Dishes like french fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes are a corner stone of many worlds cousines. But it wasn’t always so. Popatoes were first introduced into Europe and western cousine by Sir Walter Raleigh who brought them over the sea from the so called “New world”.
A pioneer in the fiels of potatoes and mashed potatoes in Europe was Frenchman, Antoine Parmentier. He grew them on his farm and he even won an award for them. The story goes that local people stole his potatoes from the farm and this is how they became the part of French coisine.
Today there are plenty of different ways to make mashed potatoes. Actually the basic recipe is not very different most of the times, it is what is later added to the mashed potatoes that makes the difference. Things like cheese, bacon, onions are often added to the recipe. There are also plenty of recipes that use mashed potatoes as a strating point – potato croquette for instance.
To make delicious mashed potatoes you need:
- one cup of half-half cream (you can also use heavy cream)
- 1/2 cup of butter (salted)
- some salt for the seasoning
- six (6) medium-sized potatoes.
First tip I will give you is about what kind of potatoes to use. The best ones for mashing are red and Russet Burbank potatoes. They give a rough and unique texture to the end product. If you don’t like lumps in your taters, use Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes. These give a smooth and creamy feel to the whole dish.
The first thing you need to do is peel and wash the potatoes. If you want, you can leave some of the skin on them. This will make your recipe a bit rustic and not so ordinary.
Now for the next secret – cut your potatoes and make big pieces. Big pieces will absorb less water and will make beter mashed potatoes. Next tip – cover them with cold water. Then bring them to boil and let them simmer for around 20 minutes. If you can stick a knife in them without problems they are done.
When they are done drain all the water and put them back on your stove. This way all the water will evaporate, just be carefull not to burn them. In the mean time heat the cream and melt the butter in it. Now mash the potatoes, but don’t use electric mixers because they will overmix them and ruin the texture.
After the potatoes are mashed take the butter and cream and mix it in. This gives the best taste but you can also do this at the same time as you mash the potatoes. As I said you can also add some other things to your mashed potatoes and now is the time to do it. Find some recipes to help you out or just use your imagination.
Potatoes are great for your health since they improve glucose tolerance and protect against colon cancer.
Ben Cook is the hobby cook behind the mashed potatoes recipe site, where you can find plenty of recipes for your next potato meal. For instance try this garlic mashed potatoes recipe and spice up your next dinner.
