# Russets for mashed potatoes?



## Constance (Nov 23, 2008)

I prefer red or golden potatoes for mashed, but DH brought home 10 lbs Russets. I've had trouble with Russets being kind of gluey. Could I get some advice? I like them lite and fluffy!
We do have one more shopping trip before Thanksgiving.


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## Katie H (Nov 23, 2008)

Always use russets for mashed potatoes.  Never found them to be gluey.  After I cook them, I drain them and then put them back into the pot to dry out well.  Never had a gluey problem and they always turned out nice and fluffy.


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## pacanis (Nov 23, 2008)

I use Idahos or russets for everything. I'm not sure what you mean by gluey. I guess that's what I'm used to. I have noticed that my sister uses a mixer and I use a hand masher and I think mine come out fluffier. I boil, drain, let sit short while, and add milk and butter.


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## Andy M. (Nov 23, 2008)

Russets can get gluey if you use an electric mixer to make whipped potatoes.  Over whipping can make the starch in the potato gummy, stringy and altogether less appetizing.

If you just use a potato masher or ricer, russets will give you a nice fluffy mashed potato.


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## pacanis (Nov 23, 2008)

Aha. See?
I had a hunch it was the mixer.


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## Katie H (Nov 23, 2008)

Believe it or not, I've never used a mixer to make mashed/whipped potatoes.  For mashed I use a hand masher or a large fork and for whipped I just whip the beejeepers out of them with a whisk.


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## pacanis (Nov 23, 2008)

Me neither, but I remember a profound difference between when my mother used to make them using a hand masher, and my sister using a hand mixer. You could spackle walls with my sister's mashed potatoes.


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## Constance (Nov 23, 2008)

You guys are so smart. I really appreciate your prompt advice, and I will use my old fashioned potato masher and not the electric mixer. 

Lately, rather than peeling, cubing and boiling the potatoes the way I used to do, I've been baking the whole potatoes, rubbing the peeling off, and then mashing. The (@$%&#) arthritis has hit my shoulders, elbows and hands, and this method is less painful. (Actually, Kim does the mashing.)

Have any of you ever done it that way, and do you have any hints?


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## Katie H (Nov 23, 2008)

Yes, Connie, that works.  You might also try peeling the potatoes, putting them in a large microwave-safe bowl, covering them, and cooking until done.  They'll produce a little water that can be drained.  Allow the potatoes to dry a little, then mash as usual.  I've done that when I've had my stove occupied to capacity.


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## Constance (Nov 23, 2008)

I don't mean to be a big baby, but it just hurts my arms to peel potatoes. It really aggravates me...I used to be so strong, but now I can't even pick up a milk jug without using both hands.


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## Katie H (Nov 23, 2008)

Constance said:


> I don't mean to be a big baby, but it just hurts my arms to peel potatoes. It really aggravates me...I used to be so strong, but now I can't even pick up a milk jug without using both hands.



Peeling potatoes...that's what husbands are for.  Get Kim to do it for you.


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## Andy M. (Nov 23, 2008)

Constance said:


> ...I've been baking the whole potatoes, rubbing the peeling off, and then mashing. ...Have any of you ever done it that way, and do you have any hints?


 

That works well too.  The moisture content will be lower with baking them.  Other than that, no difference.  

I like sour cream in my potatoes.


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## MexicoKaren (Nov 23, 2008)

I think russets are the absolute best for mashed potatoes, and second what everyone else has said. NO MIXER - that's what makes them gluey. And like Katie said, put them back on the stove and shake them for a few minutes after you've drained them to get them good and dry. Having said that, there are NO russet potatoes in Mexico. I found them once at a supermarket, and when I brought them to the cashier, she didn't know what they were. "Papas" I said. "No!" she said, "no papas!" She called in a consultant from the next register who confimed that they were papas. The potatoes we get here are very very good - thin-skinned, and a little like Yukon Golds, but not yellow-fleshed. But they don't bake at all well, and don't make great mashed potatoes.


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## RobsanX (Nov 23, 2008)

I like my mashed potatoes creamy... If that's the same thing as gluey, then sign me up!


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## Katie H (Nov 23, 2008)

RobsanX said:


> I like my mashed potatoes creamy... If that's the same thing as gluey, then sign me up!



Mashed potatoes can be creamy without being gluey.  Heaven in a bowl!


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## Constance (Nov 23, 2008)

RobsanX said:


> I like my mashed potatoes creamy... If that's the same thing as gluey, then sign me up!



It isn't...think more wallpaper paste.


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## Michael in FtW (Nov 23, 2008)

I used Russetts all my life until our stores started to carry Yukon Golds.

