Don’t boil potatoes for a mash, steam them instead!
By Mike Thayer
Not wanting to watch water boil, I recently used my rice cooker to steam some potatoes.
I’m preparing potatoes this way for a mash from now on!
Steaming is way easier. Put some water and aromatics such as sliced onion, whole garlic cloves and/or a sprig of Rosemary in the rice cooker, place some scrubbed potatoes dressed in salt and pepper in the steam tray and let the machine do it’s thing. In the time that it would take to cut and/or peel potatoes, boil, then drain those taters, you can have some nicely steamed potatoes that have A LOT more flavor!
Boiled vs. steamed….
When boiling, you have to drag out the big pan, put in some cut potatoes (to reduce cooking time) fill the pan with enough cold water to cover (starting potatoes in cold water ensures even cooking, potatoes are cooked through, prevents a mealy textured mash), add salt, then bring up to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until fork tender. Drain and dry the potatoes (so they’ll fully embrace the milk/cream, butter, etc.) before mashing. Some folks like to peel the potatoes prior to boiling because they don’t like to peel hot potatoes, but you do lose flavor and nutrients doing so. Even when boiling potatoes with the skin on, because they’re totally submerged in water, potatoes lose flavor because it leeches out into the water.
When steaming, whether it’s with a steam basket or a rice cooker, there’s no need to peel, there’s no loss of nutrients and because the potatoes aren’t submerged in water, there’s no loss of flavor. Dressed in salt and pepper, those potato flavors will be enhanced, giving you a far more robust potato bite than boiled. Peeling (optional) steamed potatoes for a mash is a breeze, sure, you have to play hot potato a bit, but the hot skin peels off super easy. Don’t throw those skins away either! Save them and crisp them up in some hot olive oil to make potato skin cracklins – DELICIOUS! Save that steam water too! It makes a great base for a veggie broth. You can do the same thing with boiled potato water as well, but again, compared to the steam water, the boiled water won’t be as robust with flavor, even if you put aromatics in it to boil the potatoes.
TIP: A ricer makes the best mashed potatoes, if you don’t have one, it’s worth the purchase. It’s superior to a manual tater masher (my second choice) and doesn’t run the risk of making your potatoes gummy by using a hand or stand mixer (to much churning).
TIP #2: When making mashed potatoes, use warm milk and/or cream, your potatoes will be lighter and fluffier vs. using cold milk or cream.
Below is my recipe for some old school mashed potatoes. It’s a boiled potato recipe from back in the day, but even tastier now using steamed potatoes!
Related: Old School Mashed Potato Recipe
Related: Product Review: Cuisinart Rice and Grain Multicooker
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Enjoy this post?
If you appreciate this cost comparison and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation. Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike
When making mashed potatoes, steam them, rather than boil them – Bachelor on the Cheap
Don’t boil potatoes for a mash, steam them instead!
By Mike Thayer
Not wanting to watch water boil, I recently used my rice cooker to steam some potatoes.
I’m preparing potatoes this way for a mash from now on!
Steaming is way easier. Put some water and aromatics such as sliced onion, whole garlic cloves and/or a sprig of Rosemary in the rice cooker, place some scrubbed potatoes dressed in salt and pepper in the steam tray and let the machine do it’s thing. In the time that it would take to cut and/or peel potatoes, boil, then drain those taters, you can have some nicely steamed potatoes that have A LOT more flavor!
Boiled vs. steamed….
When boiling, you have to drag out the big pan, put in some cut potatoes (to reduce cooking time) fill the pan with enough cold water to cover (starting potatoes in cold water ensures even cooking, potatoes are cooked through, prevents a mealy textured mash), add salt, then bring up to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until fork tender. Drain and dry the potatoes (so they’ll fully embrace the milk/cream, butter, etc.) before mashing. Some folks like to peel the potatoes prior to boiling because they don’t like to peel hot potatoes, but you do lose flavor and nutrients doing so. Even when boiling potatoes with the skin on, because they’re totally submerged in water, potatoes lose flavor because it leeches out into the water.
When steaming, whether it’s with a steam basket or a rice cooker, there’s no need to peel, there’s no loss of nutrients and because the potatoes aren’t submerged in water, there’s no loss of flavor. Dressed in salt and pepper, those potato flavors will be enhanced, giving you a far more robust potato bite than boiled. Peeling (optional) steamed potatoes for a mash is a breeze, sure, you have to play hot potato a bit, but the hot skin peels off super easy. Don’t throw those skins away either! Save them and crisp them up in some hot olive oil to make potato skin cracklins – DELICIOUS! Save that steam water too! It makes a great base for a veggie broth. You can do the same thing with boiled potato water as well, but again, compared to the steam water, the boiled water won’t be as robust with flavor, even if you put aromatics in it to boil the potatoes.
TIP: A ricer makes the best mashed potatoes, if you don’t have one, it’s worth the purchase. It’s superior to a manual tater masher (my second choice) and doesn’t run the risk of making your potatoes gummy by using a hand or stand mixer (to much churning).
TIP #2: When making mashed potatoes, use warm milk and/or cream, your potatoes will be lighter and fluffier vs. using cold milk or cream.
Below is my recipe for some old school mashed potatoes. It’s a boiled potato recipe from back in the day, but even tastier now using steamed potatoes!
Related: Old School Mashed Potato Recipe
Related: Product Review: Cuisinart Rice and Grain Multicooker
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Enjoy this post?
If you appreciate this cost comparison and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation. Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike