Mashed potatoes are not nearly as good reheated, but I wouldn't even consider throwing them out. Make little balls out of them, roll in bread crumbs, and fry. Or add some flour and egg, roll into snakes and cut for poor man's gnocchi. It'll be dense and chewy, but so what. It's still damn good with plenty of butter and herbs.

HI,

I try to make just enough mashed potatoes for a meal, because I dislike warmed over mashed potatoes.

For holiday dinners with a lot of last minute work to do. I will start cooking potatoes an hour before they will likely be served. Instead of draining the potatoes in the sink, I use a Chinese wire scoop to drain and move the potatoes into my KitchenAid bowl. The potatoes are mashed and seasoned. I will leave the *paddle in the mixing bowl, dismount from the mixer and cover the top with foil. I put the bowl back in the potato water set to simmer to keep the potatoes warm. The potatoes will taste fresh for about two hours, though by then they have already been served and eaten.

*If the potatoes look like they need a little more beating before serving, the paddle is already there ready to hook up. It saves having to clean a crusted over paddle in the last minute flurry.

Regards,

Hi,

For a dairy free relative, I made a small batch of mashed potatoes using chicken broth and olive oil. I thought they were fine as-is, though other family members would not eat them without butter.

Once I put some gravy on these non-dairy mashed potatoes, they were perfect.

Regards,
CAthy2

Interesting take on making fluffy mashed potatoes is to steam the potatoes instead of boiling them from a New York Times recipe.

For the silkiest fluffy mashed potatoes, start with firm, cool Russet Burbank spuds, also known as baking potatoes. They’re the easiest to mash without becoming pasty and are even tastier steamed instead of boiled. Boiling potatoes can leave them waterlogged, diluting their earthy subtle sweetness, but steaming them preserves their inherent flavor. As the potatoes soften, they absorb just the right amount of moisture.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... d-potatoes

Hi,

America's Test Kitchen a few years ago was recommending boiling russet potatoes with the jackets on. I did it once, but did not enjoy peeling super hot potatoes. It also involved ricing, though I did a pretty good job with a masher. I did it anyway.

I think it was boiling, though maybe it was steaming.

Regards,
CAthy2

In my home, leftover mashed potatoes means shepherd's pie (with ground lamb if I can get it).

The last few years, I've been making them using the Instant Pot. I'm going to try throwing in a few garlic cloves this year!

I'm looking forward to sampling the Alinea 50/50 potatoes this year (my son is doing their Thanksgiving take-out, while I'm fixing extra for the leftovers). I wondered if it was half and half potato and sweet potato, but no... it's half BUTTER!

mamagotcha wrote:I'm looking forward to sampling the Alinea 50/50 potatoes this year (my son is doing their Thanksgiving take-out, while I'm fixing extra for the leftovers). I wondered if it was half and half potato and sweet potato, but no... it's half BUTTER!

We did an Alinea to go meal a while back with the 50/50 potatoes. Could hear my arteries clogging as I ate them. The previous "least healthy" mashed potato champ was Emeril who had a recipe with a stick of butter and a cup of heavy cream for 3lbs of potatoes (undeniably delicious but not cardiologist-endorsed).

spinynorman99 wrote:

mamagotcha wrote:I'm looking forward to sampling the Alinea 50/50 potatoes this year (my son is doing their Thanksgiving take-out, while I'm fixing extra for the leftovers). I wondered if it was half and half potato and sweet potato, but no... it's half BUTTER!

We did an Alinea to go meal a while back with the 50/50 potatoes. Could hear my arteries clogging as I ate them. The previous "least healthy" mashed potato champ was Emeril who had a recipe with a stick of butter and a cup of heavy cream for 3lbs of potatoes (undeniably delicious but not cardiologist-endorsed).

I think these are basically the same as Robuchon's pommes puree. In any event, those also call for a seemingly insane amount of butter, and are memorably delicious.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:

mamagotcha wrote:I'm looking forward to sampling the Alinea 50/50 potatoes this year (my son is doing their Thanksgiving take-out, while I'm fixing extra for the leftovers). I wondered if it was half and half potato and sweet potato, but no... it's half BUTTER!

We did an Alinea to go meal a while back with the 50/50 potatoes. Could hear my arteries clogging as I ate them. The previous "least healthy" mashed potato champ was Emeril who had a recipe with a stick of butter and a cup of heavy cream for 3lbs of potatoes (undeniably delicious but not cardiologist-endorsed).

I think these are basically the same as Robuchon's pommes puree. In any event, those also call for a seemingly insane amount of butter, and are memorably delicious.

