How do I make the perfect mashed potato?

not much to mashed taters. gravies good.

OBSESSED

Use buttermilk or cream.

OBESE

use butter, oil, cream and mayo

Potato flakes do a surprisingly good job, even compared to boiling fresh potatoes. They're also quite useful for making potato breads and potato soup.

>wala
Is this a meme I'm not getting or something?

>How do I make the perfect mashed potato?

Boil coarsely chopped potatoes until soft. Drain. Add half and half, butter, dill weed and a little salt. Mash by hand. Don't overdo it. Keep covered with a clean dishtowel and lid until ready to serve.

Saffron.

Use good butter since that's the only thing that will really vary in flavor a lot and it's a major component of mashed potatoes. A slightly higher priced butter will usually taste better than the cheapest butter. And make sure you have enough salt, keep adding a little at a time and tasting until it tastes good to you. Most of the time not using enough salt is a problem most people have when they're making food from scratch.

If you want more flavorings, you can try boiling garlic cloves with the potatoes, adding black pepper, green onion, cheese, etc. but try to master the basic kind first.

indeed. think voilà instead

>That's what the French taught us to do
And we're right, cream is great for many dishes. Anyways here's my recipe :

Peel potatoes. Boil them well.
Reserve the boiling water.

Mash the potatoes with some heavy cream and half a glass of the potatoes' water (this is the secret right here).
Mix it all, if the consistency is too thick add more cream or water, until it feels right.
Season with salt & pepper to taste, and voilà.

Lurk more

Fuck all these n00bz.
Simmer -not boil- potatoes in whole milk.

It depends on the style you like. Do you want a more rustic/fluffy start with russet potatoes that have the most starch of any variety and go comparatively light on the butter/liquid dairy. If you'd prefer a smooth/creamy style ala Pomme Purée use Yukon Gold instead which have less starch granules in them so when they are creamed and handled they don't form a gluey glutinous texture along with a higher ratio of liquid/fat. In either case always salt the boiling water.

I'll post Cook's Illustrated methods for each style from the 2017 edition of their ATK Cookbook.

I try not to dwell on that, link this video instead:
youtube.com/watch?v=C0gWH2E4lWg

This is true. They are also a good substitute thickening agent for corn starch and flour in soups.

Related to the OP, do any of you own a potato ricer? If so, does it substantially change your mashed game?

It comes down largely to the choice of potato, and whether you boil them in their jackets or not and if you wash the starch off of the peeled/cut pieces.

Underrated post, mayo in mashed potatoes is amazing

Truly the secret to southern style mashed potatoes

1. Start with Yukon Gold potatoes
2. Peel them and dice into 3/4" cubes
3. Let the cubes sit it cool water for 15 minutes and then rinse twice to get rid of excess free starch
4. Put them in a pot, cover with water, add plenty of salt, and boil until easily pierced with a fork.
5. Drain but do not rinse
6. Put them back in the pot or a mixing bowl
7. Add your fats and liquids: e.g. butter, evaporated milk, cream, chicken broth, mayo, sour cream, creme fraische etc.
8. Mash or whip until the desired consistency is reached. Add final seasoning to taste.

Options:
Add a couple of whole garlic cloves to the water when boiling. Remove before mashing
Add several heavily roasted garlic cloves when adding fats / liquids
Add cheese, bacon, chives, etc.

Personally, I like adding lots of butter, evaporated milk, and reduced chicken stock. Then top with lots of gravy.

No one even mentioned America. Is this you?

Checked

>open packet
>pour into bowl of hot water

Woila, mash potats

I think you mean "viola".

A better picture for you.

>viola
literally "raped" in French

>(this is the secret right here)
>potato water

There's nothing wrong with starchy water but come on now. It's like those twits claiming you must add pasta water to your sauce just because muh nonna used to do it. It's fucking starch. In water. Ain't gonna get a magical flavour boost from that.

