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I've never had gummy mashed potatoes, and I've been giving them a 1" chop for years. Takes 10 minutes to cook then drain them right away. They come out fine every time. Plus the butter melts right away when you throw everything together.
To be totally transparent, I never had gummy mash until my wife and I got together. She used to boil her potatoes, let them sit in the hot water until closer to dinner, then whip them with beaters. She's from Ireland, I joke that the potato blight was a failed preemptive strike to prevent her from ever touching a potato.
So I don't have to do any of what you're saying in your post, I just have to not do the weird stuff your wife does. Cool.
Pretty sure it's the beaters (assuming that's an electric hand mixer type-thing, i've never heard them referred to by that term) that made them gummy. Over mashing will break up the cell walls too much, releasing the starches and ruining the texture. Cooking chopped or whole doesn't matter as much, since the number of cells broken by chopping is negligible. And the skin is water permeable anyway.
You gotta mash by hand, that's all.
You are correct, op has no idea what they are talking about. Potatoes contain two different types of starch, in differing amounts depending on the kind of potato. Amylase, and Amylopectin, the second when overworked will make gummy potatoes. Overworking them is what makes them gummy.
1" dice, fork tender, food mill, ricer, or fork, perfect. If you want them extra smooth simmer in milk or cream (not water), strain and mash, then fold in the drained liquid gently with a spatula.
And the 'hot potato boiling water' contains mostly Amylase. If you add that it will make them more slippery/slimey.
Every couple months I make the mistake of thinking that I'll speed up mash the potatoes by using an emulsion blender. Then it's just potato snot
What you want is a potato ricer. They're awesome.
This person potatoes
+1 for honesty
She might as well have made box potatoes. Has she tried not doing...all of that?
We cater to our strengths now. I cook and organize, she cleans.
Good call, my husband cooks, I bake. It works
It's the beaters making it gummy. Mash by hand, it's too easy to overdo with an electric mixer.
It's not "the only way to avoid gummy mashed potatoes", it's just an easy way to guarantee it if you keep having the problem. If you don't, then do it your way. It's harder, but you already have it nailed, so don't worry about it. Cooking faster can be a good thing if you want it, and are able to deal with them exactly when they need to be dealt with. Some people would very much prefer an easy guarantee even if it takes longer.
What do you use to mash them?
Potato masher then hand mix. I also have a ricer but 9 times out of 10 I don't want to mess around with it.
Thanks, Doc
Why would you use a ricer if you’re not making rice?
You have to select starchy potatoes, not waxy, and let them steam dry (e.g. drain water in metal colander and toss in a warm oven or on the stove for a bit). Mix in the seasoning and milk/butter after they are mostly mashed for better control of consistency.
Edit: was agreeing. Glueyness is not because they are cut up.