I've never had gummy mashed potatoes, and I've been giving them a 1" chop for years. Takes 10 minutes to cook then drain them right away. They come out fine every time. Plus the butter melts right away when you throw everything together.
this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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To be totally transparent, I never had gummy mash until my wife and I got together. She used to boil her potatoes, let them sit in the hot water until closer to dinner, then whip them with beaters. She's from Ireland, I joke that the potato blight was a failed preemptive strike to prevent her from ever touching a potato.
So I don't have to do any of what you're saying in your post, I just have to not do the weird stuff your wife does. Cool.
Pretty sure it's the beaters (assuming that's an electric hand mixer type-thing, i've never heard them referred to by that term) that made them gummy. Over mashing will break up the cell walls too much, releasing the starches and ruining the texture. Cooking chopped or whole doesn't matter as much, since the number of cells broken by chopping is negligible. And the skin is water permeable anyway.
You gotta mash by hand, that's all.
You are correct, op has no idea what they are talking about. Potatoes contain two different types of starch, in differing amounts depending on the kind of potato. Amylase, and Amylopectin, the second when overworked will make gummy potatoes. Overworking them is what makes them gummy.
1" dice, fork tender, food mill, ricer, or fork, perfect. If you want them extra smooth simmer in milk or cream (not water), strain and mash, then fold in the drained liquid gently with a spatula.
And the 'hot potato boiling water' contains mostly Amylase. If you add that it will make them more slippery/slimey.
This person potatoes
+1 for honesty
She might as well have made box potatoes. Has she tried not doing...all of that?
We cater to our strengths now. I cook and organize, she cleans.
Good call, my husband cooks, I bake. It works
It's the beaters making it gummy. Mash by hand, it's too easy to overdo with an electric mixer.
It's not "the only way to avoid gummy mashed potatoes", it's just an easy way to guarantee it if you keep having the problem. If you don't, then do it your way. It's harder, but you already have it nailed, so don't worry about it. Cooking faster can be a good thing if you want it, and are able to deal with them exactly when they need to be dealt with. Some people would very much prefer an easy guarantee even if it takes longer.
What do you use to mash them?
Potato masher then hand mix. I also have a ricer but 9 times out of 10 I don't want to mess around with it.
Thanks, Doc
Why would you use a ricer if you’re not making rice?
You have to select starchy potatoes, not waxy, and let them steam dry (e.g. drain water in metal colander and toss in a warm oven or on the stove for a bit). Mix in the seasoning and milk/butter after they are mostly mashed for better control of consistency.
Edit: was agreeing. Glueyness is not because they are cut up.
Also: beating the potatoes with an electric mixer because you're too lazy to mash them will produce a glue-like consistency. Don't do that.
(Michael if you ever read this, please know that your cooking fucking sucks.)
I have a potato ricer makes perfect mashed potatoes every time . Also good for getting water out of shredded potatoes for hash browns.
That sounds horrifying.
Gummy? What? I cut my potatoes into quarters before boiling and never have my mashed potatoes been “gummy”. What in the world are you putting in your potatoes?
They're over-mixing, I bet.
Adam Ragusea has great videos on mashed potatoes, even talking about exactly your point:
Adam, my beloved
That channel is amazing.
It looks like I'm the odd person out: I cut my potatoes before boiling and use a KitchenAid stand mixer for the mashing. My mashed taters are usually soft/fluffy/yummy.
For mashing, less is more. If you know this going in, there's no harm to using a stand mixer.
Put your desire amount of butter in the bottom of the stand mixer. Peel, slice and add to cold water. Salt if desired. Boil until they cleve cleanly with a fork. Drain, dump on butter, let rest a few minutes to soften the butter. Mix and add milk as necessary. A little minced rosemary with the potatoes when they go into the stand mixer is 👌
Nope, came here to post the same.
Huh? I admit I'm not really much of a cook but I've always chopped soaked in cold water then boiled in a fresh pot of water. They've never been gummy.
Sous vide your potatoes if you're a fancy bitch 👑
I prefer to dice and soak in cold water first to get rid of that excess starch. Saving cook time is a win for me.
I bake my potatoes. Score the skin as shallow as you can into 1" squares or smaller, rub with clarified butter and salt generously. Cook at 400F to an internal temp of about 205F, let cool a bit before mashing. The skin bits will be crisp and delicious.
You have to add a little more liquid back, so have some heavy cream on hand or at least evaporated milk or half-and-half.
Mostly it's about using room temp water in the pot.
If you use hot water, thinking they will cook faster, that's the step that will make them gluey for sure.
So start them off in room temp water.
I prefer unpeeled Red Bliss 🥔 myself.
I simmer some milk or cream and butter with some roasted garlic for the real goodness.
Bigger potatoes, chunk em into quarter size.
Definitely peel starchy potatoes.
Waxy ones like Red Bliss or Golden/New Potatoes, I leave the skin on for nutrients/nutrition.
And don't let them sit in the water after for too long, at least drain them first if you aren't gonna mash right away before serving.
Adjusting an early process to compensate for faulty processes further into cooking isn't the right answer. I always cut potatoes before boiling. They never turned out gummy and lots of paying customers agreed.
Also, microwave your potatoes for a few mins first with a few fork holes.
They're mostly water so the microwave boils them from the inside out. Then when just becoming soft, put them in a boiling pot or oven. Cuts out so much time.