No I'm not even going to add salt, pepper or butter

Just want to reenact what it would be like to be an irish peasant from the year 1700

My go-to is mash the potatoes, add some good butter, pepper, nutmeg and lastly milk (adjust to get the thickness you want, but don't overdo it). Make sure the water you boil the potatoes in is salty, easier than salting the mixture afterwards

>first to even mention nutmeg

Good man.

It's not because of taste, it's because it adds to the consistency.

Yeah, it's a perfect fit IMO. Gotta try making mash with garlic one time though, sounds like an easier version of dauphinoise

This guy gets it

...

don't boil the potatoes, bake them then scoop out the insides

you don't
stop using potatoes
they're shit

Look guy, I'm going to type this once, and frankly I don't care whether you listen or not.
My mother was/is a professional chef. My father is a rancher and a food purveyor. They own a small but extremely successful restaurant that is literally farm to fork. My mom also taught culinary classes for most of my childhood. Their mashed potatoes, which have been served with great success for over 30 years, ALWAYS contains some of the potato cooking water. That other poster was exactly right, and you're stupid if you don't listen to experts. Also, your liquids should all be warm, and your butter should be room temperature. And, a ricer is always a good idea, but not 100% necessary.

>voilà.
He really IS French.

I'm not your guy friend.

I'm not your friend, buddy.

Spotted the "woke" Vegan.

Thank you for turning me on to the idea of dying at 50. Time to drink a gravy boat.

mix in 50% butter

I'm not your buddy, faggot.

I'm not your faggot, cunt.

>take a head of garlic
>cut off the tip, rub in a good amount of olive oil
>wrap in foil
>roast in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cloves are soft and spreadable
>add to russet potatoes with butter and cream

You'll thank me later

You went too far

Salad dressing

Are you kidding? I didn't go far enough. I was waiting for you to say "I'm not your cunt, ......" so I could say THAT'S NOT WHAT YOUR MOM SAID LAST NIGHT, GUY!!!

You are a pig.

Yes, believe it or not there are french people hanging around in Veeky Forums

Pour moi, c'est le McChicken, le meilleur sandwich à la restauration rapide

...

Anyone else steam instead of boil? I skin my potatos, dice them and steam them before mashing.

They're not hard to find, they usually tell you they're French right off the bat. Italians are even easier to find, just mention pizza and America in one sentence and they come out of the woodworks.

>mashing on the horizontal axis, ever

disgusting

Tfw you watch YouTube videos of people putting potatoes in a blender or """chefs"""" using a robocoupe. If you don't mash it with a potato masher, it's not mashed potatoes. This is the only culinary thing that triggers me.

This one right here.

Objectively speaking, the best mashed potatoes are starch trapped, buttered at 25%-50% weight, and passed through a drum sieve. This is a lot of work for the normal cook, so it's left to Michelin-star-type places.

But even just cooking your potatoes through and using a ricer is going to put your mash on another level than the others.

This.

Nigger, plox.
>you're stupid if you don't listen to experts
You are stupid if you don't question them.
Could it be that your parents' clientele have poor taste?

Starchy water adds nothing to consistency or flavor. It's water. There's water in butter. There's water in milk and cream. Why would potato water add anything worthwhile?

Really, the point of mashed potatoes is to get moisture OUT of the potatoes and replace it with and fortify it with milk products.
To the point that I boil my potatoes until they are cooked, and then put them in the oven to steam out a bit of the water to allow the mashed potatoes to absorb more butter & cream.

This is mashed potatoes 101.
Entry level shit.

Hnnnnnggggg!
But the best way is a food mill or ricer. Then a stand mixer with a whisk. Then a masher. But I don't like lumps, so... Some people do though.

For anyone too stupid to realise this is bait and probably an american trolling other americans.

Super-cheesy mashed potatoes is a french thing.

I used to hate mashed potatoes as a kid with violent passion because the school canteen was trying to cut costs and used margarine instead of butter. Fucking rank. Much later I figured out they could actually be pretty great with butter and milk. Whatever you do kids, don't use margarine.

PAN.

NICE AND HOT

add parmesan cheese and an egg

garlic butter cream

good potate

>housemate is doing mashed potatoes for our get together meal
>ask him what's his recipe
>goes in full detail; sounds like he knows what he's doing
>get to the dinner table
>skin on mashed potatoes on the table

>mfw

Butter and milk, anything else is for white trash who grew up eating instant mashed potatoes

You can keep being a dumbass all you want, you're only hurting yourself. People like you who choose to stay ignorant is what's wrong with everything today. Stupid ass.

Use potatoes which fall apart while cooking
Use butter and milk for consistency
Also, use nutmeg as it is a potato dish.

>How do I make the perfect mashed potato?
>perfect mashed potato?
>mashed potato?
>potato?
You're wasting a lot of time if you're going to use only one potato!

OP...listen. this has gone on long enough.
A few people answered correctly...but their voices were buried beneath the din of children shouting milk and mayonnaise.

Mashed potatoes:
>Potato.
>Fuckton of butter.
>Salt and pepper.
Do not over cook.
Do not over mix.

I have spoken.
We can put this to rest now.

Add some garlic powder in there and you're set

Mashed potatoes with the skin still intact is the best. Adds an extra layer of texture, and have more nutrients. The skin of the potato is some of the most nutrient part of it.

No cook the butter with garlic first.

>garlic powder
Kill yourself

You got it wrong already – they didn't have any potatoes. That's what caused the problems.

In addition to milk and butter, add roasted garlic.

Wait so should I add milk or cream? Make up your minds, fags.

Zito troija. Americans don't actually make pizza. What you call pizza is really just cacca di pane.

stop being a mondless drone and choose for yourself

Of course most of Veeky Forums is more interested in arguing than anything else but I'll tell you the truth. The beauty of mashed potatoes is the myriad of ways to make them:

Skin on (get your fibre and vitamins)

Cheesy (naughty but nice) for the extreme, look up Aligot

Colcannon – with cabbage and spring onions

So many variations of the above. Try adding chopped and cooked veg of your choice.

Just try things out. It's pretty difficult to fuck up mash bad enough to render in inedible, so experiment and enjoy.

Always make too much, so that you can have bubble and squeak the next day.

Secret to fluffy mashers is to soak the cut taters in water to draw the starch out.

How often will you use the cream vs the milk? If you're on a budget, then milk is the way to go. As others have said, butter is better than milk or cream, however.

Use both. Cream can have the effect of making the taters heavier, so I just use a bit of milk.

Right; I agree, but I was talking about if he was on a budget.

Is there a way to make mashed potatoes taste good the next day? Mine nearly always start tasting like crap and reheating only helps so much

Look up make-ahead / baked mashed potatoes.
They're fucking evil, because you use sour cream, cream cheese, butter, chives, salt&pepper, but it's goddamn delicious and the leftovers reheat beautifully for days.

Potato cakes.

I'm not on a budget, and I was gonna use butter, I just don't know which of cream or milk to use for better taste. (Since using both seems like dairy overkill)

Just use butter then, no milk needed.

Use red potatoes, roast them and half a bulb of garlic till the garlic is done (remove it and let cool) continue cooking the potatoe's natural sugars in the start to carmalize. Mash the potatoes and garlic until smooth, as a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. Wa la!

Is there any logic to peeling spuds?
It always seemed to me like people were going out of their way to put hassle on themselves.

The skin doesn't mash well. Most people use russet potatoes, and the scraps of rough skin don't really make for a good texture. Also, the eyes usually stay mostly intact and it doesn't look very good.

That said, coarsely mashed red potatoes with most of the skin still intact are fantastic.

Yeah that's not enough of a reason for my lazy ass to peel em.
Plus I can take the moral high ground about not being wasteful.

youtube.com/watch?v=Jeef_54TuYQ