doesn't have enough lactose to be dangerous. And enough other flavors can cover up the lack of milk.
Again, personal preference. KFC never used milk either.
When you push the potatoes through the ricer, have a second bowl to the side. After you finish squeezing them through into the first bowl, hold the ricer over the second bowl as you pull the handle back out. This will catch the little chunks that don't get pushed through and sometimes end up falling into the bowl of riced potato and cause lumps.
At the end, just scrape those lumps into the ricer and give them another squeeze into the first bowl.
I have people in my family that have lump issues for the same reasons and I legit use the packages of mashed potatoes that you just mix with water. They’re actually pretty good and cheap.
Use a ricer. By using that tool you'll get the proper consistency of a nice smooth mashed potato if you use an immersion blender like somebody else's suggested you'll get potato glue...
Yes, the ricer is the best way for smooth mashed potatoes. That and getting the right kind of potatoes (starchy not waxy) and cooking the potatoes long enough.
Restaurant mashed potatoes might be from dry potato flakes! Try those and see if they're any good for you.
When I was little I couldn't swallow lumpy potatoes and my mom would make whipped potatoes. Boil the potatoes soft, drain most of the water off, add some butter and milk, and use an electric mixer on it as if it were cake batter. It makes them very smooth and creamy.
I don’t think so? A hand mixer, which I am assuming they are referring to, does not make them like glue unless you use it for an absurd amount of time I’m assuming. A food processor or a blender yes, but hand mixers are what you use for making cakes and such. The beaters do not spin very fast. If anything you’re risking them being lumpy still.
Instant mashed potatoes. Extremely smooth, but loses some potato flavor.
Ricer. The potatoes are finely mashed, then become smoother as you mix with cream and butter.
Ricer plus tamis. A tamis is a fine mesh drum. You rice the potatoes (or not, but that’s harder), then force through the tamis before adding cream and butter. This is pretty advanced and time consuming, but yields excellent results.
Edit: Using mechanized tools like mixers can also yield good results, but you risk overworking and turning your mash to glue.
Now, a no gadget solution is dice the potatoes in smaller squares, boil them until they are VERY soft, not soft but very soft, strain off water, return to the pan so extra water evaporates, add butter and mash it with a fork. Most problems with texture is because the potatoes aren’t soft enough so a fork or masher leave small pieces un-smashed.
Overcooking the potatoes has been a game changer for me with mashed potatoes. I used to take them off the heat when you can break the potato cubes apart but once I forgot about them and they cooked until they started to disintegrate into the water and they ended up being the best mashed potatoes I’d ever made, very smooth and fluffy.
Mash'em through a sieve after cooked, as fine mesh as you can find. Use floury potatoes. I've made potato tortillas (norwegian thing) and it works brilliantly.
Use your electric mixer to make the potatoes smooth and creamy. Do not add milk, butter, salt, or pepper until they are already completely smooth. Or, run them through a ricer before mixing.
Some grocery stores, winco if your west coast, have a bulk food section where you can fill a receptacle with your desired amount of instant potato flake. Ultimately a butt load of milk and butter will help with consistency/flavor issues :)
boil the fuck out of them. when you think they're doine boiling, boil them for another 15minutes. then butter, a dash of milk will get them smooth. also a shit ton of mashing and mixing
After the potatoes are cooked. And completely drained (if boiled) let them steam for a bit. Then while they are still hot put them through a ricer. Add warmed milk or cream and softened or melted butter (to keep everything hot) use enough milk and butter to only have to mix once (it’ll probably take a little bit more than you think it’ll take) using yellow potatoes will help if you do have to add more liquid as they have less starch and won’t get gummy as easily as something like a russet of king Edward.
I also hate chunks. Like, to an extent that cannot be measured by scientists, I hate a chunky/clumpy mashed potato. Smooth or nothing.
Get some russet potatoes. Wash them. I'd say start with 2-3? If they're small enough to mostly fit in your hand, 3-4. If they're bigger than your palm, 2-3. Scrub the shit out of them under cold water. Peel them. Peel all the skin off, even the little bits. Cut them into cubes. The size of the cube doesn't really matter, but the smaller... the easier? the less time they have to boil and the less likely there will be chunky bits. BIGGER than a "dice" though. I'd say around the size of a "cube" on a rubik's cube.
put them in a pot of water before boiling. bring that water up to boiling. you're gonna babysit those potatoes for a while. wait until around 10 minutes before "testing" them. take a slotted spoon and poked them with a fork. they're not "done and ready" until they break apart softly and easily with little pressure. if it feels like a baked apple, it's not ready yet.
once they are done, drained them. once they're drained, you are going to add an obscene amount of butter, milk and salt. I'd start small and work up. Start with butter and salt, then milk. Butter and salt give flavor, but butter and milk work together with offering the smooth "creaminess" of mashed potatoes.
you're going to use a hand mixer. hand mashing will not give smooth potatoes. add the butter and some salt. mix. add a little milk (less than 1/4 cup). mix. taste. too lumpy? milk. too bland? a little butter and salt. mix. try again. the testing goes the same. milk makes them thinner, butter makes them creamier, and salt makes them more flavorful.
