The world of mashed potatoes

what are mashed potatoes?

Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American, Canadian, and Australian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt, and pepper. It is generally served as a side dish to meat or vegetables. Roughly mashed potatoes are sometimes called smashed potatoes. Dehydrated instant mashed potatoes and frozen mashed potatoes are available. Mashed potatoes are an ingredient in other dishes, such as dumplings and gnocchi.

a brief history of mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a staple in almost every Irish household, but the side dish has a long and storied history that has little to do with Ireland.

They were first a staple for the Inca Empire, and for the Spaniards who conquered the Incas and remained in Latin America mining silver.

Sailors who returned to Spain from the Andes brought potatoes back along with the silver, and historians have speculated that potatoes not eaten on the voyages were taken ashore and planted before the end of the 16th century.

Yet, potatoes initially failed to take off in Europe. In France, potatoes were so unappetizing that the French government passed a law banning them as a food source for humans in 1748. Instead, potatoes were reserved for animal feed in France, while some believed that they actually caused leprosy.

Ironically, it was a Frenchman who was one of the first people to discover one of the tastiest variations of the potato, a dish that would become increasingly popular over the course of three centuries, namely, mashed potatoes.

Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French military pharmacist who served in the Seven Years’ War between Britain and France, was captured by Prussian soldiers and forced to live on a diet of potatoes while imprisoned.

Forced to eat potatoes or starve to death Parmentier discovered that potatoes were not the leprosy-inducing animal feed that the French people believed them to be. The imprisoned pharmacist actually discovered that potatoes were a delicious food source and began experimenting with different variations.

Following his release from prison, Parmntier returned to France and began to tell his countrymen about the wonders of the potato. He demonstrated different ways to cook them, including mashing them, and began to call on the French government to lift the ban.

Parmentier began a series of publicity stunts in his campaign to lift the ban on potatoes, hosting high profile dinners where different variations of the potato, including mashed potatoes, featured prominently. The French government was eventually forced to lift its ban on potatoes in 1772.

Eventually, farmers in Europe found potatoes easier to grow and cultivate than other staple crops, such as wheat and oats.

More importantly, it became known that potatoes contained most of the vitamins needed for sustenance, and they could provide for nearly ten people for each acre of land cultivated.

The arrival of the potato in Northern Europe virtually ended famine.

By the end of the 18th century in much of Europe potatoes had become what they were in the Andes, a staple.

In the 1840s a major outbreak of potato blight, a plant disease, swept through Europe, wiping out the potato crop in many countries. By this time the Irish working class lived largely on potatoes and when the blight reached Ireland, their main food staple disappeared. This famine left many poverty stricken families with no choice but to struggle to survive or migrate out of Ireland.

Even though the history of the potato is well documented, the origin of mashed potatoes is a little cloudier. Some food historians say the Incas mashed their potatoes, but not in the way we think of them today.

The inventor of mash potatos as we know and love them today was Hannah Glasse. Glasse was the Julia Child of her time and was very popular in Britain and its colonies.

Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington all owned copies of her cookbook. And, of course, we cannot forget Parmentier in France.

Regardless of the origin of mashed potatoes, a solid understanding of how to perfect this beloved side dish is a great way to impress family and friends at a potluck dinner and to accompany our sublime meatloaf recipe.

hannah glasse

Hannah Glasse (née Allgood; March 1708 – 1 September 1770) was an English cookery writer of the 18th century. Her first cookery book, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, published in 1747, became the best-selling recipe book that century. It was reprinted within its first year of publication, appeared in 20 editions in the 18th century, and continued to be published until well into the 19th century. She later wrote The Servants' Directory (1760) and The Compleat Confectioner, which was probably published in 1760; neither book was as commercially successful as her first.

what is a potato ricer?

A potato ricer (also called a ricer) is a kitchen implement used to process potatoes or other food by forcing it through a sheet of small holes, which are typically about the diameter of a grain of rice. This form of food processing is called ricing.

A common variety of potato ricer resembles a large garlic press. It has two long handles, one with a perforated basket at the end, the other with a flat surface that fits into the basket. The food is placed in the basket, then the flat surface is pushed down into the basket by pressing the handles together, forcing the food through the holes.

videos on mashed potatoes

Food History: Mashed Potatoes

Why did the French pass a law against potatoes in the 1700s? What insight did human beings glean from wild animals about how to consume poisonous potatoes? And what’s the secret to a recipe for mashed potatoes that aren’t lumpy or gluey? Justin Dodd will answer those questions and more in this pilot episode of Food History.

Punnet square partisans and Peruvian potato-lovers will probably want to peruse. You’ll learn about early mashed potato recipes and about the many years of food science that go into instant mashed potatoes.

in conclusion

Most authors recommend the use of "floury" potatoes with a high ratio of amylose in their starch to achieve a fluffy, creamy consistency and appearance. The best-known floury varieties are King Edward, Golden Wonder, and Red Rascal in Britain and the Russet in North America. However, some recipes use "waxy" potatoes containing more amylopectin in their starch for a different texture or look;[9] for instance, one pounded mashed potato dish from Yunnan cuisine (in southwestern China), uses waxy potatoes to achieve a chewy, sticky texture.

Butter, milk or cream, salt, and pepper are usually added. Many other seasonings may also be used, including herbs (notably parsley and chives), spices (notably nutmeg), garlic, cheese, bacon, sour cream, crisp onion or spring onion, caramelized onion, and mustard.

One French variation adds egg yolk for pommes duchesse, or Duchess potatoes, piped through a carrot tube into wavy ribbons and rosettes, brushed with butter, and lightly browned. Some French recipes for pomme purée (potato puree) use up to one part butter for every two parts potato. In low-calorie or non-dairy variations, milk, cream, and butter may be replaced by soup stock or broth.

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