Spec me a potato ricer

[DcD]

Title says it all, I've been hankering after one of these for a while now. Only something cheap as I'm not too OCD about my mash anyway.

 

[-BA-]

I have this one. Think I paid about £7 for it. A bit bulky but does the job well and is reasonably easy to clean.

 

[Glaucus]

Just get any, they're all basically the same, just make sure it's very sturdy as it takes some force.

 

[Haze]

pop to morrisons they sell them

 

[Gilly]

See here. Much better than a potato puree tool.

 

[haaammit]

I much prefer riced potato for pie toppings but just mashed when eating it as a side dish. I'm also after a new ricer, so will watch this thread with interest!

The one I have is a bit rubbish - all the potato squooges up the sides

 

[-BA-]

To be honest I think there is a time and a place for both kitchen tools. Mashed potato is great but sometimes I like to have the potato much much finer when having it with a more delicate dish and only a potato ricer will get it to such a smooth consistency.

 

[Glaucus]

There's no difference between ricer and mashed other than one has no lumps. They both work on same principle of either flattening or forcing it through a hole. The whole mash vs purée is just rubbish.

 

[Gilly]

There's no difference between ricer and mashed other than one has no lumps. They both work on same principle of either flattening or forcing it through a hole. The whole mash vs purée is just rubbish.

Same principle, yes.

What you're saying is equivalent to saying crushed potato is the same as mashed :/

 

[Jolteh]

Same principle, yes.

What you're saying is equivalent to saying crushed potato is the same as mashed :/

You're making a distinction here when there isn't one.

With a masher the bottom of the bowl pushes the potato through the holes in the masher as you press down.

With a ricer the back plate of the ricer pushes the potato through the holes in the front plate of the ricer.

It's two ways of doing exactly the same thing. The difference with the ricer is that it's a lot quicker and you can be sure that all of the potato has been mashed.

The fallacy that mashed potato from a ricer is somehow more runny stems from the fact that the sort of cook that uses a ricer also tends to be the sort of cook that puts too much extra stuff like milk into their mash.

 

[Glaucus]

Same principle, yes.

What you're saying is equivalent to saying crushed potato is the same as mashed :/

No, crushed potatoe is crushed. Properly mashed mash, with a masher will be the same as a ricer, lump free.

 

[SimonR]

As for a ricer - Ikea's ricer is fine. I always rice my potatoes, my wife always whips hers with a whisk.

I mash mine first, dry. Then mash in butter, a drop of milk, salt and pepper. Finally run them through a ricer.

 

[McPhee]

After reading The French Laundry Cookbook I tried out Thomas Keller's method of making mash. It's fantastic. Off the top of my head; boil potatoes in their skins for 30-40 mins until they offer little resistance to a squeeze (don't stab test them, the point of keeping the skins on is to keep water out). Drain. Place back on a low heat to steam dry. Remove skins. Pass through a sieve. Whip a knob of butter in, then a splash of cream, then another kknob of butter. Repeat until a light, fluffy consistency is achieved.

It's basically a potato emulsion. Very light, yet there's really not a lot of butter and cream in there. I find I can pass the potato faster than I can work a river, and I make a lot less mess doing so (maybe that's just me though?). On the other hand, sometimes I prefer a traditional, heavy British mash with a regular potato masher (and yes, it is different. Bigger holes in the masher = different consistency).