Mashed potatoes

[Night Elf]

What is your favorite potatoe to make mashed potatoes and how do you prepare them?

[unsinkable]

Yukon Gold

 

I peel, then cut into about 2" chunks. I toss them into cold water as I peel and chunk. Then I change that water and start with fresh cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to gently boil. I start testing to see if they are done after about 15 minutes.

 

Drain, then put back into pan to dry out some. Add diced butter and mash with a potato masher. Add milk and stir til desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

HTH

[torikei]

8lbs of potatoes, 1 block of cream cheese, butter, milk, salt and pepper. I always hand mash and then go to a mixer. That makes for a creamer potato. There's just enough cream cheese to make it creamy but it doesn't taste like cream cheese. This also makes nice mash potatoes to reheat--very nice creamy texture. You can add other things--roasted garlic, sour cream and dill, etc. We however are purists and don't add the extras. :)

[icollectkids]

Gold or red. (gold is first choice)

 

cut them up into cubes, boil until soft. Drain the water out. I mash with a potato masher, add butter and sour cream. I don't salt it usually... everyone here has different salt preferences. viola! :)

[umsami]

Yukon Gold are my favorites, but in all honesty, there are no bad potatoes. :)

 

DH likes to boil them whole with the skins…then slip the skins off.  I like to peel first, cut into quarters, and boil in salted water.  Then I drain the potatoes, throw them back in the hot pot for a minute or two, add in butter, milk, salt, pepper, and sometimes some fresh grated nutmeg.  I use a normal potato masher that I bought at the dollar store.  I've thought about getting a potato ricer, but haven't made the plunge.  DH likes to use the stick/immersion blender, but I think it makes them too gummy.  Still, I eat them.  As I said before, I'm not picky when it comes to potatoes. It's all good.

[rwjx2khsmj]

Red potatoes or other thin skin potatoes. Boil whole until fork tender. Drain. Lots of garlic, butter, milk/half and half/cream, black pepper to taste. Mash with KitchenAid.

[LibraryLover]

If I'm going to have mashed potatoes, I make no-holes-barred mashed. That means whole milk or cream, sour cream, butter, good garlic paste (no bits, and mild), salt & pepper. I heat up the dairy ingredients a bit so that it's nice and warm and the flavors well incorporated. :) No fooling around.

[Night Elf]

I like your avatar pic.  Your hair looks very cute.

 

Me? Thanks! I got 7 inches taken off and it feels so short.

[Night Elf]

Okay, I need to add something to our potatoes. I'll try sour cream and then cream cheese. I usually add a little butter and milk, but maybe not enough butter because they taste so flat. I don't know the name of the potatoes my DH buys, but I always thought they tasted a bit odd. I tried russet potatoes last night and they were pretty good, but I think I overcooked them. I'll look for yukon gold and see how those are.

[nukeswife]

I use Yukon Gold or plain ol' Russets.  Peel cut into chucks and boil, then I do a quick mash with a hand masher, toss them in the mixer, add cream cheese, butter and start mixing.  I slowly add cream until they look right, then I ask my eldest to taste test them, and add more cream cheese if he feels they need it.  That's it.   I agree that the cream cheese makes for a good reheatable potato, they don't seem to dry out when reheated if you use that.    Sometimes I'll add some chopped fresh parsley to mine, but nobody else here likes that.

[LibraryLover]

Salting the water before boiling helps with flavor. Don't be shy. :) Treat it like pasta.  Yukon Gold makes a 'prettier' mashed, but the there is more starch in Russets. Put the potatoes in cold water and boil, don't add the potatoes to boiling water; helps maintain starch content.

[shawthorne44]

I like to cut up the potatoes into squares, then cook in milk and mash in the pan.  No starch is lost, and potatoes don't get water logged.  

[Ellie]

America's Test Kitchens says russet potatoes for mashed. Cook the potatoes just until they are done; mash with a hand-masher, add butter and mash again, then add half-and-half (not cream or whole milk). If you add the half-and-half first, the water in the half-and-half works with the starch in the potatoes to make them gummy and heavy, but when you add the butter first, the fat coats the starch molecules and prevents them from doing that, so the potatoes are smoother and velvety. I love ATK's science lessons. :-)

 

For garlic mashed, ATK says to toast about 20 cloves of garlic in a pan (skin on), about 20 minutes, let them stand off the heat until they are soft, about 15 min., then peel, chop, and mix into the potatoes at the same time you add the butter.

