Potato Puree, Mashed Potatoes, Pommes

[pufin3]

On 2/9/2016 at 6:10 AM, liuzhou said:

Use a masher? Nope.. I'm sticking with my potato ricer. And I forget the milk. If you just want the flavour of potatoes, why add cow juice?

 

And what particular strain of potato do you use? I already told you. 'Russets'.

 So you just use a potato ricer to make creamy mashed potatoes? OK

 

 

 

 

[paulraphael]

"Best" is hard to assert, since there are so many kinds. For rustic ones I leave the skin on and use a masher. For insane Joel Robuchon-style puree (which some call a butter sauce thickened with potatoes(!)) I use a method (probably like what Btbyrd links to). It involves retrograding the starch, which is easiest to do sous-vide, extracting flavor from the skins, and then whipping the potatoes with butter. I use about half the butter Robuchon specifies in his version (which gives me a stomach ache to read).

 

I haven't actually done this in years, because for a very smooth puree I like the flavor of celeriac more. And pureeing it is much easier.

[robie]

We had the Robuchon potatoes in Paris and I found them too rich.  I prefer a less refined version with less fat but no skins please.

[sartoric]

16 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I like fluffy mashed potatoes, light on the butter, but with plenty of hot milk added. I always use Russets for the fluffy texture. I use an old-fashioned potato masher and elbow grease to get them really smooth. I tried whipping them once, and they turned into what to me is glue, but to some others creamy.

 

Usually I have to exert a real effort to restrain myself from butter, but this is one dish where all I want is just a little.

 

I realize many people prefer more butter, and lots of better restaurants offer them that way and with roasted or otherwise garlic. It's just not my preference. To me, light and fluffy mashed potatoes can't really be improved. Well maybe with a lobster on the side. 

 

That said, I do like to add a few chives or green onions to the mashed stuffing of twice baked potatoes along with slices of good (preferably hoop) cheese, but still strive for that light, fluffy texture in the filling.

 

"a few chives or green onions to the mashed stuffing of twice baked potatoes" that I have to try !

 

So many ways to mash a spud - cook with garlic or not, with onion or not, add cheese or not.

I use milk sometimes, butter nearly always, sour cream or cream, chives, spring onions, chopped herbs, a spoon of pesto....not all at the same time.

[Tere]

I'm a fan of the bake and then mash method when I have the time. And I <3 butter  This also gives the cook the skins, which I think are the tastiest snack ever

[Sandi Jones]

I put peeled, quartered Russets in cold water, bring them to a boil, and cook until just tender. While they're cooking I gently heat equal parts buttermilk and butter together (about a cup each for 5 lbs of potatoes). It's ok if the buttermilk curdles a little. Once the potatoes are drained I put them in my stand mixer with the paddle, and carefully mash them (don't go crazy or you'll get glue!). Add in the butter/buttermilk mix, salt, pepper, and whip until just combined.
I think the buttermilk gives a fantastic tang. If I'm in the mood, I'll throw some finely minced garlic onto the hot potatoes, or shredded old cheddar. Or both. Yes, the butter is excessive, but this is not an everyday dish around our house.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, cakewalk said:

I never heard of champ. Great name. Anyway, looked it up on one of my favorite blogs: http://www.thedailyspud.com/2010/03/03/dont-cry-for-me/  I definitely see it in my future. Mashed potatoes, or any sort of potatoes, for me cries out for one thing: good black pepper, and lots of it. I'll eat my potatoes with butter or without, baked or boiled, I care not a whit. But lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper, that is non-negotiable.

 

My mashed (and they are mashed) potatoes are fluffy -- but I use lots and lots of good freshly ground black pepper on anything and everything short of ice cream.  Except for those dishes where I prefer white pepper or perhaps voatsiperifery.  And now I'm wondering about black pepper ice cream.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@rotutsI will try your minimalist nutmeg idea. It sounds intriguing.

 

I'm also a fan of generous drifts of fresh and fragrant black pepper on my mashed potatoes, but only after plating, because if you stir it in, it just looks wrong to me.

 

[rotuts]

TftC :  im interested in what you think.  pls post.

 

a bit OT :  the minimal freshly grated nutmeg works ( most of the time ) on anything white :

 

bechamel , Cauliflower, etc.

