Mashed potatoes are the go-to side dish, given that their creamy, rich consistency complements various savory meals. When combined with the right ingredients, mashed potatoes can also be a hearty meal. With potatoes as the hero of the dish and butter, milk, heavy cream, and sour cream as the flavor enhancers, one cannot go wrong with this dish. That said, there are a few tips that can help one perfect this recipe.
Basic mashed potato recipe
One of the best things about mashed potatoes is that one can easily whip them up with minimal ingredients. All one needs is potatoes, butter, milk, heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese, and seasoning (salt, pepper, etc.).
- The first step involves peeling the potatoes. If one doesn’t mind a rough texture, they can leave the potato skin on. However, for fluffy mashed potatoes, one must peel potatoes and cut them into one- or two-inch cubes. One must ensure the peeled potatoes are free from dirt and debris. If rinsing doesn’t get rid of the dirt, one can use a vegetable scrub to clean the potatoes.
- Transfer the cubes to a pot of cold water and rinse a couple of times or until the water runs clear. Then, submerge the potatoes in fresh, cold water and season them with salt. The water should cover the potatoes by at least an inch.
- Place the pot on the stovetop or transfer the potatoes to a Dutch oven and then start the boiling process over medium heat.
- After bringing water to a boil, let the potatoes cook until they become extremely tender. One can check if they are done by slicing through the potatoes with a fork. If the fork can easily pierce the potatoes, they are done. Cooking beyond that point can make the potatoes become sloppy and watery.
- Drain the potatoes and place them in a pressure cooker or hotpot for about five minutes to get rid of excess moisture.
Bonus tip: Before placing them back in the pot, one can drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse them with hot water to wash away the excess starch.
- Add softened butter to the pot.
- Now, mash the potatoes using a handheld or mechanical masher. To improve the texture of mashed potatoes, one can even put them through a potato ricer, which can gently press the lumps into finer pieces.
- Add hot milk and cream to the pot and fold them in. One can heat milk and cream in a separate saucepan or the microwave before mixing them in. If one wants looser mashed potatoes, they can add more milk at this stage. However, it is important to go slow here. Excessive milk and cream can make the potatoes extremely runny.
- Add sour cream and blend the mixture.
- Season the potatoes using salt and pepper. Along with basic seasonings, one can also use roasted garlic, Parmesan, blue cheese, thyme, green onions, walnuts, cornstarch, caramelized onions, peas, whipped cream cheese, cauliflower, or bacon bits to give the recipe an interesting texture and flavor profile.
Tips for perfecting the recipe
1. Choose the right potatoes
While selecting potatoes, one must ensure that they are firm to the touch but not green, sprouting, or riddled with large blemishes. One must also avoid waxy varieties of potatoes such as red bliss and fingerling, as they come with low starch content, which prevents them from breaking down as easily or absorbing dairy as well as starchier variants. To make fluffy mashed potatoes, one should stick to the starch-heavy russet and/or Yukon gold potatoes, as these varieties break down easily, giving the recipe an airy, light texture.
2. Avoid cutting potatoes into tiny pieces
When trying to speed up the cooking process while making mashed potatoes, one might benefit from cutting the potatoes and then boiling them in water. While this can make them cook faster, excessively small chunks absorb too much water, limiting their capacity to soak up butter, sour cream, or any other ingredients mixed in later. This results in runny mashed potatoes. So, a common way to avoid making this mistake and still speed up the cooking process is to chop the potatoes into average-sized pieces rather than tiny slices.
3. Drop potatoes in cold water
A crucial tip for making the perfect mashed potatoes is to drop the potatoes in cold water and then allow the water to come to a boil. If one drops the potatoes in boiling water, they will end up with unevenly cooked exterior and interior. So, the outer portion will likely be completely mushy by the time the insides of the potato are done. Boiling water tends to make potatoes sloppy and ruins their natural texture. So, one must be patient and allow the potatoes and water to heat together.
4. Prioritize creaminess
For those wondering how to make creamy mashed potatoes, adding lots of butter and milk is usually the answer. Butter, in particular, adds flavor and richness to the recipe. That said, one must use high-quality butter, not margarine, to make this recipe. Additionally, the milk added to the mixture must be warm, not room temperature. Another ingredient that can enhance the flavor and smoothness of mashed potatoes is sour cream.