Mashed potato

Mashed potatoes

Place of origin	England
Main ingredients	Potatoes, butter or vegetable oil, milk or cream
Variations	Duchess potatoes, Laonai yangyu ("Granny's potatoes"), aloo bharta
Food energy (per serving)	214 per cup kcal
Cookbook: Mashed potatoes  Media: Mashed potatoes

Mashed potato is a dish prepared by mashing boiled potatoes. Recipes started appearing in 1747 with an entry in The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse.^[1] Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many supermarkets.

Ingredients

The use of "floury" types of potato is recommended, although "waxy" potatoes are sometimes used for a different texture.^[2] Butter, vegetable oil, milk and/or cream are usually added to improve flavor and texture, and the potatoes are seasoned with salt, pepper, and any other desired herbs and spices. Popular ingredients and seasonings include: garlic, cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, crisp onion or spring onion, caramelised onion, mustard, horseradish, spices such as nutmeg, and chopped herbs such as parsley.^[3]

One French variation adds egg yolk for pommes duchesse or Duchess potatoes; piped through a pastry tube into wavy ribbons and rosettes, brushed with butter and lightly browned. Pomme purée (potato puree) uses considerably more butter than normal mashed potato - up to two parts potato for one part butter.^[2][4] In low-calorie or non-dairy variations, milk, cream and butter may be replaced by soup stock or broth. Aloo Bharta, an Indian sub-continent variation, uses chopped onions, mustard (oil, paste or seeds), chili pepper, coriander leaves and other spices.

• 
  Industrial cooking of mashed potatoes in a steam-jacketed combi kettle
• 
  A plate of sausage and mashed potatoes, with cabbage and onion gravy, commonly known as 'bangers and mash'
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  Close-up view of mashed potatoes with butter and chives

Culinary uses

Mashed potato served with Frankfurter Rippchen, sauerkraut and mustard

Mashed potatoes can be served together with other dishes, or can be an ingredient of various other dishes, including shepherd's and cottage pie, pierogi, colcannon, dumplings, potato croquettes, gnocchi, etc. It is often served with sausages in the British Isles, often known as bangers and mash.

A potato masher is a utensil which can be used to prepare the potatoes, as is a potato ricer. Recent research studies have found that a steady diet of mashed potatoes and prevent many cancers in women ages 10-45.^[5]

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mashed potatoes.

• The ultimate chip and perfect mash -- Heston Blumenthal recipes