 

doest work on scallops I think or seafood.

Edited February 11, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[blue_dolphin]

12 hours ago, Sandi Jones said:

I think the buttermilk gives a fantastic tang

 

Thanks for sharing the buttermilk idea.  I will certainly give this a try.  

Maybe nutmeg, too.

Edited February 11, 2016 by blue_dolphin (log)

[pufin3]

On 2/9/2016 at 6:10 AM, liuzhou said:

Use a masher? Nope.. I'm sticking with my potato ricer. And I forget the milk. If you just want the flavour of potatoes, why add cow juice?

 

And what particular strain of potato do you use? I already told you. 'Russets'.

 So you just use a potato ricer to make creamy mashed potatoes? OK

 

 

 

I like a pinch of nutmeg too. I like a pinch of mace too. Mace is especially good with sauteed mushrooms.

[paulraphael]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

And now I'm wondering about black pepper ice cream.

 

Never had that but am pretty sure I've read about it somewhere. Would be amazing with some very fresh, floral telicherry peppercorns.

[haresfur]

15 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

My mashed (and they are mashed) potatoes are fluffy -- but I use lots and lots of good freshly ground black pepper on anything and everything short of ice cream.  Except for those dishes where I prefer white pepper or perhaps voatsiperifery.  And now I'm wondering about black pepper ice cream.

 

There's a Cibo Matto song, White Pepper Ice Cream. I love the song so the ice cream must be good.

[zoe b]

I'm pretty basic regarding mashed potatoes--boil them with the peels on, mash still with peels, add butter, milk, salt and pepper, sometimes boil some garlic with them. I'm light on the butter, because the whole point of mashed potatoes is gravy, and that is quite rich.

 

Apropos the Robuchon recipe, I was mashing the potatoes for a friend, no milk, only olive oil, and I would glop some on and mash, and she would say, "more"--she kept saying "more" for quite a long time--they were delicious.

[MSRadell]

I'm definitely one of the people that prefers my mashed potatoes to be "Mashed" instead of riced, whipped or puréed! I really like the texture you get when you have small chunks of potato still in your mashed potatoes. Skins or not depends on the type of potato used, red skinned or Yukon gold have very thin skins and I definitely like them in the potatoes, some of the other coarser skinned ones not so much. Definitely have to have the butter, milk and pepper although in small quantities.

 

Using buttermilk selected interesting idea for different flavor, I've tried sour cream but really don't like it in them.

[Captain]

I have a stepped process to mash spuds.

Peeled & cut. Cold water with some garlic to boil.

Drain then let sit on the stove top to steam out more moisture

Mash.  This is where I get the texture I'm after. Every thing after this is just mixing.

Add butter.  Not to much & mix

Add cream. Not to much & mix

A little milk.  Mix.

Season then very quickly whisk in an egg yolk.

I think the protein from the egg lifts the mix.

[blue_dolphin]

29 minutes ago, Kenneth Tong said:

I don't have all the weird ingredients that the Modernist Cuisine Cookbook asks of me for Mashed Potatoes. 

 

Maybe check out Modernist Cuisine at Home - no weird ingredients in that mashed potato recipe.

[Lisa Shock]

I tried a Cook's Illustrated recipe one holiday season when I was catering a large volume of meals on particular days. I know that it's behind their paywall, and it isn't their only recipe, it's the one where you do not drain the potatoes, you add milk to the water, cook and mash all in one pot. This recipe has been incredibly useful wherever (home, work) because it's fast and only uses one burner. If you use a dutch oven or another oven-proof pot with a lid, once done, you can move these to the oven to stay warm while, say, your turkey is resting, being sliced, etc.

 

I have tweaked it a little. The ingredient list is mostly theirs, instructions all mine. (the beurre noisette was my idea, you can skip that step for a more traditional butter flavor)

 

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 

4 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
4 tbsp Butter
12 medium cloves Garlic
1 C Whole Milk
½ C Water
1 tbsp Salt
½ C Cream

 

2 tbsp chopped fresh chives, optional garnish

 

Peel the potatoes and cut into uniform chunks, about 2" square. Set aside for a few minutes.

Peel and mince the garlic, or run it through a garlic press. Set aside.

