Mashed potato - basic staple or too much effort?

[NoblyBobly]

I was at a social event this morning with a mix of age ranges. We were chatting about what everyone was having for their main meal (dinner/lunch/tea/supper). I mentioned we were having a quick meal tonight of sausage and mash along with some mushroom, onion and courgette.
I was really surprised that so many said they love mash but it's too much effort..........
I consider boiling a few spuds as minimal effort and an everyday basic food. am I out of touch?

I don’t peel because who has the time.

My secret is - Parmesan, sour cream, butter and garlic powder. Honestly so good, especially with a steak pie from the local butcher 😋

I cheat often as I'm lazy, pre-made when it's a quick meal as I hate peeling potatoes

I use my PC for veg a lot, Its quick and clean.

What you do need to do is learn. I know I can throw in 2 or 3 kilo of spuds and 7 mins on high pressure, they are fit for lump free mash. Carrots and parsnips - 3 minutes

I was watching some tv chef or other recently and he was showing how to boil spuds ( how basic, we all know how to boil a spud yes? ) but he was saying that a fast boil will leave a wet potato, which when mashing will give glue, so turn it down and give a rolling boil. So I followed his instructions and yep Im getting good mash

TIP:
Children can be taught to peel potatoes from quite a young age. Brown Owl will thank you.

Late to the mashing convo and apologies if it's already been raised, but why is it so hard to get the saucepan clean after mashing spuds in it? The bloody stuff is tenacious. It could be used to stick the tiles on on spaceships.

I should add I never put them the dishwasher which may well be the answer

Maybe it’s related to the “glue” consistency tip in the post above?

I think the glue thing, which depends on the type of spud and how you mash it as well as perhaps the boiling technique. Scraping as much out of the pan as possible as quickly as possible onto plates or a serving bowl then soaking the pan helps.

When I first met DH he used to use a hand-mixer to beat mashed potatoes, they were awful, all gluey and no fluffiness, it was like eating wallpaper paste or baby food and it set like concrete on dishes. A hand masher is far better. A ricer gives good results but takes ages if you are doing larger quantities and is messier.

There are different shapes for the business ends of mashers as well - the one I use now is one continuous sinuous curve of metal - my old one was a flat plate with holes, that presumably gave an effect more like a rice. I liked that, but abandoned it because it had a wooden handle and couldn't go in the dishbasher. I've mostly only used a ricer if I was mixing some mashed potato into the dough when baking bread (v nice). I have also seen potato mashers that were just pieces of wood very slightly tapered at each end, like a mutant rolling pin.

Also, the variety of potato matters, hence my preference for roosters.

I've read that you shouldn't blend potato based soups as they go gluey so it must be something to do with the starch. I have found an old masher as part of a set of vintage kitchen utensils and it's the business, not like cheap bendy modern ones. like this

I blend leek and potato soup with my hand-held blender. Never had a gluey problem.

Mash is pretty entry-level stuff unless you're creating some kind of potato croquembouche

I don't peel potatoes. My mash is "rustic". Mix sautéed leeks and mushrooms through it (farmfoods do both pre cut and frozen for maximum convenience, just throw some in a pan) with some grated cheese and it is next level comfort food.

You need to rinse the peeled and cubed potatoes properly before boiling.
I always mixed mine, with a lot of butter and some salt, always great, not gluey or starchy.

My life has been transformed by learning that you can bake the potatoes and then scoop out the insides and mash it. The end result is exactly the same, and it’s SO much easier than all the peeling and chopping.

That's true, but in terms of effort / reward, evey other way of cooking potato gives a nicer meal than mash, wo why bother?

@NoblyBobly

I hate cooking and even I'd consider that a quick meal!

Mind you, the air fryer has been an absolute game changer! If it broke I'd buy another one straight away!!

id make mash a lot more often as a quick side, except I'm a diet controlled diabetic and I can't eat it 😫. I make celeriac & swede (swede too high carbs, but I only use a bit compared to the celeriac.

it's sad - I can't eat it , but those who can arent, because it's too much of a faff 😫😫

if they'd take the carbs, I'd make the mash!!

other opinions are available

Well yes of course, but this is a forum for discussion, and that's my opinion. No one has yet pursuaded me otherwise :)

in terms of effort / reward, evey other way of cooking potato gives a nicer meal than mash, wo why bother

I agree with you!

Not only is the potato skin the healthiest part of the potato, but the effort/reward ratio of baked/grilled potatoes or boiled and buttered new potatoes is way higher imo.

I also still have functioning teeth so don't red my food mashed (yet)

*need

@Tryingtokeepgoing - in my humble opinion, that means you haven't tried great^^ mash. For me a top-notch mustard or garnish mash that's creamy but not gluey wins over most over potato forms. But like you say, it's all opinions. I don't like chip shop chips for example 🤷🏽‍♀️

That should say garlic not garnish 🤦🏽‍♀️

We have to use frozen mash, i just can't make it right.

Well, it’s more complex than putting pasta or rice in, isn’t it? Not difficult, but more effort than other available carbs.

Also more fibre, minerals, and vitamin C than other carbs.