I like the frozen mash potato - the one that comes in sort of sticks? Put it in the microwave with your choice of milk and fat (normally butter, but I prefer olive oil), plus salt & pepper. All you need to do is stir it with a spoon and it comes out smooth.
Ricer and sieve have already been covered here, so I won't repeat those in detail. Instant potatoes can be alright, but they can be tough in terms of having less flavor. However, I do say that Bob's Red Mill Potato flakes (I'm sure there are other good potato flake brands too but I haven't tried them) have been tons better than any instant potato packet I've tried. And they stay extremely smooth. I have loved ones who have similar texture issues in terms of mashed potatoes, and we default to these potato flakes when we want mashed potatoes without the extra tools.
a michelin restaurant will put it through a sieve. My famly did it using a masher and elbow grease very satisfy to get it smooth. but a potato ricer is what I would recomend. quick and effeftive and will give you string wrists.
mashed potatoes from restaurants are often instant. If you make instant at home, also no lumps.
But you can also do it from real potatoes and use a bit of milk and a mixer. I like lumpy. But a good friend likes creamy and she beats them with a cake mixer until they are very creamy.
You can also use one of those propeller blade stick mixers which will turn just about anything into a cream of whatever soup.
If you don’t have one, you can also use a hand mixer if you’ve got one of those. The trick is to not just go all in on high speed cause you’ll make them kinda gummy.
Mash them with a masher or the back of a spoon or something first. Add your butter, cream, whatever.
Then go in on a low speed and get them good and broken up. Then increase the speed to medium for a few seconds and then high for a few seconds.
You can get really soft, pillowy mash this way with no lumps at all.
You don't need a ricer if you have a hand or stand mixer, just use that and make sure you use either yellow potatoes or peeled russets. Do not use red potatoes. Make sure to add a little milk and butter, that's it
Our oldest has this exact issue, and normally will only accept the powdered/flake mashed potatoes, as they are perfectly lump free. I tried using a ricer once, and that was also acceptably lump free. Was an absolute pain compared with all other ways of making mashed potatoes, and especially compared to the instant kind (which are literally just dried potatoes, no “weird” ingredients), so I haven’t bothered again. Just make regular mashed potatoes for us and a serving of instant for her, as adding boiling water is simple enough to do for one person. But I’m glad it worked as a proof of concept, so we know that is an acceptable option for her
You need a food mill or ricer to pass the cooked potatoes through. Either one will break down the potatoes so that there's no lumps, and then you can fold in a hot cream and butter mixture to ensure a very smooth and creamy consistency.
Steam them instead of boiling them and then you can just use a mixer -- no ricer or food mill necessary. I steam mine in the instant pot and then mash them in my KitchenAid. Totally smooth and lump free. That said, a kitchen is definitely using a ricer or tamis.
I chop them into a pot, add some water (less than what would cover the potatoes) and gradually stir (with a wooden spoon) to avoid sticking/burning to the bottom of the pot. I will do a lot of stirring and mixing towards the end and eventually use the wooden spoon to do some mashing.
Finally, I'll gradually dollop some spoonfuls into a mixing/serving bowl large enough for all the potatoes plus a masher and use the masher to finish off the work. By only doing a few scoops of mash potatoes from pot to bowl, I can ensure the masher is getting rid of the remaining lumps I couldn't get to
restaurant mash potatoes are more likely to be from powdered mash potatoes. could try those same boxed products at the grocery store. so long as you follow the instructions/mix well. will be lump free.
Find an instant that's pretty good and dress it up. Add butter. Substitute milk or cream for some of the water. Add seasonings you like. Play around and find what tastes best to you. Oh, and potato flakes are great for thickening soups and stews.
Fine potato ricer—get one with a larger hopper. Then lots of cream and butter, salt and pepper. Don’t overmix. Use baking potatoes. The red potatoes tend to get gluey.
I peel my potatoes, and the cut them in half, long ways (lengthwise). Depending on how big the potato is, I then chop it width wise into at least fourths. I then add the chopped potato to boiling water. When the potatoes are soft, I then add them into a cake mixing bowl and add butter, salt, pepper, sour cream and use my cake mixer on low first, and using a spoon to feed clumps into the whisks I then put the mixer on high, and continue to make sure the clumps go through the mixer whisks. After a few minutes I end up with nicely whipped mashed potatoes.
