Too much — or too vigorous — mashing will produce gluey potatoes. Your best tool is an old-fashioned masher, fork, ricer or food mill. If you've already done the damage, turn pasty potatoes into a casserole: Spread them in a baking dish, drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
When potatoes are mashed, starch is released. The more you work the potatoes, the more starch gets released. When too much starch gets released, the potatoes become gummy, gluey, and unappetizing.
03/5Soak in cold water
Starch is the sticky liquid released while cutting or slicing the potatoes and the best way to get rid of that is by soaking chopped or sliced potatoes in a large vessel of water. Make sure the water is cold, washing it once or twice helps in removing the scratch on the upper layer of the flesh.
Once mashed potatoes reach the glue stage, there's no going back. Your potatoes may taste fine, but the thick, gloppy texture could be more than your guests can stomach.
If the potatoes are pulverized too thoroughly, they will leach gelatinized starch into the broth. This starch will bond with the broth, causing the body of the soup to become slimy.
Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape. Vinegar increases the acid pH levels of water which further helps the potato just like when you add a little salt to the water while boiling eggs.
The starch in potatoes can be further removed by blanching them in boiling water. They only need to cook for a little time until they are soft. Starch from the potato is transferred to the boiling water by the minute starch granules, absorb the hot water, expand, and explode.
Tip #3: Don't Overcook or Undercook the Potatoes
If they're undercooked, you'll have pockets of crispy potato chunks-—a big no-no for classic fluffy mashed potatoes. If you overcook them they disintegrate and your potatoes will be soupy.
Add a Thickening Agent
This is the most common, and perhaps the simplest way, to thicken mashed potatoes. You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry.
Put the lid on your mashed potato pot and gently place the pot inside the simmering water bath. Leave the stove on and allow the water to simmer for as long as you need it to keep your potatoes warm. Not only will the water bath keep your potatoes warm, but it will also keep them light and fluffy.
Add more cream and butter: More moisture and fat are the two secret ingredients to reheating any leftovers. For potatoes, reach for half-and-half or broth and butter. Cover and heat low and slow: Cover the baking dish and set it in a 350°F oven alongside any turkey leftovers you might be reheating too.
One of the starch molecules in potatoes is called amylose, which is responsible for making mashed potatoes "gluey" and pasty. Rinsing or soaking cut raw potatoes helps to wash away a very small amount of amylose.
The addition of a mildly acidic vinegar to a starchy veggie like potatoes not only deepens the flavor profile, but it also helps to tenderize the tubers.
"Baking soda [what Americans call bicarbonate of soda] breaks down the pectin in the potato and draws starch to the surface. What do you get? Wonderful browning and a crispiness you wouldn't otherwise achieve.”
The baking soda bath breaks down the potato's pectin and draws the starch to the surface, which promotes browning and the satisfying crispiness that only a perfectly roasted potato can deliver.
Clostridium puniceum is a bacteria that spews a pink slime on potatoes. Sounds kind of gross, right? But ingredients in the slime may also help fight dangerous antibiotic-resistant germs like MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
If your cheesy potato soup is too thick for your liking, add milk or broth until desired consistency is reached. I recommend adding your additional liquid in small quantities, stirring, and testing before adding in more liquid. This will help you to avoid accidentally making the soup too thin.
The good news is that this thick, gelled stock is extra-rich. If you want to thin it out for your boyfriend, go ahead. Simmer the soup with two or three extra cups of water or storebought chicken broth. It will help the soup last longer, and it shouldn't thin out the flavor too much.
Check for soft spots, dark spots, sprouts, or green color. If the potato has little sprouts remove them, then prep potato for your dish. If there is a little green cut that off. If the potato has long spouts, is soft, wrinkled, or has lots of dark spots get rid of it.
During harvest and storage, "When exposed to light, potatoes manufacture increasing amounts of chlorophyll as well as two bitter-tasting alkaloid compounds, solanine and chaconine" especially prolonged exposure to light with improper handling and storage.
Here's how to do it: For every pound of potatoes in your mash, drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the dish and fold it gently into the potatoes. If the mash is still too gluey for your liking, repeat the process with another tablespoon of butter. It's that easy!