blender vs food processor

sf said:

jake said:

It's a matter of tate and my taste is coarse. I don't like it smooth, i
might as well eat instant mash. Yuck.

Maybe your coarse is my lumpy... don't like it, never will. I like my
mashed potatoes (without any trace of skin) smooth and light.

Hehe. Well, we could take a poll. I weigh in on the coarse
side. Lumps and bits of skin are fine.

--
Jean B.

"Jean B." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

sf said:

jake said:

It's a matter of tate and my taste is coarse. I don't like it smooth,
i might as well eat instant mash. Yuck.

Maybe your coarse is my lumpy... don't like it, never will. I like my
mashed potatoes (without any trace of skin) smooth and light.

Hehe. Well, we could take a poll. I weigh in on the coarse side.
Lumps and bits of skin are fine.

--
Jean B.

When I make them smooth, a food mill is the perfect tool. For texture,
one of those hand held potato mashers does the trick.

Argo said:

For years I've been getting by with a blender, but I almost killed it
with a new recipe I tried. The recipe called for whipping mashed
potatoes with a bunch of other ingredients. The blender seemed to
think this was too much of a strain for it. (the smell of smoke was a
clue) However, the recipe was great and I'd like to make it again.

My question is - would a food processor be a better tool for the job?
Recommendations?

I use an electric mixer for that.

Katherine

"Katherine" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Argo said:

For years I've been getting by with a blender, but I almost killed it
with a new recipe I tried. The recipe called for whipping mashed
potatoes with a bunch of other ingredients. The blender seemed to
think this was too much of a strain for it. (the smell of smoke was a
clue) However, the recipe was great and I'd like to make it again.

My question is - would a food processor be a better tool for the job?
Recommendations?

I use an electric mixer for that.

Katherine

You should not use a blender or a FP or a mixer for mashed potatoes. The
more they are beaten, the more starch granules break and the stickier and
gummier the result will be. The best results by far are with a hand masher
or, if you want to get rid of all lumps, a ricer or food mill.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"Katherine" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Argo said:

For years I've been getting by with a blender, but I almost killed it
with a new recipe I tried. The recipe called for whipping mashed
potatoes with a bunch of other ingredients. The blender seemed to
think this was too much of a strain for it. (the smell of smoke was a
clue) However, the recipe was great and I'd like to make it again.

My question is - would a food processor be a better tool for the job?
Recommendations?

I use an electric mixer for that.

Katherine

You should not use a blender or a FP or a mixer for mashed potatoes. The
more they are beaten, the more starch granules break and the stickier and
gummier the result will be. The best results by far are with a hand masher
or, if you want to get rid of all lumps, a ricer or food mill.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

It is true that if you over beat them in a mixer they will get gummy. I've
never had that problem
cause I don't overdo it.

MoM

Peter Aitken said:

"Katherine" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Argo said:

For years I've been getting by with a blender, but I almost killed it
with a new recipe I tried. The recipe called for whipping mashed
potatoes with a bunch of other ingredients. The blender seemed to
think this was too much of a strain for it. (the smell of smoke was a
clue) However, the recipe was great and I'd like to make it again.

My question is - would a food processor be a better tool for the job?
Recommendations?

I use an electric mixer for that.

Katherine

You should not use a blender or a FP or a mixer for mashed potatoes. The
more they are beaten, the more starch granules break and the stickier and
gummier the result will be. The best results by far are with a hand masher
or, if you want to get rid of all lumps, a ricer or food mill.

I don't know about a food processor, but a hand mixer won't
necessarily turn the potatoes gummy. Certainly that's never happened
to me and I usually mash first then whip the potatoes.

An oven will turn a beef roast into a lump of dried out leather, but
it doesn't have to. The outcome depends on the operator as well as
the equipment!

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue said:

I don't know about a food processor, but a hand mixer won't
necessarily turn the potatoes gummy. Certainly that's never happened
to me and I usually mash first then whip the potatoes.

The mixer won't do it, but adding too much liquid certainly will.
I've made potato glue in the past.

On Sun 16 Oct 2005 02:03:57p, sf wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Curly Sue said:

I don't know about a food processor, but a hand mixer won't
necessarily turn the potatoes gummy. Certainly that's never happened
to me and I usually mash first then whip the potatoes.

The mixer won't do it, but adding too much liquid certainly will.
I've made potato glue in the past.

In all the years I've made mashed potatoes I have religiously avoided using
a hand or stand mixer because of all the things I had read about making
them gooey or gummy. I've usually used a ricer or an old-fashioned potato
masher. A few weeks ago I was just too tired/lazy to put any muscle into
mashing by hand, so decided to try my hand mixer. After shaking them in
the pot, as usual, to dry them out, I attacked them at low speed with the
hand mixer. After they were initially broken up I added the butter. After
the butter was incorporated I added buttermilk (our favorite liquid). I was
amazed at how great they turned out, nice and fluffy, no lumps, without a
trace of gumminess. Maybe the key is "low" speed and judicious additions
of liquid. I can see how too much liquid could make them either gummy or
into "soup".

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
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