Mashed Potatoes
London, United Kingdom · Voir toutes les recettes
Aperçu
Potatoes cooked until tender, then mashed with warm butter and milk. No country is claimed, it is a European staple that has travelled everywhere, most associated in Britain with bangers and mash. The one thing the recipe does that matters is warming the butter and milk together before they go in. Cold dairy into hot potato drops the temperature and makes the mash claggy; warm dairy is absorbed smoothly. It is a small step that nobody does and everybody should. The other decision is the tool, and it determines the result. A hand masher leaves texture and works quickly. A ricer or food mill gives the smoothest possible mash by pushing the potato through small holes without working it. An electric mixer or food processor is the one to avoid: over-beating ruptures the starch cells and releases enough starch to turn mashed potato genuinely gluey, and there is no recovering from it. The source's explanation of mashed versus smashed potatoes contradicts itself between paragraphs, it defines smashed as roughly mashed, then describes mashed as the chunkier of the two. The distinction generally drawn is that smashed potatoes are left rough and lumpy, often with the skins on, while mashed are worked smooth.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Bring a pot of well-salted water to the boil. Put in the potatoes and cook until tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Drain them thoroughly.
- 2
Let the drained potatoes steam dry in the colander for a minute, surface water dilutes the mash.
- 3
In a small saucepan, warm the butter and milk together over low heat until the butter has melted. Warm dairy is absorbed smoothly; cold dairy makes the mash claggy.
- 4
Mash the potatoes with a hand masher or press them through a ricer.
- 5
Work the warm milk mixture in gradually until smooth and creamy. Do not use an electric mixer, over-beating releases starch and turns the mash gluey.
- 6
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Nympha Nzeribe- Warm the milk and butter before they go in. Cold dairy drops the temperature and makes the mash heavy.
- Never use a food processor or electric mixer. Over-worked potato releases starch and turns to glue, and it cannot be fixed.
- Let the drained potatoes steam dry for a minute. Water clinging to them thins the mash.
- Salt the cooking water properly. Potato seasoned from the inside tastes quite different from potato salted at the end.
- A ricer gives the smoothest result; a hand masher gives texture. Both are correct, depending on what you want.
- Floury potatoes, russets, Maris Piper, King Edward, mash better than waxy ones, which stay dense.
Questions fréquentes
What is the difference between mashed and smashed potatoes?
Smashed potatoes are left deliberately rough and lumpy, often with the skins on, crushed just enough to break them open. Mashed potatoes are worked until smooth and creamy. The source's own explanation contradicts itself between paragraphs, describing smashed as the rougher one and then calling mashed the chunkier, the distinction above is the one generally drawn. Both are legitimate; they are simply different textures.
Why does my mash go gluey?
Almost always over-working it. Potato cells contain starch granules, and beating them, particularly with a food processor or electric mixer, ruptures those cells and releases the starch, which turns the mash into something closer to wallpaper paste. There is no recovering from it. Use a hand masher or a ricer, work the potatoes as little as necessary, and stop as soon as they are smooth.
What potatoes should I use?
Floury varieties, russets, Maris Piper, King Edward, or anything sold as baking potatoes. Their high starch and low moisture content breaks down into a light, fluffy mash. Waxy potatoes such as new, Charlotte or red-skinned varieties hold their structure and stay dense and slightly gluey however you treat them, which makes them excellent for salads and roasting and poor for mash.
Is this an African dish?
No, and none is claimed, it sits in Worldwide Recipes under Global with its URL unchanged. Potatoes came from South America and mashed potato is a European preparation. Africa has extensive traditions of mashed and pounded starches with far more history behind them, fufu, pounded yam, banku, ugali, irio and asaro among them, and those have their own pages on this site.
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