Classic American Mashed Potatoes
Whole russets simmered in their skins, peeled hot and riced, then stirred with melted butter first and warm half-and-half second for a fluffy, creamy holiday mash.
America inherited mashed potatoes from Britain: Wikipedia points to an early recipe in Hannah Glasse's English "The Art of Cookery" (1747). Mary Randolph's "The Virginia House-Wife" (1824) has "Potatos Mashed": boil, drain and dry them, rub them through a colander, then work in half an ounce of butter and a tablespoon of milk for every pound (Project Gutenberg:). That is about 3% butter. Today's American mash uses about four times that, plus warm half-and-half, and in the 20th century came the shortcut: Wikipedia records a 1954 USDA patent for drum-dried potato flakes and a later patent by Canadian scientist Edward Asselbergs. The version below is America's Test Kitchen's basic method, which goes further than Randolph's colander: a ricer, melted butter first, warm dairy second.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Whole russets simmered in their skins, peeled hot and riced, then stirred with melted butter first and warm half-and-half second for a fluffy, creamy holiday mash.
🇮🇪 The original
Ireland's colcannon is floury potatoes mashed with butter and milk and folded with cooked cabbage or kale, a well of melted butter in the middle. See the Irish Colcannon recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Whole and unpeeled
Simmering the potatoes whole keeps water out of them, so the mash is fluffy and full of potato flavor rather than waterlogged.
Butter before half-and-half
The fat coats the starch first, so the water in the dairy cannot make it gummy (Cook's Illustrated).
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the whole potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium-low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until a paring knife slides in and out of the center with very little resistance.
- Step 2
While they simmer, melt the butter and warm the half-and-half (1 to 2 minutes in the microwave or a small pan) and keep both warm.
- Step 3
Drain the potatoes. Holding each one with a dinner fork, peel off the skin with a paring knife and cut the potato into rough chunks.
- Step 4
Set a ricer or food mill over the empty, still-warm saucepan and press the potatoes through it.
- Step 5
Stir in the melted butter with a wooden spoon until it is completely absorbed.
- Step 6
Gently whisk in the warm half-and-half, the salt and pepper to taste, just until smooth. Serve right away.
Classic American Mashed Potatoes
Serves 4 · about 4 cups · 45 min total
Potatoes
- 2 lb russet potatoes, scrubbed, left whole and unpeeled
Dairy
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup half-and-half, warmed
- 1 1/2 tsp table salt
- Black pepper to taste
Method
- Put the whole potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium-low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until a paring knife slides in and out of the center with very little resistance.
- While they simmer, melt the butter and warm the half-and-half (1 to 2 minutes in the microwave or a small pan) and keep both warm.
- Drain the potatoes. Holding each one with a dinner fork, peel off the skin with a paring knife and cut the potato into rough chunks.
- Set a ricer or food mill over the empty, still-warm saucepan and press the potatoes through it.
- Stir in the melted butter with a wooden spoon until it is completely absorbed.
- Gently whisk in the warm half-and-half, the salt and pepper to taste, just until smooth. Serve right away.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen's base method for riced russet mashed potatoes, as printed in its "Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan and Lemon" (August 22, 2007), with the Parmesan and lemon zest left out. ATK gives 2 lb russets, 8 tbsp melted butter, 1 cup warm half-and-half and 1 1/2 tsp salt for 4 to 6; we say 4. The butter-first rule is from Cook's Illustrated. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- For a chunkier, homestyle mash, use a potato masher instead of a ricer and cut the half-and-half to 3/4 cup (ATK).
- Do not overcook the potatoes, and never use a food processor or electric mixer; both release starch and turn the mash gluey.
- Make a well in the top for gravy, or add a pat of butter.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Russets are the only mashing potato. Disputed: ATK says russets give the fluffiest mash and its French purée uses Yukon Gold for a silkier, denser one; the choice depends on texture.
- Butter goes in before the milk. Documented (Cook's Illustrated), though some cooks prefer cold or softened butter to melted.
- Start potatoes in cold water. Folklore: every recipe here does it so the outside does not overcook before the center is done, but we found no test of it.
- Instant flakes were invented in 1962. Disputed: Wikipedia's article gives a 1954 USDA flake patent and a 1962 date for Asselbergs's patent, but its Asselbergs biography gives a 1966 patent; the dates carry "citation needed" tags.
Every other mash
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