Cottage pie with instant mash?

London50

I use it often, never had a problem and IMO far less hassle than boiling,mashing and all the extra washing up after

PasturesNew

I'll add - I don't boil spuds, I don't have any qualms over cooking/mashing a single spud or 2.... but as I live alone I fluctuate between "spud overload, got 2.5Kg to get through" and "Thank god they're all eaten, but got no spuds now, I won't buy any for 2 weeks as I'm sick of the sight of them".... so I always have instant in .... and use it for all sorts.

Mr_Singleton

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you read the label you'll most likely discover it's 99% potato... it's only your head that's telling you it's different mostly.

Well that and your eyes showing you it's ~10 times more expensive.

honeythewitch

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Well that and your eyes showing you it's ~10 times more expensive.

Not always. the Value/basic ones are very often cheaper than spuds.

I have noticed that ready meal cottage pies are usually made from instant mash, so people must like it .

melanzana

Ah just use it. I have done in the past, it is a little different alright to freshly mashed spuds, but it is fine now and then.

Trick is to season it well and use butter and a bit of cheese mixed in. All easy, all nice, and no one will ever know. Honest!

Got to get the mix right. Too little liquid and it's like glue, too much and it's like yogurt!

I just put the boiling water in a mug and throw butter and lots of seasoning in. All melts. Add bit by bit. Followed by more butter and cheese. It is so much simpler than peeling and boiling/steaming/mashing spuds for sure.

PasturesNew

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Well that and your eyes showing you it's ~10 times more expensive.

I'll do the maths one day, I'll weigh the reconstituted stuff and then compare that to post-cooked real potatoes.

Potato: peel, then cook.... weighs a lot less than it did in the bag.
Instant: add water .... weighs more than when you started, by a lot.

For me, a L1dl pack of 4x125 grams is 16 portions or so. It costs £1.15 for the pack of four. On paper that looks like £2.30/Kg, but when you add water the £/Kg reduces. There's zero waste - especially when you factor in that dried never has sprouting bits, eyes, a black/rotten interior. No bits to cut out and discard.

Exact portion control too, so you're only using what you need and not guessing how much you'll end up with in 15 minutes' time ... which invariably has you adding "just one more spud to be sure".

The price compares well in the first instance - and the limitless shelf life means it's a winner.

Pop_Up_Pirate

And this is why it is impossible for the NHS to do much about healthy eating as people everywhere would rather eat a box of chemicals and poor quality, pesticide heavy reconstituted potatoes rather than choose the ONE ingredient option...potato.

Laziness tops health much of the time.

[Deleted User]

I would ALWAYS prefer to use freshly cooked produce from spuds to asparagus BUT if I don't have any, then instant mash is perfectly edible and a very good store cupboard item that can be made into toppings and I even use it occasionally to thicken stews and soups. It's never going to be sensible to exist by only eating processed and pre packed/tinned/frozen/dehydrated foods but they do have a very useful place in all our diets on those odd occasions when the fresh foods aren't available. DD1 runs D of E at the school where she teaches and instant mash with tomato ketchup, cheese triangles and dried herbs stirred into it is one of the staples that keeps them going after a hard days trekking and is light and easy to carry in rucksacks over hilly terrain. Don't live on it but on top of a shepherds pie once in while, why ever not???

PasturesNew

Pop_Up_Pirate wrote: »

And this is why it is impossible for the NHS to do much about healthy eating as people everywhere would rather eat a box of chemicals and poor quality, pesticide heavy reconstituted potatoes rather than choose the ONE ingredient option...potato.

Laziness tops health much of the time.

Not everybody has a potato in the house at the time they think "I'll have potato!"

Some can, some do. Some can't, some don't.

Branding it "laziness" is not necessarily correct either. I'm sure a box of instant mash is probably healthier than a wrinkled, green, mouldy spud with all the bits cut out ... and reduces waste. That spud could've been plucked in its prime and dehydrated instead!

I'm an advocate for dried, boxed, packaged, tinned and frozen food!

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Pop_Up_Pirate wrote: »

And this is why it is impossible for the NHS to do much about healthy eating as people everywhere would rather eat a box of chemicals and poor quality, pesticide heavy reconstituted potatoes rather than choose the ONE ingredient option...potato.

Laziness tops health much of the time.

The OP happens to have a packet and is wondering about using it; there is no implication that they live off instant food.

The odd bit of processed junk won't poison you; moderation is the key (and a forgetten word in modern society).

I love making veg soup from scratch, but I also keep a packet of instant soup sachets in my desk drawer at work for days when I might spontaneously fancy some in addition to my home-made sarnie/salad.