Mash Those Spuds!

[Nickhead]

was just telling some friends. potato is one thing australia doesn't do right.

very difficult to get good mash from what's on the shelves.

[KCUnited]

Try folding in some garlic sometime

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Try folding in some garlic sometime

Better still, don't fold the garlic in (I guess if you ran it through a microplane it would be okay).

Instead, take your butter, simmer your garlic in it until roasted, run it through a strainer to get the pieces out and then add milk and bring it all to warm (warmer milk keeps your potatoes from getting starchy).

And when the potatoes are boiled, put them in a ricer rather than just mashing them. Ensures completely uniform texture. Add your warm milk/butter/garlic mixture, plenty of salt and pepper and then a couple big ol globs of sour cream.

Mix it all together and you've got perfect mashed taters. From there you can add chives, bacon, cheese - whatever your heart desires. But really, you won't need any of it. Or gravy. That base is great on its own.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Better still, don't fold the garlic in (I guess if you ran it through a microplane it would be okay).

Instead, take your butter, simmer your garlic in it until roasted, run it through a strainer to get the pieces out and then add milk and bring it all to warm (warmer milk keeps your potatoes from getting starchy).

And when the potatoes are boiled, put them in a ricer rather than just mashing them. Ensures completely uniform texture. Add your warm milk/butter/garlic mixture, plenty of salt and pepper and then a couple big ol globs of sour cream.

Mix it all together and you've got perfect mashed taters. From there you can add chives, bacon, cheese - whatever your heart desires. But really, you won't need any of it. Or gravy. That base is great on its own.

I wasn’t using “fold” as a specific technique just more of an add some garlic using your preferred technique kind of statement, but that’s good advice nonetheless.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

I wasn’t using “fold” as a specific technique just more of an add some garlic using your preferred technique kind of statement, but that’s good advice nonetheless.

It's definitely a good add - makes 'em smell amazing if nothing else. Gotta put a little more salt in that you otherwise might to bring the garlic flavor out (but nothing crazy).

If you want fluffy mashed potatoes though, the ricer over the masher is a go-to. Some people prefer the chunks and a little denser version and that's cool. And you can't run them through a ricer if you leave the skins on anyway.

But if you peel them and like fluffy mashed, get a ricer.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Nickhead

was just telling some friends. potato is one thing australia doesn't do right.

very difficult to get good mash from what's on the shelves.

I mean it's potatoes, boiling water, butter, salt, pepper and dairy of some variety.

Which of those are you all missing down there?

[Nickhead]

Originally Posted by Pablo

I mean it's potatoes, boiling water, butter, salt, pepper and dairy of some variety.

Which of those are you all missing down there?

the quality of potato is what i am getting at. you can never get a 10/10 mash from an aussie sold potato. maybe there are some gems out there, just not available to us.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Nickhead

the quality of potato is what i am getting at. you can never get a 10/10 mash from an aussie sold potato. maybe there are some gems out there, just not available to us.

Gotcha, I'd never considered there being a shit potato you couldn't even salvage by mashing to be honest.

[threebag]

Originally Posted by Nickhead

the quality of potato is what i am getting at. you can never get a 10/10 mash from an aussie sold potato. maybe there are some gems out there, just not available to us.

The scary part is the amount of pus allowed in the milk down under

[Abba-Dabba]

Boiled cubed potatoes, butter, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Potato water if any more liquid is needed. Sometimes when I have that fancy feeling, some fresh chopped parsley on top.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by Nickhead

was just telling some friends. potato is one thing australia doesn't do right.

very difficult to get good mash from what's on the shelves.

its all about the soils