Classic Mashed Potatoes - Hilah Cooking (2024)

FAQs

How do you fix mashed potatoes that aren't cooked enough? ›

Lumpy mashed potatoes generally mean undercooked potatoes. If you get to this point and you realize you've undercooked your potatoes, just add a little bit of milk or cream and cook the potatoes over a low heat until the lumps begin to soften.

Can I substitute the heavy cream in mashed potatoes? Short answer: Yes. Recommended substitutes: Whole milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk, onion cream. Caveats: Dairy is a free-for-all in mashed potato recipes.

A word about butter: Don't melt butter before stirring it into the potatoes because the milk solids and fat will separate. You can add cold butter to your hot potatoes since the butter will melt as a whole and distribute the fat and milk solids evenly.

The problem with overcooked potatoes is that they absorb a ton of water. When you go to mash them, they'll be soupy and sad. One way to fix them is by placing them in a pot over low heat and gently cooking them. The excess water will turn into steam, and your mash will dry out.

Though attempting to digest raw starches isn't going to cause you any lasting bodily harm, the raw potato will pass through the digestive tract with very little breakdown, likely leading to an increase in unpleasant cramping, bloating, and gas production.

Ingredients in Mashed Potatoes

Use real butter for these creamy spuds, and plenty of it. I prefer salted if I have it but unsalted butter works and the potatoes can be salted to taste. Cream/Milk – I use warmed whole milk in this recipe, but cream also works if you have it on hand.

Follow this tip: Begin the process of seasoning your mashed potatoes by adding salt to the water when cooking the potatoes. You won't have to add as much salt later and, most importantly, you won't find yourself with bland potatoes.

Do NOT add cold liquid. Make sure the milk or cream you add to your potatoes is HOT. This helps it absorb better so you don't feel the need to overmix. Overmixing is bad.

Butter and cream are essential ingredients to making rich mashed potatoes. If you add them straight from the fridge, they cool down the mixture and prevent the potatoes' starch molecules from fully absorbing all that creamy goodness.

Why do people put milk in mashed potatoes? ›

They absorb liquids brilliantly, which is why they mash so well. But when you boil them in water, the liquid they are absorbing is just that, water, which can make for a less flavorful mash. By boiling the potatoes in salted milk, they are absorbing creaminess and seasoning, which makes them inherently more flavorful.

But the most essential suggestion, per Bon Appétit, is always to salt the water you are boiling your mashed potatoes in. It acts as pre-seasoning, and Bon Appétit recommends adding a full cup of kosher salt to the boiling water.

If kept warm, gently mash in heavy cream until smooth and loose again, adding more if you'd like. If cold, heat the cream in a large pot until steaming, then add the potatoes. Gently mash and whip, adding more cream as needed, until heated through and fluffy.

Butter helps make the starchy texture of potatoes richer and eliminates that "cling" some potatoes get when they're freshly mashed.

Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer, and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can easily poke through the potatoes with a fork.

Cubed spuds will take around 15 minutes where larger chunks or whole new potatoes will be 20-25 minutes. To check when they are done, pierce the potatoes with the tip of a knife to see how much resistance there is. If it goes in easily, you're done!

Cover the pot with a lid. Cook the potatoes in gently boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes for small Red Potatoes, New Potatoes or cubed large russet potatoes, and 20 to 25 minutes for quartered potatoes.

Cover the pot and simmer until potatoes are tender — about 15 to 20 minutes. A knife tip inserted into a potato should meet no resistance; if the potato clings to the knife, the potatoes need to cook longer. When potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain immediately.

Potatoes are 80 percent water, so softness is usually just a sign of dehydration. But if they're extremely mushy or shriveled, do not pass go. Likewise, small sprouts can be removed with a vegetable peeler or knife. Long or large sprouts are a sign that the potato is probably past its prime and should be tossed.

