Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Buttery soft mash made from floury potatoes, passed through a ricer and never through a blender.
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cook/bake time
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
Buttery soft mash made from floury potatoes, passed through a ricer and never through a blender. The order is crucial: first the warm butter, then the warm milk, because the fat coats the starch granules and keeps them apart. If done the other way around, creamy turns into sticky within seconds.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Cut potatoes evenly
Peel the potatoes and cut them into equally sized pieces of about four centimeters. Evenness is more important than smallness: pieces of different sizes are never cooked at the same time, and overcooked potatoes absorb water that later ends up in the mash.
- 2
Cook in salted water
Place them in cold, well-salted water and boil them for twenty to twenty-five minutes until a knife slides in without resistance. Starting with cold water is not a minor detail: this way the edge and center cook evenly, instead of the outside falling apart while the core is still hard.
- 3
Let steam off
Drain the potatoes and let them steam off uncovered in the hot pot for two to three minutes until the surface looks floury and matte. Every gram of water that evaporates now is one you will not have to compensate for with butter later.
- 4
Rice, then butter
Press the potatoes while still hot through a ricer back into the pot. Fold in the butter in pieces until it is completely absorbed. The fat should coat the starch before liquid is added. Stir with a wooden spoon and not with a whisk.
- 5
Pour in milk and season
Heat the milk and cream until they steam, and pour them in in small portions while stirring until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt, white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg, and sprinkle the chives on top. Serve immediately, as mash does not like to wait.
