This is a bit of a misleading title, I'll admit. You'll probably need to peel a potato again at some point in your life. I'm not sure where or when but it'll happen. You WON'T need to do it for a pot of mashed potatoes though. 'Cause I'm going to show you how to use a potato ricer.
So stop doing it.
I've mentioned the potato ricer before and how it's one of the kitchen tools you should have, but I didn't really explain why.
What's the point?
- Other than pressing them through a fine mesh screen, a potato ricer is the best way to get ultra smooth potatoes. It's simply more effective than mashing them.
- It's also faster because using a potato ricer means you don't have to peel your potatoes. You just boil them with the skin on and then squish them through the ricer.
For smooth mashed potatoes a potato ricer is the only way to go.
At this point you may have noticed there's not a lot of funny in this potato post.
That is because I'm very serious about my potatoes. Deadly serious. They're no joking matter and I intend to use this post to treat them with the reverence they deserve.
But first a potato joke.
Q: Why shouldn't you give a zombie mashed potatoes.
A: Because they're already a little grave-y
My mother used a potato ricer when I was growing up and I thought it made the worst potatoes in the world. Like, they were awful.
Turns out, she wasn't using it properly. This was before you could use the Internet to look up everything from how to rice a potato to how to perform brain surgery on your lunch hour with a stapler.
So she just took the ricer, held it over our plates and squished out some potatoes onto it.
That part she got right. What she got wrong was you're supposed to rice the potatoes back into the pot, add your milk and butter and give 'em a stir.
How does it work?
- A potato ricer pushes the cooked potato through a series of fine holes in a metal disk. The soft potato goes right through the small holes, while the tough skin stays behind and can then easily be picked up out of the ricer and composted.
- You rice the potatoes into a pot and then add your cream, milk, butter, sour cream or whatever else you like to fancify your mashed potatoes with.
Wanna see the magic of a potato ricer? Here we go ...
Let's all just pretend these photos are a lot nicer than they are.
You need a pot with water for boiling the potatoes, a few potatoes and your potato ricer. It's the star of the show.
What you do NOT need is this. A ragged old potato peeler. You don't need a shiny new one either. You don't need ANY potato peeler.
I realize it's a disaster and I've since replaced this junkyard dog of a peeler, but I replaced it with the exact same one. I've gone through a lot of different ones and for me it's the best potato peeler.
Cut your potatoes into equal sized chunks and drop them in cold, salted water. Started them in cold water will make sure they cook more evenly. Equal sized chunks ensures all the pieces cook in the same amount of time. Generally I use baking potatoes for mashed potatoes. Sometimes known as Idaho potatoes. They're not too starchy, not too dry ... they're potato perfect.
Once your potatoes are cooked drain them over the sink. Don't be bothered to dirty a strainer or pot lid, just pour out the majority of the water while holding the potatoes in with a spoon.
Once drained, using a spoon, drop the potato chunks into your potato ricer.
Pull the handle of the potato ricer down and squeeze those babies out.
The ricer I'm using here is plastic with a flat bottom, which I was a bit nervous about but this ricer lasted me years and years before it finally broke in half during a particularly exhaustive Thanksgiving dinner workout.
I replaced it with a more expensive stainless steel version with a different shape. Which I hated. It doesn't squish out enough of the potatoes leaving some of them inside the ricer. Because the metal ricer was bigger it was also harder for me to wrap my short fingered, square hands around the handles to get enough leverage to squeeze it properly..
The metal one got gifted to someone else and I bought another inexpensive plastic Fox Run potato ricer ended up back in my kitchen.
After you've squeezed the potatoes take a look inside the ricer. There they are. The peels. It's a potato miracle.
Add a whack of butter and some milk or cream and stir with a wooden spoon or a whisk. Enjoy.
My next ricer will be the same style as this one but in metal.
That's it. Easy, no peel mashed potatoes that are smooth and delicious. JUST in time for potato pancake season.
Every season is potato pancake season.
Barb
Bought my ricer at a thrift store for $1.50 -perfect condition.
Nancy Higgins
My ricer came with small, medium, and large holes in the three disks. Which do you suggest for the mashed potatoes? How can I use the others? The comment about the spatzel sounds great, the large holes are probably used for this. Thanks for the help.
Karen
Hi Nancy! Mine came with 2 disks. I normally use the one with the smallest holes just because it makes the smoothest potatoes, however the last time I did mashed potatoes there was no way I could smash my potatoes through it, lol. Must have been dense potatoes or maybe I didn't cook them *quite* long enough. So I used the next size up and they were fine! So from now on I'll just use the slightly larger holed disk and save my hand strength. :) Without seeing yours it's hard to recommend sizes but I'd say medium for mashed potatoes, large for spaetzle. ~ karen!
