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Food

Mashed Potato

(52 Posts)
petallus Tue 29-Jul-14 22:16:57

I made a Jamie Oliver Fish Pie when my brother and his wife came over for dinner at the weekend.

My rude little brother commented that the mashed potato topping was 'hard'. I have to admit it wasn't all that good. I probably had not mashed the spuds for long enough due to an aching wrist. Not only that but I did not add the ' few sploshes' of olive oil that Jamie Oliver recommended, for health reasons.

I would like advice on how to make delicious fluffy mashed potato without adding lots of butter or oil. I am thinking of buying a hand-held food mixer and trying that.

Nelliemoser Wed 30-Jul-14 11:01:16

I cook potatoes in their jackets. Scoop out the insides to mash then cut the skins up and fry or roast until crispy add a little sea salt and sprinkle on top of the mash it a very tasty garnish.
Adding some made up mustard or a sensible amount of horseradish sauce makes a nice mash as well.

rosequartz Wed 30-Jul-14 12:48:22

petallus a ricer is a bit like a very large garlic press. I think I have seen Mary Berry squeeze the potato through the ricer straight on to her fish pie, and I have done this; the potato is not then too dense. Must fish my ricer out of the cupboard!

Elegran Wed 30-Jul-14 13:03:23

If you have arthritic hands you may find that squeezing the potato through the ricer is not easy. Some ricers are better than others, too.

whenim64 Wed 30-Jul-14 13:14:06

This good grips masher is the sort my mum used to use - she had badly affected arthritic hands and could use this style of masher easily.

www.lakeland.co.uk/17108/OXO-Good-Grips-Potato-Masher?gclid=CN_DjfOA7b8CFWX3wgodyK0Apw&src=gfeed&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!52965914771!!!g!45641177162!&ef_id=U0mu-QAAASj3Lw3q:20140730121130:s

thatbags Wed 30-Jul-14 14:06:26

I have one of those too. It is a much better design than those with a handle straight up. I have arthritic hands.

Aka Wed 30-Jul-14 14:19:53

Remember SMASH? Yuk!

Elegran Wed 30-Jul-14 14:22:36

Todays frozen potato is MUCH better than Smash, whatever the little Martians may have thought of it. Ask those who were at the Burns Lunch at my house last year.

Agus Wed 30-Jul-14 14:28:48

If you don't want to add butter or oil. Dice potatoes, then add a small amount of Alpro non dairy cream to soften the mash.. I add various things to mash, one is grain mustard and chives.

Marelli Wed 30-Jul-14 14:28:59

It was very, very good, Elegran - I hadn't known it was of the frozen variety!

Aka Wed 30-Jul-14 14:29:46

Frozen is great I agree. I aways have some in cos I can't be bothered peeling as a standby.

Agus Wed 30-Jul-14 15:26:55

OK, I'm convinced. Will try the Aunt Bessie's/Tesco's. I'm all for anything labour saving. grin

thatbags Wed 30-Jul-14 15:30:32

If I can't be bothered to peel potatoes for mash, I just cut the spuds up as usual, boil as usual, and mash the lot (always with butter). Some of the skin fragments stick to the masher. Those I discard. The rest we eat.

henetha Wed 30-Jul-14 15:31:36

I had to zip my lip when my daughter in law recently cooked us a meal using frozen mash. But, do you know, it was absolutely lovely. Consequently I bought some and use it regularly. Yippee.. I'm all for short cuts, living alone and getting quite creaky now.

Aka Wed 30-Jul-14 15:42:41

My thumbs get very achy if I have to peel lots of potatoes.

shysal Wed 30-Jul-14 16:54:46

Delia Smith is a fan of frozen mash!

Nonu Wed 30-Jul-14 17:08:14

Also a fan of Norwich City, says it all really !!

LOL

Nonu Wed 30-Jul-14 17:08:37

Well a director actually !

sparkygran Wed 30-Jul-14 18:20:25

I like M&Ss Desiree potatoes and mash them with milk and butter. For a topping of fish pie or whatever I add cream and a beaten egg to enrich them

petra Wed 30-Jul-14 18:46:37

Talking of Delia: there is only one fish pie, hers. But it's made with pastry, not mash.

rosequartz Wed 30-Jul-14 20:00:09

Lots of great suggestions.

However, I still think that Petallus's rude little brother should come over and be made to mash the potatoes himself. Then he can't complain if it's 'hard'.

Intrigued to find out how old rude little brother is!

kittylester Wed 30-Jul-14 20:46:59

I have two little brothers aged 62 and 56 and right little pests they are too. No respect for their olders and betters grin

rosequartz Wed 30-Jul-14 20:56:19

grin

Scooter58 Wed 30-Jul-14 21:03:20

I love mash but struggled with a normal potato masher due to my arthritis,then I discovered Masha potato and vegetable electric masher,absolutely brilliant.

KatyK Thu 31-Jul-14 19:44:55

My daughter had my granddaughter's friend round for tea recently. She gave the girls mashed potato and my GD's friend said 'your mashed potato is lovely' My daughter, who incidentally is a good cook, said 'oh thank you' and the friend replied 'it's much nicer than my mum's, I prefer it like this with lots of lumps in'. smile

petallus Thu 31-Jul-14 19:56:39

How weird, I just did a post and it's disappeared.

rosequartz my brother is coming up to 67 but as he's four years younger than me I always think of him as 'little'.

I shall go with the Maris Piper suggestion, cook really well and then add butter, or maybe yoghurt, before mashing.

If that doesn't work I shall move on to a ricer. I'm holding back on that option because I never use my garlic press and I suspect the ricer might go the same way.