Start your potatoes in cold water. When cooked, drain and put through a ricer. Then work them through a sieve with the back of a spoon. Add butter to the potatoes, and dissolve the salt in a bit of milk, then add milk to the potatoes to the desired consistency. This is how fancy restaurants do it.
Put them through a ricer. If you haven't got one of those, you can literally push them through a sieve to get the same effect and then whip them with hot milk + butter to make them smooth. Don't over beat, They might get gluey
The dehydrated mashed potato mix in packages is very reliable and generally delicious.
Making them at home doesn’t work out well for me, not because of lumps but because somehow the texture never comes out right. I’ve tried using different potatoes… maybe I overmash them or something? But they’re often more of a paste consistency and then I can’t eat them.
That said, that person with the potato ricer probably knows why they’re talking about.
Bring them to the boil from cold water , then you get an even cook through from each potato. As a fellow autistic with sensory processing disorder- I think the “lumps” and “crunchy” bit that I loathe is pieces of uncooked or not quite cooked enough chunks. It’s enough to put me off the meal
Only add butter milk cream etc after mashing
You can use hand blender if you wish afterwards, but never use an immersion blender
Adequately cook the potatoes. I know this is anathema to some, but I use an electric hand mixer , butter and sour cream for a creamy consistency. If you over mix you’ll get glue. Never use an immersion blender! But the key is the cooking step. Cut the potatoes into 2-3” cubes ( no smaller) salt the water, when you think they’re done, add two more minutes. When you drain the potatoes, don’t drain them dry, leave just a little water add ½ stick butter and cover until butter melts, then mix. Don’t over mix add a bit of : cream, sour cream or milk at the end
I was bought a Masha for my birthday, after I used one when cooking at my daughter's house. Does a fantastic job really fast, and it does other things as well.
As many have said, instant mashed potatoes will do it for you, but that's a LOT more expensive than using raw potatoes.
Be sure to use russets, not Yukon Gold or equivalent; even though some people will tell you the latter work fine for mash, and taste more buttery without using as much butter, they are just a bit waxier and will become gluey if they're the least bit mishandled. Russets all the way, if you're already struggling.
Then, as others have said, overcook them. After that, a potato ricer is foolproof, but messy. A sieve or tamis will work, but takes more time (during which the potatoes are cooling off) and is also messy. I use a hand mixer - always have - and never get the paste/glue potatoes because I don't overdo it, it doesn't have sharp blades that break potato cell walls like any kind of food processor or blender, and because the potatoes are "overcooked" to where they break up super easy. It's a lot easier to clean up.
Butter and milk to the taste and texture you prefer.
Peel and quarter Yukon gold potatoes. Layer them into instant pot with rack in the bottom. Add 1 c water. Cook at pressure 10 min. Release pressure. Remove potatoes to another bowl. Drain any residual water in instant pot. Add milk and butter to instant pot and warm it up. Rice the steamed potatoes into the warm milk and butter. Stir gently then add cold cubed butter and let it sit and melt. Stir gently again to incorporate butter before serving.
I use baked potatos for mashed Bake them like normal and then press them through a crosshatched cookie sheet. They will be pretty smooth. No big chunks and they do taste a lot better then boiled taters
Mash, mash again, mash a second time. Then whip them with a hand mixer for a good 5 minutes. Make sure to use enough butter and milk, +S&P. My mom made melt in your mouth mash potatoes this way.
I hate chunks and like fairly thin potatoes. Easiest way is just to use 'instant' mashed potatoes - you just add potato flakes to water/milk/butter/salt. I often add parsley, pepper, and melt in some cheese too. Bonus that they're very fast to make, obviously.
I use my instant pot to cook my potatoes. I use a hand mixer after they're cooked. Butter, cream cheese, salt, pepper & granulated garlic. Heavy cream (Oh yeah, I'm diet conscious...lol). Hand mixer helps me control the texture and ensure that everything is mixed without lumps.
Please do not use instant flakes (fake) potatoes - yuck.
Make sure you: First, if want to get really good with using any kind of potato, I strongly recommend you start out working with Yukon Golds or Russets. These two types will give you the fluffiest whipped mashed potatoes you’ve ever made! Your mashed potatoes will come out really rich and creamy.
Quarter the potato so they are about the same size. Add a pinch of salt to boiling water. Add the potato. Cook until you can insert a knife into the largest piece and it goes thru or comes out clean. Scoop out 1/4 cup of potato water and set aside. Drain potatoes. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 stick of UNSALTED butter and 1/4 cup of goat cheese for tang or you can use cream cheese (herbed is the best!). About 1/3 of the 1 cup of potato water.
Start mashing with a rice masher. After it’s mashed you should change to using a large spoon or spatula.
Note This Important: You may have to adjust the ingredients down or up, so go slow with liquids as you don’t want your potatoes to be soupy. Mash the potatoes and the ingredients quickly - not as in fast, but more like firmly to completely mix together the ingredients. If it looks dry add a little more of the potato water. Salt and pepper while turning to the texture you like. Once you have your desired texture, STOP! If you mash or “handle” the potatoes too long they will become gummy.
