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How To Get A Fluffy Texture In My Mashed Idaho Russet Potatoes

Q:

For mashed potatoes I boiled potatoes with skins on when I usually peel & cut them before boiling. (I must have thought I was making potato salad instead of mashed potatoes.) When they were done I cooled them down so I could handle them. Then peeled them & tried to mash them with a hand masher difficult. Warmed milk & butter, added to potatoes & continued to mash. Potatoes were still stiff. They tasted fine, but I never got the fluffy consistency I usually get when I boil them without skins. Could I have done anything to get the fluffy consistency?

A:

Chances are the interior of the potato was not fully cooked. That’s why we recommend peeling and cutting the potato into even sized chunks, 1 ½ to 2 inch cubes and then boiling. For a drier mashed I’ve had success in baking potatoes with the skin on till 210 degrees F inside, 185 degrees minimum. Then using oven mitts, slice the cooked potato in half vertically, scoop out the insides and mash, turns out extra fluffy as the oven baking has removed a lot of the moisture.

All Things Mashed Potatoes HERE

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