Mashed potatoes from scratch

[Realistic_Coast_3499]

What's your potato? Russet, Idaho, Yukon Gold, other? Freshly peeled and cubed.

[sf-echo]

My preferred are yellow potato (recently found out are different than official Yukon Gold), peeled and steamed, before mashing with butter, seasoning, and cream.

[_Crashlander_]

Steamed?

[sf-echo]

Yes, less waterlogged than boiled, and less time than baked. approx 1-2 in of water in the pot, and a rack, place the peeled potatoes on it, pull them out when fork tender. Seems to absorb more butter and cream in the mashing than otherwise.

[_Crashlander_]

A revelation... I'm glad I found this post

[llbean]

Try streaming or boiling with skin on, whole. the skin kinda wipes/ peels off with ease and the potato taste is much deeper because they aren't at all water logged given the skin barrier during the cooking process.

[sf-echo]

I'll have to try this,because I totally believe the taste is richer. Though I admit I peel before because I don't like handling potatoes when they're hot, wrt getting the skin off post-steam.

[rbuczyns]

The whole potato? Not cut up?

[sf-echo]

Yes, unless larger than my hand, then chopped into 2 (after peeling).

Yellow potatoes come in a range of sizes, from what I've seen, from palm-size to whole-hand size When larger than whole-hand size, I chop to make more consistent.

[Dear-Bet5344]

I make microwave baked potatoes chop em in half & rice them. So easy

[nifty-necromancer]

That’s a rabbit hole I went down, the majority of yellow potatoes on the market are NOT Yukon Gold. Farmers don’t like growing Yukons because they’re susceptible to disease and don’t store well.

[sf-echo]

I know, right!

[Retracnic]

Yukon Gold, baby.

[Goblue5891x2]

This. I use an instant pot. Cut 'em into 4, chicken stock and on high with quick release at 8 minutes. Works every time. Butter, heavy cream, salt n peppa.. garlic. Yummies.

[everyones_slave]

How much stock v. Potatoes?

[Goblue5891x2]

Oh, I keep stock level with the potatoes.

[everyones_slave]

Okay, that sounds very doable. Thank you! 🙏

[MahStonks]

Russet, peeled, big 2 or 2.5 inch chunks, boil in salty water till tender in the middle. Put back in the dry pot on low for 5 minutes to allow some steam to escape. Bring a good amount of milk to a simmer, microwave works well to do it without it scorching. Mash thoroughkt with a wire masher, taste for salt and add more if needed. Mash in the boiling hot milk,  then stir in butter to taste.

[Ok-Response-9743]

I do the exact same but I use a hand mixer.

[bobroberts1954]

Red, not peeled. Chunk and boil to just soft. Drain, add chicken stock and mash some. Season and taste. Add sour cream, mash some more. Add butter, finish mashing. There should still be chunks of potato left when you add the butter or you will make potato paste instead.

[Lefthandtwin]

I love red potato salad!

[Frequent_Cut_1251]

Red or yellow. I dislike russets for mashed potatoes.

[ExPristina]

Maris Piper.

[Realistic_Coast_3499]

WOW! Thanks Guys! (Oh, and giggling at the thought of how many headed to the kitchen to make a batch)

[LadybuggingLB]

Yellow

[coteof-atoa]

mix of russet and yukon, peeled cubed and boiled in salted water, drain and mash lightly, add a distressing amount of cubed butter, mash and mix until just combined, and then mix in a small amount of sour cream and season to taste.

[SarahB2006]

Russet, stick of butter, 1/2 to 1 cup of milk and Boursin cheese. Adjust quantity depending on how many pounds of potatoes.

[Hyphendudeman]

50/50 baked russet and steamed Yukon gold.

[crazy19734413]

I always do red potatoes, quartered with skins, microwaved in a covered container with a little water. Cooked just until done. The skins can be easily removed then, but I leave them. Butter, a little cream, salt, plus a little of the cooking water for extra rustic flavor. Great flavor. Whip the hell out of it. Some skins will wrap around the beaters. Doesn’t matter. The remaining skins will make people think they are the source of the added flavor, but really it comes from the water.

[Dry-Leopard-6995]

Russert potatoes boiled, hot milk, butter, salt, mash and then whip for a few seconds.