Just cube the Russetts with the peels on - boil - mash. If anyone says anything about the peels in the 'taters tell them it is a French recipe: *purée de pommes de terre rustique* (or something like that) -_or_- it's better for you because of the vitimans in the skins and the very thin layer between the flesh and skin that would get thrown away if you peeled them (actually, that is true). 

If you want to use an electric mixer you will have to use it _very_ judiciously and on a low speed - just enough to break-up the spuds - and finish mixing in your butter and cream by hand. If you want to use the mixer all the way - you will need to add a little more milk/cream and you will end up with whipped/creamed potatoes ... a wetter and softer texture than a good "mash".


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## Barbara L (Nov 24, 2008)

My mom always used a mixer to mash her potatoes (russetts) and always ended up with fluffy ones. She didn't turn it to high speed though, so I'm sure that was the difference. I haven't used a mixer to make mine in awhile, but when I do, I get the same results she got. 

Barbara
P.S. Michael, I didn't notice you had mentioned using a mixer until now, but I see you said the same thing.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 24, 2008)

Constance said:


> I don't mean to be a big baby, but it just hurts my arms to peel potatoes. It really aggravates me...I used to be so strong, but now I can't even pick up a milk jug without using both hands.



You've already stated the answer to your problem.  Bake them, without foil.  When they are done, simply cut them in half and scoop out the potato meat with a spoon.  They will accept the butter and milk you add as the potato will be drier, and there is absolutely no chance of over boiling them to mush.  Also, for a richer potato flavor, use evaporated milk and brown butter.  Roasted garlic mashed into them is great too.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Dove (Nov 24, 2008)

*when I use to make mashed potatoes ...I also warmed the milk.*


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## Adillo303 (Nov 24, 2008)

Constance, I am very sorry for your arthritis. It hurts to loose mobility that you have always had before.

I use russets and hand mash. I often leave the skins on as I like the taste. I usually add butter, milk a bit of garlic powder and some basil.

If I have time ans I want then really nice, I rice them. This guarantees no lumps and very fluffy. In fact, you can server them just riced and not mixed and add whatever you want at the table.

AC


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## VeraBlue (Nov 24, 2008)

There are two kinds of potatoes, waxy and starchy.  Russets fall into the starchy category.  Don't over cook them, and once done, return them to the pot (after strained) and with a high flame, let them dry out a bit.  Be careful not to burn them, you have to stay with them.

Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan, adding them warm, instead of cold.  That also prevents that gluey mess you described.    I've seen that glue thing happen with both types of potatoes and it's usually a result of dealing with too much water, and too cool a temperature.


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## LadyCook61 (Nov 24, 2008)

I peel , slice them about 1/2 inch thick, cook in water til done, then drain.  After draining them,  I put them thru the potato ricer into a bowl.  But if your arms hurt you ,  the potato ricer probably not a good option for you.


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## luv2cook35 (Dec 17, 2011)

I got 2 5lb. bags of russets today - BOGO - and want to make mashed with one, home fries with the other.  Do you recommend peeling and boiling or baking and scooping?  I usually only use russets for baked spuds.  We're not fans of peels on in mashed, but they're good for home fries.


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## Addie (Dec 17, 2011)

Constance said:


> I don't mean to be a big baby, but it just hurts my arms to peel potatoes. It really aggravates me...I used to be so strong, but now I can't even pick up a milk jug without using both hands.


 
I have a serrated blade peeler. Whizes through peeling. Yet it is gentle enough so that I can peel a raw tomatoes for roses.


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## luv2cook35 (Dec 17, 2011)

So peeling is the way to go?  I have a great peeler and don't mind the work, just don't want that "gluey" texture in my mashed.


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## Addie (Dec 17, 2011)

Dove said:


> *when I use to make mashed potatoes ...I also warmed the milk.*


 
Ditto here. I heat the milk in the micro with the butter in the milk so that it is already on the way to melting.


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## PattY1 (Dec 17, 2011)

I use mostly Russets also and I mostly use my Kitchen Aid Mixer(sometimes the ricer). The only time I had "gluey" mashed potatoes was when I left the pot of raw spuds on the stove top while the oven was on. I am careful not to do that again.


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## jennyema (Dec 17, 2011)

I only use russets.  I think waxy potatoes like redskins make crappy mashed.

I peel.  Cook.  Hand mash with a potato masher.  Even when I make 30+ people worth

I use butter, salt, half and half and milk.  That's all I add.

People say they are the best they've ever had.

Gluey potatoes are by definition overworked.  Don't do that. Dont use a mixer or food processor.  Ricer is ok.