In most cases, nothing will happen if you eat partially undercooked potatoes. Eating completely or significantly undercooked potatoes could at most cause some digestion problems for a day or two.

Why are my potatoes not cooking? ›

A potato's cell walls contain pectin, and these pectin chains remain stable when they come into contact with acids. This means that potatoes will remain hard if they are in a dish that has a lot of acid (for example, a dish you've added wine to). Salt is needed to dissolve these pectin chains.

As already discussed, pastiness is caused by too much potato starch being worked into the mashed potatoes. The main way we combat this problem is by rinsing away starch, both before and after cooking potatoes for fluffy mashed potatoes. Rinsing off starch means that there is less of it that can end up in the dish.

But if you've made them a little too runny for your taste, don't worry! You don't have to throw them out just yet. To thicken mashed potatoes, you can add a thickening agent like cornstarch, flour, powdered milk, or tapioca. Add one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

The Mistake: Cutting Potatoes Into Too-Small Pieces

They'll absorb too much water during cooking, preventing them from soaking up all the yummy butter and cream when it comes time for mashing. The best-size chunks for boiling: about 1 1/2 inches.

If you're using salted butter, that extra 1 teaspoon of salt might make the mashed potatoes inedible for certain palates. Thus, it's best to go with unsalted butter to avoid such mishaps.

Lemon juice, vinegar—whatever the acid, it's your saving grace. Use a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of a mild vinegar to help mask some of the aggressive salt with a new flavor. Acid will bring out the best of salty potatoes or salty fish (fish and chips, anyone?).

Step 1: Soak Potato Pieces

Soak the baking potatoes for just a few minutes in cold water to release some of their starch so the cooked spuds don't get gluey. A combination of starchy bakers and more waxy, buttery Yukon Golds creates an ideal creamy-yet-fluffy final texture in the mash.

Add a Thickening Agent

This is the most common, and perhaps the simplest way, to thicken mashed potatoes. You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry.

There are many ways restaurants keep mashed potatoes warm and ready to serve. Aside from using a slow cooker, they use a warming drawer, insulated containers, crock pot, and the covered double broiler method.

No. You don't need to soak potatoes before making them into mashed potatoes.

Why do you put eggs in mashed potatoes? ›

The yolk emulsifies water and fat to create a cohesive, velvety bite, while providing a little fat and body of its own. What is this? You can add an egg yolk to nearly any existing mashed potato recipe.

Only use egg yolks when mixing the potatoes.

They add so much creaminess and will give the potatoes an irresistible flavor. Not to mention that the yolks will give the mashed potatoes a vibrant yellow color and make them richer too.

Heavy cream will make for the creamiest mashed potatoes, but whole milk or half and half will also work. Don't use anything with less fat than whole milk, otherwise, your potatoes won't be as flavorful or creamy.

You could be using the wrong potatoes. Potatoes are generally considered "waxy" or "starchy." Waxy potatoes (like white potatoes and red potatoes) are more prone to gumminess when mashed, as opposed to starchy potatoes (like Yukon Golds and russets). Choose starchy potatoes or a mixture of waxy and starchy potatoes.

I recommend corn starch when thickening mashed potatoes as it does very little to affect the taste of your side dish. Flour, on the other hand, can sometimes give potatoes a chalky taste/texture.

Season with a teaspoon of salt per pound of potatoes. Bring water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cook at rapid simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a paring knife, about 10 minutes for chopped potatoes and 20 minutes for whole potatoes.

Overcooked or insufficiently drained potatoes can become sticky, as can the wrong kind of potato. But the main problem is overworked spuds. The science is simple: Boiled potatoes develop swollen starch cells. When ruptured during mashing, the cells release starch.

Soaking potatoes for 15 to 30 minutes is sufficient, but you can soak them for up to an hour, if you have other things to do around your kitchen. I think soaking any longer than that would be unnecessary.

Cream of Tartar – makes mashed potatoes smooth and fluffy and helps achieve almost a meringue-like consistency. Salt and Pepper – to taste.