=R=

I can't recall if this was the same meal or another Alinea-to-go (we got fairly stir crazy at one point) but the potatoes were infused with vanilla and accompanied short ribs braised in root beer for a "root beer float" vibe.

Glad to see this thread revived; I'm Irish and so always seeking potato perfection.

Lately I have been cooking "baked" russet potatoes in the Instant Pot: 14 minutes (so much more convenient than 60 minutes in the oven), then natural release (although I suppose you can force-release earlier if you want to). Come out nice and hot and fluffy, skin dry but not necessarily crispy; if you want that, you can put them in a hot oven for a few (5-10) minutes afterward.

I bought some sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving planning to steam them in the IP as well. I haven't yet looked up how many minutes it will take, but I expect it to be more than the 14 min for russets, given the size and density of sweet potatoes.

As to what to add to potatoes you intend to mash, I love all of the dairy addition suggestions (milk, buttermilk, cream, sour cream, cream cheese, butter), but what I've also heard, and what has worked out well for me, is that BUTTER should be the first addition, because it melts and coats the starch granules and prevents them gumming up. After that, you're free to add whatever creamy and/or other additions you like for purposes of flavor and fluidity. Curious to know what others think.

Finally, it may be that cooked potatoes are not as delightful to eat when reheated as when freshly cooked, but I've read some things that suggest they're actually better for you: cooked/cooled/reheated potato becomes a resistant starch that functions much like fiber in your digestive system and in that sense is healthier for you than fresh cooked potato. Same is apparently true of rice, and, unless I remember incorrectly, bread. Curious to know what others have read about this.

Are you steaming the potatoes in a basket over water?

I hadn't heard about the starch-to-fiber conversion! Fascinating!

mamagotcha wrote:Are you steaming the potatoes in a basket over water?

I hadn't heard about the starch-to-fiber conversion! Fascinating!

Here is 2 YouTube videos I found on steaming mashed potatoes. The theory is that boiling the potatoes makes them water logged (excessive moisture), less potato flavor, and a more gummy result vs. steaming the potatoes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=487UnESKq2c
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMKOlrklBsY

Can't remember where I read it, but I've been making mashed potatoes half Russet and half Gold Rush (Or just a yellow fleshed one. I understand a lot of Gold Rush potatoes sold aren't truly Gold Rush). I guess on the amount of butter and milk, but I'm trying to make enough for one, with no leftovers. I am in the mashed potatoes don't reheat group. Although I did make some using the sour cream, cream cheese, etc. recipe and they did reheat decently (for a potluck at work).

I'm going to try the steaming way, using a rice cooker.

The last several years we’ve gone Buttermilk Mashed. Just potatoes, buttermilk, salt and pepper. Some of us add butter at the table but I usually find that I don’t need it. 2# potatoes mashed w/ 1 1/4 cups buttermilk.

mamagotcha wrote:Are you steaming the potatoes in a basket over water?

Using the rack in the IP, a cup or so of water below so that the water doesn't touch the potatoes, 14 minutes.

Makes me wonder what the time requirement would be in a steamer basket over water on the stove top, normal pressure. I think I'll test that out. The whole steaming potatoes thing is new to me, but it does work well, much better than boiling in water or microwaving and much faster than baking in the oven.

I've been using the Cook's Country Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe for the last few years with great success. It eliminates the step of boiling the potatoes in water, then draining. Instead you simmer the potatoes in 1/2 & 1/2 from the start, then mash them right in the pot, without draining anything.

As I said, the recipe is for garlic mashed potatoes, but I've found it works equally well for a traditional version by simply omitting the garlic. I've also had success substituting grated onion for the garlic.

I still haven't figured out how to embed an URL, so here's the link:

https://www.food.com/recipe/garlic-mashed-potatoes-cooks-country-method-439628

Happy Thanksgiving!

Buddy

Thank you Buddy for that link. I'll have to try them some time.

You're more than welcome. Just FYI, anyone looking for light, fluffy mashed potatoes, this is not the recipe for you. These come out more dense and creamy, with a few "home-style" lumps, depending on the tool and method you use for the actual mashing.

Also, don't panic if it seems like there's too much liquid when you start mashing. The first time I tried the recipe, I thought I had accidentally made Cream of Potato Soup. But the further you get into the mashing process, more liquid is absorbed, and the potato is more evenly dispersed, resulting in a an excellent end product.

Buddy

My family likes lumpy mashed potatoes. I boil/steam them filled half way up the potatoes with chicken stock, stirring occasionally, letting some cook off at the end. I mash the remaining stock into the potatoes along with butter and sour cream.

-Will

That's pretty much the same concept as the Cook's Country recipe, except they use ½ & ½ instead of chicken stock.

Buddy