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## Addie (Dec 17, 2011)

I have a ricer with a large hopper. It is too big when cooking for only one. And if you are making mashed for a crowd, by the time you rice the last potato, the riced ones are now cold. So I may give it to one of my kids. Hand mased I think is best. Starting with baking the potatoes in the oven or micro and scooping out the meat, saves the flavor and all the nutrients. 

If you chose to cook them in water, drain, place back in pot, cover, allow them to sit for a couple of minutes and let dry.


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## Kathleen (Dec 17, 2011)

Constance said:


> You guys are so smart. I really appreciate your prompt advice, and I will use my old fashioned potato masher and not the electric mixer.
> 
> Lately, rather than peeling, cubing and boiling the potatoes the way I used to do, I've been baking the whole potatoes, rubbing the peeling off, and then mashing. The (@$%&#) arthritis has hit my shoulders, elbows and hands, and this method is less painful. (Actually, Kim does the mashing.)
> 
> Have any of you ever done it that way, and do you have any hints?



Constance, this has been posted before, but I think it is a great answer to peeling potatoes. 

I've hand-mashed potatoes and used a mixer on low after mashing to finish them if I want them very creamy.  I used to use Russets, but now use Yukon Gold, if I can find them.  Next spring, I want to grow my own potatoes.  I'm unsure which would be the best to try to grow, but I think it will be a fun venture.

~Kathleen


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## GLC (Dec 17, 2011)

Okay. Time to get scientific and down to the sure-fire, rather than hit or miss, way to get good mashed potatoes. Not the "whipped" stuff, but a dish that still has its potato character. 

Russets are fine. But a potato is just a package of cells full of starch. For mashed potatoes, we want to gel that starch into tiny cell sized units and - only then - break them up to a puree. If you don't break them up, you get lumps of cells and lumpy mashed potatoes. But, if you break the cells apart immediately, you release all that starch and heat it up, and it does what hot starch does best, makes paste. What you want to avoid is getting free starch molecules floating around, because they clump together. That's what the "glue" is. If you don't break the cells, the starch gels inside the cell structure, which is okay. 

Now, one way to make potato starch glue is to  cook potato until it's soft and use a food processor or blender. That breaks up the cells to release free floating starch into the watch. 

But, now here's the science part. Once starch molecules are heated and gel, no matter whether they are inside the cell walls or floating around in the water as individual cells when you heat them, if you cool them down, they're stable. They're fixed at something like the original cell size. The starch molecules can't separate. And the big payoff is that they stay that way, EVEN IF YOU HEAT THEM AGAIN. And no matter how many times you heat them again. 

So what we have after heating it just hot enough to gel the starch but not hot enough to break down the bonds between cells is a bunch of cells filled with nice, stable fluffy starch gel packets. Because we haven't heated it enough to break the cells loose, it's all still more or less intact slices or chunks of potato. Profoundly changed, but still visually potato slices. And if we now heat them again, hotter than before, we can break down the cell  binder and gently mash to create the potato puree we want. 

The particulars:  

Slice or dice to 1/2-inch. The pieces have to heat pretty evenly throughout, so you get the effect you want acting on all cells. 

Heat to 130-degrees F and hold for 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature. The starch is now gelled and fixed within the cells. I stick a thermometer probe into a slice to monitor temperature. I usually cut one slice a bit thicker so it can take the probe. I'm going to hold it all for 30 minutes, so they'll all pretty much be the same temperature throughout. 

Reheat to 190 of just under boiling and hold for 30 minutes. That breaks the binder between the cells that gave form to the potato. I don't use a thermometer here, because just the barest simmer works okay without bouncing the potato around too much. 

Drain and puree. A ricer or food mill is best for keeping the stable starch units intact. But if you want to mash, that's fine. They'll even take a modest amount of electric beating in this state, but be gentle as possible. They're much more stable than if cooked in the usual way. And they will remain stable, even when chilled and reheated. That's one of the great things. You can now make mashed potatoes ahead, and they will travel well. 

Add butter according to what it takes to act well upon the particular variety of potato you use - and milk, also according to how dry that potato is. But don't turn them into a bad potato soup. You won't have to whip them, and the mash will be firm enough to bread, or coat, or form into patties and fry or whatever else you want to do in the very wide range of dishes. 

This is a more elaborate procedure than the hit or miss usual, but it will always work, because starch will always behave the same way through particular temperature sequences and will stabilize, and the cell binders will always break down at a particular temperature and not before.


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## Andy M. (Dec 17, 2011)

GLC, you do that for mashed potatoes every time?  For me that's way to much work and way to fussy.  I'd never eat mashed potatoes if I had to use that process.