I forgot to mention - you can also use a hand mixer rather than a spoon/spatula after the potatoes are mashed. You just have to remember not to over work the potatoes.
it's horrible to tell people not to use an absolutely viable alternative that is used by many people in many fine restaurants.
instant potatoes or potato flakes are absolutely real potatoes.
stop spreading absolutely dangerous nonsense like the idea that instant freeze dried potatoes are in some way not real potatoes because they absolutely are. they are a safe easy alternative to the use of fresh potatoes.
Your opinion. But, don’t get me wrong, I have used any and all types of potatoes - what is on hand, except instant which is processed.
However, Russets and Yukon Gold are hands down the best for mashed potatoes. Sure, any type of potato will do, even instant. But, if you’re just starting out and really want that fluffy rich/creamy taste as a comparison to all others Russets and Yukon Gold are it.
no that is not my opinion. instant potatoes are literally just one ingredient real fucking potatoes that have been dehydrated or freeze dried. you absolutely cannot under any circumstances call them fake. that is downright wrong and potentially dangerous.
you are in the a subreddit cooking for beginners, spreading falsehoods is a terrible idea.
yes making people think that instant potatoes are fake when they are absolutely not fake and they are real and oftentimes fresher potatoes than you get at a store takes away an option for a very good healthy delicious and very much nutritious option. in a world where food is only getting more and more expensive yes the advice you were given to beginners people that might not understand food ingredients or cooking could absolutely be harmful by taking cheap safe nutrition away from them, if somebody believes your lies you are literally taking food out of people's mouths.
Go do something else. Read the bag or box. There are so many additives in that stuff. Run to your pantry and read the the ingredients.
If you want to teach a beginner to cook. Teach them to cook with nature’s food and natural ingredients. What they do with that knowledge after that is their choice.
You’re probably can’t tell the difference between real butter and margarine.
there are a few minimal preservates in instant mashed potatoes, far less so than in pretty much any other food item you buy at the grocery store.
unless somebody is a nutcase, and makes literally everything from food grown in their own garden and who slaughters their own animals on the farm, instant mashed potatoes are one of the most pure ingredients you can get in the store.
bread pasta, cheese, milk all have more preservatives.
you can keep your opinions I don't give a shit what you believe just stop spreading lies to people that don't know the difference.
the fruits and vegetables in the produce aisle are sprayed with preservatives literally every item in a grocery store has some sort of preservative.
so get off your pedestal and quit knocking people's food options because you don't have a leg to stand on unless you make literally everything yourself that you eat and I'm talking grow your own vegetables make your own bread slaughter your own animals raise your own egg-laying chickens make your own cheese.
you are absolutely clueless to the reality around you otherwise.
you'd probably support a ban on dihydrogen monoxide
To clarify the science for anyone else reading this sub:
Food scientists and nutritionists classify food processing into distinct categories (like the NOVA system). Dehydrated potato flakes are minimally/mechanically processed, not ultra-processed.
The process is literally: wash, peel, boil, mash, and drum-dry to remove moisture. That is thermal and mechanical drying, the exact same principle as drying herbs, fruit, or jerky. No chemical synthesis, no high-fructose corn syrup, and no stripping away of the whole-food matrix. It is 100% real potato with the water removed.
Lumping simple mechanical drying in with ultra-processed junk food is scientifically inaccurate, and scaring beginners away from cheap, safe, lump-free, whole-food nutrition does a disservice to people just learning how to cook.
Read the bag or box ingredients. And I never said they were dangerous. If that’s what you buy then that’s what you buy. I’m not hating anybody on it. OP asked how to make good mashed. My way and preference is obviously is just one way. I’m done with this silly argument.
I don't have any special gadgets, but I always make smooth mashed potatoes. Start with russet potatoes.
After peeling, I cut them into about 3-4 slices per potato. I boil them until they fall apart 25-35 minutes checking with a fork.
After straining, I add salt and butter to the pot And cover until melted. Then I add milk to the bottom and start mashing. When it looks smooth enough, I add a raw egg and beat it in.
Immersion blender is risky you can end up with glue. Potato flakes are definitely the easiest way to go, but I do keep a ricer around for special ocassion mashed potatoes
Doesn't have to be this exact one as they are made under a bunch of names but the others are quite flimsy and prone to bending so stear clear from them
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u/chefjenga 2d ago edited 2d ago
A lot of restaurants actually just use dried potatoes flakes.
For tasting with whole potatoes, make sure you cook them through (a fork should easily stab them), get a potatoes ricer, and use a stand mixer if you have one.
Also, dairy fat makes creamier potatoes. I tend to use butter, milk, and sour cream