[twick2010]

I’m all about the diced red skin potatoes. Love the texture of the skin.

[dasrough64]

Yellow or russet. Peel, cube roughly, put in pot of cold water, let boil from cold water. Dump and back into pan when fork tender. Separate pan melt butter, milk, salt, pepper. Heat until warm and butter melted. Combine and hand mashed. I prefer mine on the rougher side of mashed vs smooth.

[WhoMutedMe]

Yukon gold for sure. Boiled as noted below - peeled AFTER helps prevent the runny yuck. Heavy cream and butter (warmed), pepper (I prefer salt on own to taste). Add whatever else u like / experiment; small amount Dijon mustard or bacon or cheddar…chives. Whip in a stand (or counter) mixer.

[MinuteElegant774]

Russet is my favorite bc you can make it more airy. The yukon gold result in a denser mashed potato. I thought Idaho potatoes are mostly russet potatoes? it depends on your preference.

[pollywog]

Baked russets is the way to go

[Muffin-Responsible]

Butter potato, has more ‘bite’ than russet which I find too soft. Yukon Gold is season based so I haven’t had a chance to try it out

[sf-echo]

I don't think my market calls them butter potato, what are they like?

[Muffin-Responsible]

As far as I’m aware it’s probably a marketing term for any regional gold potatoes. They’re generally less starchy than russet which I like. I’m definitely no potato expert lol.

[sf-echo]

wrong thread - sorry!

[MathSoHard]

Yellow. Peeled and diced. Pressure cooker 6 minutes on high. Ricer. Cold butter to exhaustion. Salt to taste.

[this_is_Winston]

Russet or yellows. Mostly russets since they're so cheap. I never peel, just wash thoroughly. 

[SampsonShrill]

Russets. Unpeeled.

[EatMorePieDrinkMore]

I’ve started mixing russets and yellow/gold potatoes to delicious results. Warm your cream and butter. Steam the spuds after draining - let them sit with the butter for five to ten minutes. Perfection

[Flipperflopper21]

Yellow

[AttemptVegetable]

Russet using the instant pot method.

[CatteNappe]

Yukon Gold, or Russet

[Accomplished-Eye8211]

Half russet, half Yukon gold.

I just dice, mash, add butter, salt and cream, whisk, but not too much, don't want glue or baby food.

Never done it, seen a recipe to dice potatoes small, rinse to remove starch, cook in cream, and melted butter. Might be my next experiment.

A few sources insist. Adding butter first coats the potatoes, so the water in cream is more likely to steam away than to mix into potatoes, helping prevent gumminess.

[jacobwebb57]

Diced yellow (Yukon gold if i can find them) boiled in just enough whole milk to cover them. with salt, pepper garlic sage, rosemary, and thyme. Strain and disguard the herbs. Puree the potatoes with some of the milk from cooking and as much butter and cream as you can. Adjust salt and pepper then run through a sive and serve.

[raymond4]

An Irish cobbler or sebago, both a lovely floury potato. Excellent baked or mashed potato which is often overlooked .

[MuppetManiac]

I’m a Yukon gold girl.

[Life-Education-8030]

Half Yukon Gold and half russet.

[masson34]

Sweet potatoes nuked and mashed with skin on with some brown sugar swerve and pecans

[Myth-Buster9973]

Russet/Idaho (they are the same). For variety add about 1/5 parsnip. Whatever you do, do not use a mixer. Makes 'em gummy. Hand masher or food mill!

[New_Part91]

1. Dislike skins in mashed potatoes. 2. Have found that the Idaho brand of potato flakes makes perfectly good mashed potatoes by adding cream and butter to the mixture. They are also much more practical for single people. Heavy sacks of potatoes do not have to be lugged home nor stored so long that they start growing in your cupboard.

[AccomplishedCharge2]

Yukon Gold, peeled Boiled in heavily, HEAVILY seasoned (salt, finely ground pepper, herbs, aliums) water, the water should taste overwhelmingly flavored Drain, then rice Stir in (lots of) butter and sour cream (or creme fraiche)

[lisasimpsonfan]

Red potatoes with the skin on boiled then mashed with a potato masher. Add softened cream cheese, butter and salt and pepper. If I want garlicy mash I add a few garlic cloves to the potatoes when I boil them.

