Frozen mash, is it really unhealthy?

[WeAreOnTheRoadToNowhere]

I ate at a friend's and she used frozen mash. I was very impressed, lovely and no lumps
It is so convenient. According to the packet it only has potato and butter in it but am I kidding myself?
I guess it is considered UPF but how unhealthy is it?

@AlisonDonut it would be ! No doubt laced with Normandy butter and cream I wish I could try some❤️

I never make mash...it's a huge faff imo. peeling, boiling, draining, mashing...I can't be bothered. I buy frozen or the chilled stuff in tubs. I mean it's processed in the sense that it's gone through a process to turn a raw potato into a mashed one...but I can't see why it makes a difference if a food company does that or I do.

It's cheap. And it's fast.

Bollocks. Food labelling is incredibly strict, and it really is just potato and butter. It's no more processed than mash you make at home

@SnivellingEd

Processed, yes.

Ultra Processed - it doesn't meet the commonly accepted definition.

Didn’t even know you could buy such a thing. Having had a quick look, Tesco and Waitrose versions seem to contain powdered milk, which is a hard no from me. But Sainsbury’s and Aunt Bessie’s look like actual whole milk. So those are better options

I only discovered frozen mash existed when I worked at Yates while at uni! And was surprised by how delicious it were.

Having said that, I don't use it but only because I'm okay with 'dirty' mash. I bake potatoes, then mash them (with seasoning and oil or whatever) skin and all.
But I've only me to feed.
I cook the whole bag and whatever doesn't get used gets frozen, so I guess the above is all a lie🤣 I just don't BUY it frozen.

Love this thread. I used to feel guilty about using frozen mash. My mum guilt list has reduced today - hooray!

Life's too short to feel guilty. And no one hands out medals to those who make mash from scratch...

Hopping on here to ask how to cook frozen mash without a microwave?

If you mash your potatoes before adding anything else they should turn out smooth ☺️

I’m off to add frozen mash to the food shop
Thanks OP!

I do the same but not the whole bag. I boil chopped carrots in the same pan as the tats with skin on before I roughly smash them all with salt, pepper and butter and freeze - hand on heart, I couldn't call it mash!

Not in the UK, it's actually quite strictly here. Peeling, boiling and mashing your own potatoes is processed. This is not ultra processed.

And even if they did it would just be something else to dust 🤣

You couldn’t be more wrong. You sound like the type of person who believes food labelled as “homemade” and “farm fresh” are made on cute little cottages and farms.

There most certainly is more going on with frozen mash which will have processing aids to make it that way and manufacturers like to make money and are very clever at getting around the percentages where you won’t need to list an ingredient. If the animal used to make the product was fed with - for example- GM food, they don’t need to mention this in the finished product.

anyone buying frozen mash who thinks it’s really just potato and butter is deluded.

I guess it is considered UPF but how unhealthy is it?

Why would you think it's UPF? It's spud and butter and salt.

No waste with frozen veg as well as no prep.

Even if it was “UPF”, you really don’t need permission to use it OP.

No, it doesn't. Not in the UK.

The Sainsbury's one says:
INGREDIENTS: Potato (87%), Cows' Milk (10%), Butter (Cows' Milk) (2.5%), Salt, White Pepper.

Last one I bought cost £1, would serve two or just me if really hungry. To make it from scratch I would need to boil potatoes for a lot longer than it takes to microwave the mash, so even though the potato would be cheaper itself I'm not sure it works out cheaper overall. Plus, my time is valuable.

You can do it on the hob in a pan.

As I have already explained food labelling is not quite as innocent as it looks. Especially on supermarket products with only a few ingredients listed on the label. There’s ways to get around mentioning processes and additives potentially. It shocked me when I first found this out.

Are the “potatoes” made from flakes or from reconstituted ingredients? Quite likely, lot of processing to get them into that state. We’re talking about an industrial supply chain and factory processes here not loads of people peeling spuds and mixing them with butter, mashing and freezing.

The “butter” likely has emulsifiers and oils but just enough to prevent them from having to be mentioned on the label.

Anyways, I agree that nobody should feel guilty for using them.

900g of Asda frozen1 mash is £1.85
2kg of Maris Piper is £1.80

Allowing for the wastage of potato skins and adding some butter, the price is not hugely different.

They definitely taste like unalderated potato rather than ‘Smash’ (flakes)