 

Heat a 5 qt or greater pot (one with a lid) to medium and add butter. Allow the butter to melt, bubble and then brown. Keep a close eye on this, it can go from brown to burned very quickly.

 

Add the minced garlic and stir for a few seconds until it becomes translucent. Quickly add the Milk, Water, Salt, and Potatoes. Bring to a simmer, about 195°F, cover, and cook for 12-16 minutes. Check for doneness, starting at 12 minutes, by poking the potatoes with a fork. They are done when the fork slides in easily.

 

Add the cream, stir, and pull the pot off the heat.

 

Mash with a hand-held, non-electric, mashing device until desired consistency is achieved. Keep covered and warm until serving time. Garnish top of potatoes with chives, if desired.

 

A friend of mine adds 4oz of cream cheese at the end, too.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

[gfweb]

I just boil sliced and peeled yukon golds till done.  Drain them. Add a couple splashes of cream and mash by hand (a mixer or blender can make a gluey mess). Salt.

[scubadoo97]

Butter....

 

Cream is good too.  Both is very good

[kbjesq]

A few years ago I found a recipe online that used baked russet potatoes instead of boiled potatoes and wow they were great. I just wish I could find that recipe again. If I recall correctly it was from some rather famous restaurant in Texas and also included sour cream and other traditional stuffed potato ingredients like butter, chives and possibly cheese or bacon? Gee whiz I wish I could find that recipe again because it was a real hit with my guests and it was really easy to make as I recall.  IIRC, you bake the potatoes, let them cool a bit and then scoop out the insides and proceed to mash with the other ingredients. The baking rather than boiling served to intensify the potato flavor. Must use a potato masher and/or ricer not a mixer or you will end up with a gluey mess as was mentioned above! 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I owe a debt of gratitude to Herve This.  In the naivety of my youth used to make my mashed potatoes with milk.  Somewhere lost in the depths of time my young mind decided that if milk was good, cream would be better.

 

No.

 

Molecular Gastronomy, Exploring the Science of Flavor, chapter 56, Mashed Potatoes, pp 194-196.  This got it right.  Milk, not cream.

[pufin3]

A Heston Blumenthal states most of the flavor of a potato is in the skin. Taste tests have shown this to be so. If you put some potato skins in the milk to be heated and added to the mashed potato you will taste more 'potato' in the final dish. Obviously the skins are removed from the hot milk before the hot milk is added to the potatoes. LOL

 I wash four large russets well and pat dry. I rub duck fat on them. Poke a couple of tiny holes in the skin.

Into the oven at about 375 F until they are VERY soft inside.

Using an oven mitt to hold them I slice them in half. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Add about twelve roasted mashed garlic cloves. Tiny pinch of fresh nutmeg. Mash thoroughly and add just enough whole milk to obtain a smooth puree. Season to taste. Spoon the puree into the potato skin halves.

Sprinkle with very fine chopped pinch of fresh flat leaf parsley.

Pro tip:

When you scoop out the flesh you don't need to scoop out so much it makes the skin too thin. Leave about 1/16th-1/8 inch of the flesh on the skin.

 

[gfweb]

6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I owe a debt of gratitude to Herve This.  In the naivety of my youth used to make my mashed potatoes with milk.  Somewhere lost in the depths of time my young mind decided that if milk was good, cream would be better.

 

No.

 

Molecular Gastronomy, Exploring the Science of Flavor, chapter 56, Mashed Potatoes, pp 194-196.  This got it right.  Milk, not cream.

 

How come?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

More than I wanted to type, but anyhow it's the caseins:

 

"When one cooks potatoes the starch granules are not fully expanded because there is not enough intracellular water to be absorbed by the granules.  Mashing the potatoes with a bit of reserved cooking water hastens the incorporation of amylose into solution and the swelling up of the starch granules, with the result that the whole thing forms a sticky mass."

 

Note that This did not address cream.  The superiority of milk to cream was my own deduction based on the fact milk has a higher casein concentration than heavy cream.  At least two times as much casein I believe, although googling just now didn't give me a more precise answer.

 

Nonetheless, empirically milk in my hands yields a far better result than cream.  I do not attribute this to a difference in butterfat content, as after mashing with the milk I still add lots of butter.