Mark Judd
I too had no idea what it was used for until I googled it this morning. I saw it sitting in my basement (inherited from my Great Grandmother) and thought I'd finally google it to find out what it was for. I know it was called a Potato Ricer, but that was about it... Thanksgiving preparation were the inspiration. :-)
Karen
It's a great tool Mark. Haul it out and try it. ~ karen!
Colorado K
Hate to gloat, but I just bought an old-fashioned metal ricer for $1 at a neighbor's yard sale. Glad to know I don't have to peel the potatoes first!
virginia
Karen,
how hard is it to clean, if you do immediately?? what if its left to sit overnite??
found your site about a wk ago & am learning, laughing so much ty
Karen
Hi Virginia - I'm glad you found my site! If I were you I'd wash it right away just because it's always easier to clean something starchy when it hasn't sat for days and it turns to a cement like mixture. But either way it's really easy to lean! ~ karen
kristin
Yup - just wanted to use my new mandoline! It did slice those taters up like nobody's business. I did want them to cook quickly & evenly, to put atop the shepherd's pie recipe you'd shared. That was fabulous, by the way!
Karen
Isn't it a GREAT recipe. I have to say of all the "celebrity" chefs, I've always had the most luck with Gordon Ramsay recipes. I even bought his app which is GREAT too. I keep meaning to do a post on it. ~ karen!
kristin
The RSVP-brand potato ricer won America's Test Kitchen's top test product. I just bought one & used it last week, but I had used my mandoline (because I'm a gadget addict) to slice the potatoes & it didn't work well with the skinny slices.
Karen
Hi Kristin - Why did you slice your potatoes first? Was there a reason? Or was it just gadgetaddictitus? No need to even cut the potatoes, let alone slice them. Although you can half or quarter them if you want them to cook faster. ~ karen!
Rosemary Walsh
Didn't read all comments, but friend I forwarded this to said she'd be trying it with sweet potatoes this week. They're often really hard to peel raw.
Craving some riced potatoes, but gave my ricer to someone with a family of five - she loves it.
Susan Dulley
Karen, I have had a Potato Ricer in my Kitchen Utensil Drawer for...well, let's just say, a very long time. I have never used it! This is great...I really do not eat potatoes very often, but, I love mashed potatoes and sometimes will make a whole meal from them. I usually cheat and buy Bob Evan's Mashed Potatoes, but, now this looks so simple. I will pull that baby out of the drawer, leave it on the counter and remember to purchase some Potatoes at the store. Homemade is soooooo much better and I love Idaho Potatoes. They are actually on sale at my Kroger store this week. I actually just returned from the grocer and right there in the front display of the Produce Department were very nice looking Idaho potatoes. I passed because the first thing that came to my mind was...Oh, I have to peel them. Will go back tomorrow! This is great. Thank you.
Carol
I have my mother-in-law's old, old, old potato ricer (although this new one looks nicer. I wouldn't make mashed potatoes any other way. I don't even use milk or butter. Just lovely, delicious smooth mashed potatoes, to which each person can add as much or as little embellishment as they desire. Perfect!
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Bre Quantrill
Lee Valley catalogue arrived today. Page 3 (first page of products)...manual ricer. Now this post. It's a sign from Stompin' Tom up in heaven!
Susan S
I will never trust smooth mashed potatoes, there is nothing more suspicious to someone who grew up with only instant mashed potatoes. Now that I have a family of my own, I always leave the skins on for the nutrition, flavor and texture but thanks to a splash of veggie stock, they always come out wonderfully whippy and creamy.
delta9
FINALY!
Someone on the interwebs that actually knows how to use a ricer.
Almost every guide and you tube vid says peel and only put a few bits in at a time.
Thank you.
Nicki Woo
The seas have parted. ..
I didn't know.
I didn't realize you get to skip the 'peel the potato' step, which is why I have yet to buy one.
Oh my.
It seems as if my world is indeed opening up.
The joys of cutlery:)
If this counts as cutlery.
Which I'm thinking. . maybe it doesn't.
So ummm. . .
Oh the joys of. .
utensils.
Yes. That fits.
Karen
Nicki - Yes! Utensil. I should think it's a utensil. Now walk yourself on over to a kitchen utensil store, Moses. ~ karen!
Raffaella
Great post! I've discovered recently I dodn't need to peel potatoes and asked my self why nobody told me that before ;) You can use the potato ricer even to extract juice from pomegranate :)
Feral Turtle
This is so cool and the beauty is, I have one but I'm not sure what I have done with it. The hunt begins!
KJ
I had no idea you could do it without peeling them!!! Thank you for the tip, you domestic diva you!
Jen
I LOL-ed at your potato joke. I really did. Thank you.
Shauna
This is similar to my garlic press that I couldn't possibly live without in my kitchen. I am going right now to find a potato ricer to buy.