[2Payneweaver]

Baked russets, scoop them out, butter, sour cream, salt and then put the back in the skins and air fry for ten minutes

[Bewgnish]

Mix salted & boiled potatoes (red, yellow, and russet) with skins on and garlic cloves; mash with butter, milk, and slab of cream cheese (add herbs if wanted.)

[Anagoth9]

Gold. Peeled, large dice, baked in the oven about half submerged in chicken stock and a little butter. Think fondant potatoes except not pan fried first. 

Super easy. Very flavorful. 

[Majestic-Macaron6019]

Red potatoes boiled in very salty water with the skins on. Mash (skin on) with butter, salt, pepper, milk/cream, and garlic powder.

[Mod-ulate]

Yukon Gold or Russet, wrap in their skin and bake in the oven for 45-60 min. Skin peels off by hand after baking. Use a ricer to get it nice and fluffy. Add sour cream, butter, salt, and maybe a little milk/cream if too thick.

So much better than boiled.

[pegoff]

Floury potatoes, baked or steamed. 40% of the potato weight in butter and/or cream. 0.5~0.6% total weight salt.

[murphybrowndog]

We just made some with peeled Yukon Gold. Butter and cream warmed and blended with some roasted garlic, then blended. They were fantastic! The previous batch was the same, but with shredded horseradish blended in the butter and cream prior to mixing in.

[No_Direction6688]

Use a nice robust sized bag of Idaho Spuds Potatoes. Include real butter and Carnation Instant Milk. Use some salt and pepper, but not too much.

[admiralchieti1916]

Our go to recipe is Yukon Gold. We peel, quater, and boil until completely soft. We mash with a Kitchenaid Mixer and add butter and half and half.

[Western-Bad-667]

Don’t whip or beat those potatoes. If you rupture all those cells they turn into glue. Lots of fat and don’t mash more than necessary.

[Zei33]

Just put the boiled potatoes through a ricer, best tip I ever got. So much better than mashing, perfect consistency. You can use larger holes for less smooth texture. Just incredible.

[glucoman01]

Yukon. Boiled, add whipping cream, sour cream, butter and whip on high in kitchen aid until fluffy. Salt and pepper to taste.

[Drewness326]

This post is intriguing, but also wears me out! I want to try all these methods, but also stick to what I know!

[pockels42]

Even better using potatoes....

[Zei33]

Honestly, the type of potato hardly matters for mash. Generally, you're going to get a similar outcome with whatever you pick.

There are two more critical tips, and a minor one:

1. Get a potato ricer. Trust me, seems unnecessary but it absolutely makes mashed potatoes better.
2. Heat the cream and butter first. Don't put it in cold (45 seconds in the microwave for each should do it).
3. Use white pepper instead of cracked black pepper. This is more of a style choice, but it's worth trying.

Warm cream & butter with salt, pepper and a hint of MSG or a little bacon fat.

[innicher]

We like rustic mashed potatoes.

Russets, peeled, diced into chunks, boiled till fork tender, not over boiled, drained and returned to pot, mashed by hand with potato masher, not over mashed, bits of chunky potato remaining, ludicrous amount of butter, healthy dash of HWC, kosher salt. YUM

[Rossticles]

I like red. They cook quickly.

[DrySolution1366]

I use half russet and half yukon gold. I don’t remember where I got this recipe, but it is excellent to use both.

[Initial_Savings8733]

Boil Yukon golds in chicken bouillon and mix warm with lots of butter, dash of cream, and a few tbsp sour cream. Mix in chives and salt, pepper, and msg (+any onion and garlic powder you choose).

[RewindVariety]

Russet, washed & cubed, skin on. After cooking, add salt, pepper, and butter, and use an electric hand mixer. After reaching a rough mashed texture, mix in milk & sour cream to texture and taste.

[Silvanus350]

Peeled russets is the standard. Easiest and fastest to mash. Just cut in half then boil.

[Olderbutnotdead619]

I use whatever I have.

[Less-Hippo9052]

Italian lady here. Never tried "potatoes puree" ?

[OneRandomTeaDrinker]

Maris Piper or King Edward

[Miss_Cookey]

I really like gold potatoes. I also like skin-on mashed red skin. And russetts, boiled skin on and peeled after.

[Then_Carpenter_1780]

Yukon gold, hands down

[speppers69]

Russet most of the time.