On Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:24:18 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

>On Tue 13 Jan 2009 09:23:30a, Lynn from Fargo told us...
>
>> On Jan 13, 8:23*am, wrote:
>>> Do you boil the whole potato with skin still on? *My better half
>>> swears this matters tastewise, but for me, it just adds to the time to
>>> get dinner on *the table. I like to just quarter them, peeled of
>>> course, and they are ready to push through the ricer *in about 10
>>> minutes. *The whole skin-on method takes over a half hour, not
>>> counting the peeling time.
>>>
>>> *Now, I'm NOT tawkin' about *mashing and eating *them with the skin
>> on
>>> - that's a whole other story.
>>
>> ===========================Peel 'em first. Cold water to cover with a
>> spoonful of salt and a couple of cloves of whole peeled garlic. Cook &
>> drain (leave the garlic in there. It will be very soft.. While still
>> hot, beat with portable mixer adding (real) butter and whole milk or
>> cream. Keep warm.
>> When I'm cooking for a crowd (50+/-), I do several 4 to 6 quart dutch
>> ovens instead of gigantic pots because my arms are too shortto handle
>> a mixer in a 16+ quart kettle.
>>
>> Lynn in Fargo
>> NEVER serve instant mashed "potatoes" to ANYBODY!
>>
>
>That's the same method I use, Lynn. Depending on what I'm serving it with,
>I sometimes add a bay leaf to the cooking water along with the garlic and
>salt. Real butter and (preferably) cream. Another addition I sometimes
>make is grated cheddar cheese, but the basics are the same.
>
>I don't know where the hell the concept of unpeeled, lumpy, clumpy,
>squashed potatoes came from, but they certainly don't qualify as mashed.
>Easier and faster to throw together, I'm sure, and probably from some
>restaurant originally.

Yeah, I hate lumpy mashed potatoes and if there's a bit of skin in it
I hate it even more. Good mashed potatoes are smooth and have no
skin.

Mom always cooked her potatoes with their skin on and peeled after.
She never claimed a taste difference. I think she just thought it was
easier to stick a fork in a hot potato and peel off the skin. I do
too, but it doesn't mean I do it that way all the time.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West