Which of these 2 items do you use for mashing your potatoes?

Caribbean girl

Caribbean girl

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What do you use for mashing your potatoes, and do you think one is more effective than the other? Many years ago I can remember my mother using a potato ricer when she wanted to mash potatoes. Then she would use a table spoon to complete the job. I have not used a potato ricer in years. These days I use another kind of potato masher which also works very well. This is shown below in the second photo.

Below are 2 kinds of items for mashing potatoes, the potato ricer and a potato masher. Which one do you prefer to use?

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Neither come to think of it. I don't own the first and the second is lost away somewhere and might have attracted rust by now. Since you brought the subject up I will try to find it. I hardly ever mash potatoes but when I do, I sometimes use a fork or the other round masher with the holes. I like a rustic mash so I don't have to be too special with the mashing.
 
Both have their uses ,this bit of kit is a good ricer as well a mouli legumes,and if you want the potato even finer a drum sieve and a plastic scrapper
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I use the later or when I can find it.:happy: Otherwise I mash potatoes with a wooden pestle that I use for several functions around the kitchen. Makes a good consistency after drumming them a while. :chef:
 
I love using potato ricers, and I was truly amazed at how perfectly you can make mashed potatoes with them, without any lumps and without any worry of over mixing. Prior to getting one, I would most often make "whipped" potatoes with my electric hand mixer. However I always had to be very careful with that method since it was really easy to over mix the potatoes which would result in really gummy gluey mashed potatoes. Also, if the potatoes weren't cooked to the right tenderness, no matter how long you mixed it, they would not break down entirely, so it becomes even worse - they're gluey but also lumpy.

The potato masher was fine if I was making more rustic mashed potatoes. I would usually use that if I were making mashed potatoes with the skin on, since I wouldn't have to worry about the thick skins perhaps damaging the mixer blades or getting caught in them and slowing the mixer down. I actually don't prefer the wire one pictured, but rather the kind that looks more like a grid design with square openings. The one pictured above takes much longer to mash everything.

Some potato ricers are so well designed that you can actually just place a whole potato in them, skin on, and it will extract the filling and leave the skin in the ricer. My sister has one that can do this, it's an all stainless steel model with relatively tiny circular holes. My folks bought me the Oxo one for Christmas one year, which is adjustable so you can choose how coarse or fine you want the ricer to be, but honestly, I prefer my sister's better. The Oxo one will often let stuff like the skin through it, and it's more of a hassle to clean out because the skin gets stuck in it.
 
A hand held masher for me :D I don't make mash potatoes very often, but I find that to be most useful. Also great for mashing sweet potatoes! :)
 
Caribbean girl said:
What do you use for mashing your potatoes, and do you think one is more effective than the other? Many years ago I can remember my mother using a potato ricer when she wanted to mash potatoes. Then she would use a table spoon to complete the job. I have not used a potato ricer in years. These days I use another kind of potato masher which also works very well. This is shown below in the second photo.

Below are 2 kinds of items for mashing potatoes, the potato ricer and a potato masher. Which one do you prefer to use?

View attachment 1396 View attachment 1397
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Actually, I just use a mixer so my potatoes are a bit more whipped. My mother used to use a potato rice at times as well. I think it gave the potatoes a fine texture. I don't know whatever happened to that thing however. I think she only used it once or twice and relegated it to the cupboard. Maybe she sold it eventually.
 
I mashed mine first with something similar to the second one and then I use a mixer to whip them up.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Something similar to the right hand one. But I don't often mash potatoes and when I do they usually have something else with them like lentils or swede.
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swede mashed is devils doing,you have to puree it with pepper,using the masher is the lazy way of not getting the food processor out
:dance:
 
When I do mash potatoes I use the hand held masher.
 
Berties said:
swede mashed is devils doing,you have to puree it with pepper,using the masher is the lazy way of not getting the food processor out
:dance:
Click to expand...

I love pureed swede - have you ever tried it with a dash of Angostura Bitters? Also, I sometimes put a splash of orange juice in it. And white pepper not black?
 
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