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## GLC (Dec 17, 2011)

I really don't make mashed potatoes very often. But I was fascinated to learn the reliable method that preserves the dish as POTATO,  rather than mysterious whipped substance that is only assumed to be mashed potatoes because folks can't think of what else it might be. But it's really not much work. It's mostly just cooking time, and the thermometer alarm will tell me if the temperature is off. 

But, no. It's probably not something that's going to happen when someone is pressed for time. When pressed, we make all sorts of compromises. But it's good, sometimes, to make it what it's supposed to be, just so we remember. I think the last time I made mash was months ago when I made boeuf bourguignon for guests, and after the prolonged and fussy BB process, righteous mashed potatoes doesn't seem like much additional effort.

Plus, I already know how to do mashed potatoes, and I know it will work every time, so I'm not real motivated, and there are a lot of other new things to try with potatoes, and most of them are more fun.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Dec 17, 2011)

Constance said:


> I don't mean to be a big baby, but it just hurts my arms to peel potatoes. It really aggravates me...I used to be so strong, but now I can't even pick up a milk jug without using both hands.





Adillo303 said:


> Constance, I am very sorry for your arthritis. It hurts to loose mobility that you have always had before.
> 
> I use russets and hand mash. I often leave the skins on as I like the taste. I usually add butter, milk a bit of garlic powder and some basil.
> 
> If I have time ans I want then really nice, I rice them. This guarantees no lumps and very fluffy. In fact, you can server them just riced and not mixed and add whatever you want at the table.



I'm with AC. I just leave the skins on. I like the skins and I think the skins add to the taste although some may not like the aesthetic appearance of the bits of skin.

I chunk my potatoes then boil them (without peeling), and then (important) strain them and return them to the pan and let all the moisture steam off. Separately I roast some garlic heads (cut off the tops then wrap in aluminum foil and roast about an hour at 350, squeeze out the roasted cloves). Then I add the garlic to the potatoes, and some butter, then mash them with a hand masher or spoon, then add some cream and keep mashing, season to taste.

I don't use any electric mixer or anything other than a hand masher or spoon. I like the uneven lumpy texture, goes with the uneven bits of skin. YMMV 

If you don't like peeling potatoes then maybe you might try just skipping that step. 



GLC said:


> Okay. Time to get scientific and down to the sure-fire, rather than hit or miss, way to get good mashed potatoes. Not the "whipped" stuff, but a dish that still has its potato character...



Great post! I have nothing to add.


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## Soma (Dec 18, 2011)

I find russet potatoes dry, which is why I like to use them in bread baking. I boil them, peel (after boiling) and mash , let dry out a bit before adding to the flour mixture. 
When I toast a slice of potato bread, butter it....I swear it tastes like french fries!


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## ChefJune (Dec 18, 2011)

Katie H said:


> Always use russets for mashed potatoes.  Never found them to be gluey.  After I cook them, I drain them and then put them back into the pot to dry out well.  Never had a gluey problem and they always turned out nice and fluffy.



I agree, Katie. because they're a bit "drier" they lap up the milk and butter, or whatever liquid you mix with them, and really become silky and sexy.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 19, 2011)

I have an unusual way of making smashed spuds that works quite well. First, I choose 1 large yukon gold, or russet per person. I then microwave them until they are cooked through. I let them cool so that I can pick them up without burning myself. Cut them in half and poke with the tines of a fork until they are a virtual sponge. I then add butter, and while it melts on top, I poke it into the potato meat until all is absorbed. 

You would think that since the butter is a little overflowing, you would be done. That thought is wrong. now, make a small depression in the center of the exposed potato half and add about two tbs. of whole, or canned milk and lightly stir the potato, inside the skin. Lightly season with salt, and stir it again. Now you ahve a very potato flavored mashed potato in the skin.

This also works with conventional baked potatoes, or spuds baked on the grill.

The result is a creamy smooth mashed potato, but with a hearty skin that begs to be eaten seperately, with a thin layer of potato still attached. Also, you can tailor these mashed potatoes to the tastes of the people eating them. Add garlic to one, , maybe a bit of gravy, au jus, or browned butter on the next one, a little ranch dressing to another, straight butter to yet another, maybe some bacon bits to Dad's (Dad's always deserve bacon bits), etc. And, once you show them how, each person can opt to make mashed potatoes in the skin at their own setting if they so choose, or eat them as baked potatoes. You don't have to do them all, simply provide the technique and ingredients (baked potatoes and fixings). And kids get a kick out of it. People liek our beloved Constance don't have to peel spuds either. All's good.

The inspiration comes from my childhood, at my Grandmother's house, where she would let me mash my boiled potato on my plate, with butter and milk. Such things didn't fly at my parent's house. We were not allowed to "play" with out food. Now, I hardly make a meal where I don't somehow "play" with my food.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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