[J-rap]

I like almost any as mashed potatoes, except for the red.  (I love red potatoes served differently, but they are little sweeter I think.)  But, I wanted to suggest that you add a little parsnip to your mashed potatoes;  it gives them a really great flavor!  Just chop it up and cook it in with the potatoes, and mash them all together.

[Seeking Squirrels]

I like any potatoes for mashed, DH likes gold. We leave skins on, cut up, boil until soft, drain, throw them in the kitchenaid and add butter, milk, and salt.

[LibraryLover]

Half and half is better than cream. Yep.

 

[unsinkable]

Okay, I need to add something to our potatoes. I'll try sour cream and then cream cheese. I usually add a little butter and milk, but maybe not enough butter because they taste so flat. I don't know the name of the potatoes my DH buys, but I always thought they tasted a bit odd. I tried russet potatoes last night and they were pretty good, but I think I overcooked them. I'll look for yukon gold and see how those are.

I would try butter and whole milk first.

 

I use a stick of butter for 2 1/2 lbs of potatoes. Cut it into about 12 pieces or so while the potatoes are boiling. The smaller pieces incorporate into the potatoes better.

 

I think adding skim milk isn't much different than adding water.

 

Edit: My point is getting the proportions correct before adding other stuff.

[Hikin' Mama]

Yukon Gold.

 

I leave the peels on, cut into chunks, and boil in salted water.

 

In the meantime, I chop up a bunch of garlic and put it and butter in a pan on low to melt the butter.

 

When the potatoes are done, I drain and mash with the heated butter/garlic and sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Yum!

 

ETA: I use full fat sour cream.

[Carrie12345]

I love all mashed potatoes.

I can bribe my daughters with Yukon Golds, tons of butter, whole milk, a bit of sour cream, and chives.

We all like them on the salty side.

[Slartibartfast]

I will mash any sort of potato.

 

I make mine with earth balance, salt, pepper, and coconut milk. (the so delicious kind in the green box, it is unsweetened and without vanilla) 

 

 If I am mashing sweet potatoes I leave out the coconut milk. 

 

I usually use russets but I also like using red potatoes since I don't have to peel those. I put the chopped potatoes in a pot and then add water over it, I think dropping potato bits into boiling water would result in serious burns. (I am clumsy)

 

I cannot have dairy but I have gotten pretty used to it. :)

[Unicorn.]

Yukon gold are my favorite.. they have a naturally buttery flavor. However, like Usami said, it's all good! We don't have a set way of cooking. Peel, boil, drain, and then add:

butter and milk, sometimes some ranch dressing, sometimes some garlic, sometimes chives or parsley....

[Laurie4b]

I like Yukon Gold or russets. I've stopped peeling them because the kids and dh like them fine with the peels incorporated and it's so much less work! I boil with salt (if you don't add salt during the boiling phase, they can taste flat), and we just mash them with a potato masher and add milk until they are a smooth consistency. We add butter at the table (plopped in a nice crater in the potatoes!) and don't put it in the potatoes themselves (since everyone is going to add the butter anyway!)

[TexasMomma]

Gold or red. (gold is first choice)

 

cut them up into cubes, boil until soft. Drain the water out. I mash with a potato masher, add butter and sour cream. I don't salt it usually... everyone here has different salt preferences. viola! :)

I do this except I add milk, salt, and pepper.

[unsinkable]

America's Test Kitchens says russet potatoes for mashed. Cook the potatoes just until they are done; mash with a hand-masher, add butter and mash again, then add half-and-half (not cream or whole milk). If you add the half-and-half first, the water in the half-and-half works with the starch in the potatoes to make them gummy and heavy, but when you add the butter first, the fat coats the starch molecules and prevents them from doing that, so the potatoes are smoother and velvety. I love ATK's science lessons. :-)

 

For garlic mashed, ATK says to toast about 20 cloves of garlic in a pan (skin on), about 20 minutes, let them stand off the heat until they are soft, about 15 min., then peel, chop, and mix into the potatoes at the same time you add the butter.

As an aside...I just got an ATK magazine called Hometown Favorites at the grocery checkout. Everything looks so yummy I can't wait to try some new (to me) recipes.