How do I make smooth, creamy mashed potato?
The variety, the drying step and the warm dairy that give smooth mash instead of gluey or lumpy.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 35 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Use floury potatoes, boil them whole or in large pieces, then dry them in the pan before mashing. Add warm butter and warm milk, and stop mixing as soon as it comes together — over-working makes mash gluey.
Two failure modes: lumpy, from under-cooking or the wrong variety, and gluey, from over-working the starch. Everything in the method is aimed at cooking evenly and then mixing as little as possible.
What you'll need
- Floury potatoes
- Butter
- Milk or cream
- Potato ricer (optional)
- Masher (optional)
Step by step
- Use a floury variety.Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet. Waxy potatoes will not break down and give a lumpy, slightly waxy mash however long you work them.
- Cut into large even pieces, or boil whole.Large pieces absorb less water. Even sizing matters — mixed sizes means some collapse while others are hard.
- Start in cold salted water and bring to a simmer.Starting cold means the outsides do not disintegrate before the middles are done. Salt the water properly.
- Cook until a knife slides in with no resistance.Under-cooked potato is the main cause of lumps and cannot be fixed by mashing harder.
- Drain and return to the hot dry pan for a minute.This dries them out. Wet potato makes watery mash and is the most-skipped step in the whole method.
- Mash or rice while hot, before adding anything.A ricer gives the smoothest result. Mash them dry first — adding liquid before they are broken down means over-working.
- Add warmed butter first, then warm milk gradually.Butter first coats the starch and helps prevent gluiness. Cold dairy cools the mash and makes it stiff.
- Stir gently and stop as soon as it comes together.Every extra stroke releases more starch. Never use a food processor or blender — it turns mash into glue in seconds.
Tips
- Season generously and taste. Mashed potato absorbs a surprising amount of salt, and under-seasoned mash is bland however much butter is in it.
- For very smooth mash, pass it through a sieve after ricing. It is laborious and the result is noticeably different.
- Mash keeps warm well in a covered bowl over a pan of hot water, which is useful when everything else needs the hob.
Common mistakes
- Using a blender or food processor — It ruptures the starch cells completely and produces a gluey, elastic paste that cannot be recovered.
- Skipping the drying step — Water left in the potatoes gives a loose watery mash, and adding more butter to compensate does not fix it.
- Adding cold milk and butter — It cools the potato and stiffens the mash, and you end up over-working it trying to combine.
Questions people ask
Why is my mashed potato gluey?
It has been over-worked, usually with a blender or by mixing after the liquid went in. Mash gently, add warm butter first, and stop as soon as it comes together.
What potatoes are best for mash?
Floury varieties — Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet. Waxy salad potatoes hold their shape and give a lumpy, slightly gluey result no matter what you do.