Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Mash


Kikujiro

Recommended Posts

Use a mandoline, Kiku.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like an awful pain. Why don't you do it in advance to see if it works, and if worst comes to worst, you can do them over again on the day? Why do you want to do them in advance? No one to recruit at the time?

To answer your question, no. I haven't tried it. But do tell how it works out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having tasted Hestons pomme puree straight from the saucepan in which the maestro himself finished it, I feel qualified to speak on this matter :wink:

The potato is good however, I don't know that it i any better than pomme puree made in the 'normal' manner using a potato ricer. As stated in the article, the main advantage is being able to cook them in advance and leave them in the fridge until you need to finish them.

"Why would we want Children? What do they know about food?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried this, and also could not taste much difference. Also mashed potato doesn't really get left over in our house, so being able to store it is not a consideration

The things that make the difference are the variety of potato (I prefer King Edwards for mash) and the amount of butter (50% by weight of potato might be considered excessive).

Don't overprocess - use a hand masher or ricer.. Using a food processor or stick blender just leads to wallpaper paste.

Edited by jackal10 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joel Robuchon has a microwave pureed pomme de terre here in France. They're small blocks of frozen mashed potatoes, you add milk, put it all in the microwave, and 6 minutes later , mmm!

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joel Robuchon has a microwave pureed pomme de terre here in France. They're small blocks of frozen mashed potatoes, you add milk, put it all in the microwave, and 6 minutes later , mmm!

You're not kidding, are you?

I'd try it.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was on the kitchen of a rather nice hotel and bistro over the last couple of days and they made their mash in a bloody great food mixer and reheated to order, which is pretty standard kitchen practice and the texture was just perfect. Mash will hold quite well at home, but it does get a little stale tasting if left too long. I'm sure Heston has something to say about that somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid I can't give you any molecular substantiation - but I find that starchy potatoes are good for mashing - they're more amenable to soaking up all the good fatty stuff.

I have heard that people use waxy potatoes for potato salad, because they hold their shape better. I prefer starchy ones for salad for the same reason as above. Plus, when the edges of the potato slices crumble slightly into the dressing, it adds an extra sort of unctuousness, you know?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW, I tried Steingarten's mash recipe on Monday night. I'd recommend it. Not earth-shattering, but better than the typical methods.

I would also recommend the use of a potato ricer. Doesn't turn the mash into glue.

For the curious, Corriher in Cookwise basically endorses Steingarten's method. And, Corriher notes that the Idaho Potato Mashing Association (did I get that right? :unsure: ) recommends a very similar method.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vanessa,

What size disc do you use?

I started with my food mill using the smallest disc.  It didn't work well, so I moved to the potato ricer.

No, never the smallest - I would expect that to have a similar gluing effect. Medium or large round holes, I can't remember exactly unless I look at them at home.

v

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We use a normal hand masher.The same one has been at Margot's for nearly 10 years! It has done tons and tons of mash, but it has a small crack, so maybe not long for this world.We will have to give it a decent send off, when the time comes :biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Vanessa.

As far as the actual mashing method, I think I'll set aside Monday night to try two: one with the food mill & the largest disc and another with the traditional hand-masher in respect of Basildog.

Any other suggestions? (Though I reserve the right to decline trying eighteen mashing procedures in one evening!)

Just don't call me a Steingarten mini-me. :hmmm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fine Cooking had a piece sometime ago on the relative merits of waxy versus starchy versus "all purpose" potatoes for mashing. (Unfortunately, the clipping is waiting with a zillion others for me to file :sad: ) What I can remember is that waxy give you a smoother puree and starchy give you a fluffier one. I forget what AP do.

Whenever I had to make the mashed potatoes at a restaurant, it was: peeled baking potatoes (starchy), boiled, dried in the oven, and passed through a food mill/mouli, then mixed with butter, sour cream, etc. Packed into a bain marie, covered with buttered paper, kept warm for service, but heated to serving temperature a la minute. Sometimes, when the bain was kept on the shelf over the burners, the potatoes would rise in a column and push up over the top. :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Vanessa.

As far as the actual mashing method, I think I'll set aside Monday night to try two:  one with the food mill & the largest disc and another with the traditional hand-masher in respect of Basildog.

I regularly use the hand masher - when I'm in the mood for not minding the odd lump. Or, more recently, I have taken to just mashing very lightly with a fork, and leaving the skins on (thin-skinned potatos). Some people call them crushed potatoes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...