The trick to the most fluffy mashed potatoes is to add a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. Just a pinch of baking powder added to the drained, cooked potatoes can help make them so fluffy.

Is it better to boil or bake mashed potatoes? ›

Baking potatoes (rather than boiling them) is completely hands-off, frees up a burner (clutch on Thanksgiving when stovetop space is at a premium), and also reduces the water content of the cooked spuds, resulting in the easiest and most flavorful mash of all time.

If you do – just soak them for 5 minutes and rinse. Doing so is a science thing – soaking cut potatoes removes excess potato starch. This means fluffy mashed potatoes (and not gluey!)

Add flavor:

in a mild way by adding some aromatics to the cooking water, such as bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, garlic, onion, etc. This will give the potatoes a very mild flavor, and they flavor the cooking water as the potatoes simmer. Discard the aromatics before mashing the potatoes.

For most potato dishes it's important to add the potatoes to cold water and allow the water to come to a boil with the potatoes in the water. The potato starch can react as soon as it comes in contact with hot water, which will promote uneven cooking and mealy potatoes.

"Yes, it's good to prick them," Smith told Food52. "It pokes holes in the skin, which allows steam to escape. Otherwise, they could explode—it doesn't happen all the time, but it happens every once in a while. The potato is full of water it's trying to turn to steam, or water vapor.

Place your mashed potatoes in an uncovered bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Make sure your container is microwave safe! After a minute, take out the bowl to lightly stir and check if there is less moisture. Repeat these steps until your potatoes are in the desired consistency.

For what it's worth, we recommend sticking with cornstarch—it has twice the thickening power of flour and it's safe for gluten-free diets. Stir in the thickening agent gradually, about a tablespoon at a time, until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency.

Empty the cold mashed potatoes into a medium saucepan or Dutch oven and set over low heat. Cover the potatoes and stir them occasionally until they are completely warmed through and smooth. Be sure to keep the heat low and stir, otherwise the potatoes may start to stick to the bottom of the pan and scorch.

Fix them: Scoop the watery mashed potatoes into a pan and stir constantly over low heat to evaporate the excess liquid. If the potatoes are really watery, you can add either cornstarch or instant mashed potatoes a half teaspoon at a time to help the spuds thicken to your preferred consistency.

Heavy cream will make for the creamiest mashed potatoes, but whole milk or half and half will also work. Don't use anything with less fat than whole milk, otherwise, your potatoes won't be as flavorful or creamy.

Can you overcook a mashed potato? ›

If you find your mashed potatoes are soupier than normal, it's likely because you overcooked them, Buzzfeed says. Overcooked potatoes aren't always dry and hard, as it's possible to overboil a potato too.

To thicken runny mashed potatoes with a thickening agent, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, flour, or powdered milk to the potatoes. Stir and continue to add more thickener, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have the desired consistency.

I recommend corn starch when thickening mashed potatoes as it does very little to affect the taste of your side dish. Flour, on the other hand, can sometimes give potatoes a chalky taste/texture.

The Mistake: Overworking the Potatoes with a Food Processor, Blender or Mixer. Too much — or too vigorous — mashing will produce gluey potatoes. Your best tool is an old-fashioned masher, fork, ricer or food mill.

“Salting the water not only seasons the potato, but it also allows it to boil to a hotter temperature. This in turn cooks the potatoes' starch more thoroughly, resulting in a more creamy texture [for mashed potatoes],” says Sieger Bayer, Chef and Partner at The Heritage.

Follow this tip: Begin the process of seasoning your mashed potatoes by adding salt to the water when cooking the potatoes. You won't have to add as much salt later and, most importantly, you won't find yourself with bland potatoes.

For this reason, you should always add extra butter or oil and some sodium to your leftover mashed potatoes before heating. Adding additional liquid, such as milk, plant-based milk, or vegetable broth can also help by keeping the potatoes from drying out.