I'm almost too embarrassed to mention this...

[Heidi H.]

But I will!

The mashed potato disaster! This happened to me 30 years ago when a friend and I were making dinner for our husbands. We were both relatively new cooks, but had mastered steaks, burgers, spaghetti and the old standby, mashed potatos. Only this time, they mashed up to the consistency of glue or mush. All efforts to correct them failed, if I remember correctly.

Well, guess what? Yup... after making mashed potatos with great finesse probably four times a month for 30 years, that's 1,440 pots of mashed potatos, :( , it happened again! Gluey, tacky, MUSH!

Surely one of you wizards can tell me what causes this! Even once every 30 years is embarrassing!

Signed, too embarrassed:confused:

[Tiger]

Don't feel bad, the same thing happend to me tonight! I was feeding the baby and the water burned down. I could smell something burning. I have to admit I was more worried about my all-clad pot than anything. I do have to say it cleaned up easily.
Anyway I just pretended nothing was wrong and mashed as usual. They were a light brown and had a slightly different taste but my DH didn't say anything. I just covered in gravy. (made CL country gravy pork chops from complete)

[lhall]

Well, I can't help you with why your mashed potatoes turned out like glue, but maybe I can make you feel a little better.

ONCE, yes just once, my mother BURNED mashed potatoes. No one was quite sure how she managed to do this, but we (brothers and I) gave her such a hard time (read: we were teenagers) that she MADE US EAT THEM!!!!!:eek:

Mom was a good cook, but even good cooks have bad dishes every once in a while...

Leigh

[wallycat]

I'm wondering if you over mashed them...potatoes have starch in them and if you over handle them, you know what starch does, right?? you break the cell walls and the starch oozes out and turns to gluish goo...thickens, and is a mess...

any food science pros who can use more techie terms?:o

[lhall]

Originally posted by Tiger
Don't feel bad, the same thing happend to me tonight! I was feeding the baby and the water burned down. I could smell something burning.

We must have been posting at the same time. I think you've just solved the mystery of Mom's Burnt Mashed Potatoes!!!

Thanks, I bet she forgot about them and boiled all the water out of the pot too. Of course, she did not have the excuse of feeding a baby, she was actually in the kitchen at the time...

Leigh

[vbak]

Heidi, about 30+ years ago I had the exact same thing happen to me, but I think I know what caused the gluey mashed potatoes. After they boiled I let them sit in the pot of water for a while because it must have been a baby thing at the time. I thought I could just reheat them and mash which I did. YUCK, nothing but a pot of glue:eek: . So, I know that you can't let potatoes sit for awhile before you mash them. Did you happen to do this, too? If not, then I don't have a clue. Vicky

[funnybone]

This is news to me. I don't make mashed potates too often, but have never had a problem when I have. Could it be the type of potatoes you used? Yukon Gold and other baking potatoes are always best, as opposed to waxy, new potatoes.


Just curious.:confused:

[kimmurphy94]

I think you can get gluey mashed potatoes by over cooking them, over mashing them or depending on the type.

Here's what Shirley Corriher (famed food scientist) says about them:
"When potatoes are boiled, their startch granules swell. If you vigorously break those swollen granules...you liberate massive amounts of starch and essentially have wallpaper paste. Anyone who has tried to make mashed potatoes in the food processor has encountered this glue. How can you make nongluey mashed potatoes? The Idaho Potato Commission suggests precooking Idahos for 20 minutes at 140 F, well below a simmer. Then cool them and when ready to mash, bring to a boil and cook until tender. Heat milk almost to a boil. Drain the potatoes well, mash, then beat in butter, salt and hot milk. Serve immediately. The commisiion claims this precooking allows the starch to retrograde which make less gluey mashed potatoes. After starch has been swollen and retrograded, it loses its ability to dissove in water. Even when you break the cells during mashing, the retrograded starch does not give you a gooey mess."

I've never tried this method...I'd be curious if anyone else has?

[BarbaraL]

Kim, are you supposed to cook the potatoes for 20 minutes in 140 degree water? Let them cool in the water, then bring the same water to a boil? Interesting that they specify Idaho potatoes; I bake Idaho potatoes and boil eastern potatoes.

We make mashed potatoes by peeling, putting into cold salted water, bringing the water to a boil, and boiling until the potatoes are tender. We drain them, mash with a masher, then add butter and hot milk using a hand mixer. They turn out great. But I always mash them as soon as they're done; I don't let them sit.

[Heidi H.]

I think I discovered the mistake. First of all, I always cook them pretty much the way Barbara does, peel, put in salted cold water, bring to boil, light boil for about 20 minutes, drain water and let extra moisture out by putting pan with potatos back on hot burner for a couple minutes, and mash with a beater, adding butter and milk as desired.

But this time I used a new food processor that my son gave me for Christmas. He was standing right beside me, urging me to use it because the instructions said it was great for mashing potatos......and since I haven't used it since he gave it to me I didn't want to hurt his feelings. (You know how that goes....)

Unfortunately I'll probably seldom use it, the feeding tube is so small that everything has to be cut up so much already that it's just more work. I have a smaller Cruisinart mini-prep that handles most of what I need to do.

Thanks for all the tips, though, and the instructions about pre-cooking them 20 minutes first, then boiling...that's a new one on me, but I don't know whether I'll be willing to spend the extra time for that!

[kimmurphy94]

I know it sounds wacky, but that's exactly how Shirley described it - basically cooking it twice. I even read twice, to make sure I was saying it right! She even mentioned an alternative method from a Cooks Illustrated article, where they recommend boiling them with the skins on to help keep the moisture out.

I'm not sure if its all worth the extra effort!:confused: