What is the point of Mashed Potatoes?

Patchthedog

I love mashed potatoes now but I remember having them many years ago for school dinners and they were a bit yuk - watery with hard bits of potato in them.

I think the trick is to cook the potatoes for the right length of time - not to overcook them. They are also better made with good quality potatoes (not ones that break up as you boil them).

Mashed potatoes with butter, a bit of milk and pepper served with braised steak and onions in gravy - absolutely lovely comfort food in winter.

Yum yum

Anna

bettybeaver

Swap the butter for Philidelphia and add some gratted cheese, absolutely fab:D

freakyogre

I'm not a massive fan of mashed potato, but make it sometimes usually if i'm having gravy with something. I think it's more the texture as I find it a bit 'cloggy'! I think the same about Time Out chocolate bars...find they just stick to your mouth when you eat them. I'm not strange.

I do make mash to make fishcakes with though! Oh and potato cakes...mmm!

meames_2

I'm with the mash haters, always put off after cold, lumpy mash served in an ice cream scoop at school or the even more hideous SMASH. I only like it when it look more like a slighly crushed boiled potato, but then again I don't llike butter, ANY bean especially not baked beans, tinned tomatoes (chopped tomatos as a sauce are fine) and egg. I'm not to keen on meat either.

As for fish or cottage pie, the Weight Watchers one was revolting (but the dog liked it)

meames_2

the best thing about baked potato is a very crispy skin - yum!

katieclampet

I'm not that keen on potatos in general, but quite like roasties, and don't mind occasional baked potato. (I'm not even very keen on chips!!)

katiex

Patchwork_Quilt

The point of mashed potatoes is that when you have potatoes with skins that you can't eat because they were left too long in the ground and they've got bobbly or potatoes that you've put your fork through as you dug up them from the allotment (ahem), you can chop off all the manky bits and still eat the potato that's left. So it saves money for the hard-pressed housewife.

And you could have them boiled, but that's boring

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Steam them, put them through a ricer then drop butter/pure veg marge, salt, pepper and hot milk (if liked) in them. Stir it through and give a quick beat.

Serve with Chrain (2/3 grated beetroot & 1/3 grated horseradish, egg cup of vinegar, sugar to taste, left in tub in fridge overnight to mellow). Gravy optional.

Hot, creamy texture, comforting, bright, soothing, yum!

DianneB

The purpose of mashed potato is to absorb yummy home made gravy and to act as the perfect partner to hot crispy roast potatoes!! Obvious really!!

rosieben

and to help you pick up the peas that otherwise you have to chase around your plate :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

bit of a pointless thread really, I could post on here and say what's the point of celery? or seafood? or avocado? or all the other things that I don't like?

if I don't like something I just don't eat it, I don't feel it necessary to publicly discount it as worthless