Why I salt my mashed potatoes, not my boil water (and other mash myths debunked)

Thanks to HelloFresh for sponsoring this video! For 16 free meals with HelloFresh across 7 boxes AND 3 free gifts, use code ADAMRAGUSEA16 at: bit.ly/3H8Rbgh

[@frodetuvendal5293]

Adam knew what he was getting himself into, relighting that fire with that title and I respect it.

[@Aziz.500]

@Newcious of goddamn what?

[@Kevin-mm8go]

There's so many inside jokes with this channel and that's why I love it!

[@Nobody-zn3yv]

Oh my god, I was thinking the same thing! I was literally thinking, "relighting the fire" as well 😂

[@alwehdathebestfc3576]

He actually lights the wood before the sulfur so it absorbs the fumes

[@Travis2L]

LOL

[@crazyfingers619]

I respect Adam shoving his fingers into his food in the first 30 seconds to show the germaphobes what's what.

[@YTRevancedAccount]

I really show the germaphobes whats what when I don't wash my hands after taking a crap and then go start cooking.

[@Taha_A]

@@YTRevancedAccount and now you have officially taken it too far, buddy

[@matheusavila2688]

It's just pure cringe

[@ampedworldgaming2266]

@@Taha_A I cook without pants on so I can take a crap on the go and keep cooking, way more efficient that way

[@ThatRipOff]

Anybody who is afraid of their own washed hands should probably seek therapy.

[@49hamburger]

Hey Adam, I love the fact that when you talked about the salt going into the boiling water, making it nucleate more, makes me feel like your whole channel is one long continuous story where we take the lessons we've learned and use them on all the recipes we love to create a better dish than we had ever made before, love the content, please keep it up

[@Voshchronos]

Right? Really ramps up that educational feel.

[@PyroniusRex]

This is why I watch him

[@navierstrks]

One huge mashed potato no-no that Adam didn’t touch on is over-MIXING the final mash. Happened to me when I threw frozen butter into the end product, tried to use the kinetic energy and thorough mixing to melt the butter. This went on for a long while…. The potatoes turned “gluey”. A repulsive texture I don’t ever want to replicate. Never over mix mashed potatoes.

[@billdickhaus]

I hand mash them for about a minute. Mash, mash, stir, mash, stir, mash, done.. If the butter is cold I just let it sit in the potatoes and melt before I mash. And I like chunks, so I do not whip or stir much. I shuddered at Adam using a hand mixer. How to ruin mashed potatoes 101 in my opinion.

[@lordrindfleisch1584]

Good thing I dont have a mixer and have to mash mine manually. No risk of that kinda thing happening

[@danafowler4404]

I did the same thing but with a food processor, never again. Wanted to save some time, but ended up spending even more time making an extra batch

[@TheKalkalash]

Sounds a lot like the mash we had at school :D

[@ha231]

I don't know why potato ricers don't get the recognition they deserve

[@markman278]

I love Adam embracing the “I salt my this instead of my that” meme.

[@laheylovesliquor4331]

I was wondering when we’d get to see another video with a similar title

[@user-bf6gz8ej4o]

Why I season my pasta water and not my pas- ...wait

[@castlame]

@Newcious keep looking scumbag

[@AnyBodyWannaPeanut]

@Newcious Lies. Nothing but a lying liar over here.

[@HowToSpacic]

“Why I salt my tongue not my food” -Adam probably

[@adamschwartz2078]

I salt my yard. That way the salt is absorbed into the water table, into my well, and then comes out of my faucet at the perfect salinity.

[@janetmackinnon3411]

@@adamschwartz2078 😄

[@tilly3702]

Why I cook myself and not the food

[@siddharth_desai]

I can hear Adam saying, "If you think about it, the sensation of taste only happens when the food is in contact with your tongue, so it doesn't make sense to season your food outside of your mouth. It's wasteful. Besides, everyone's tongue is different. If you season your tongue, each person eating the meal can season to the size and shape of their own tongue."

[@luthiennenharma]

​@@siddharth_desai To be fair, there is some merit to the argument that you mostly taste the seasoning that's directly touching your tongue. I've seen another cooking channel comparing two slices of homemade pizza, where one had salt worked into the doe, while the other had the salt sprinkled onto the underside before baking. It was the same amount of salt, but the latter tasted much saltier since the salt was in direct contact with the tongue (rather than emerging while you're chewing).

[@jason_farns]

These videos where Adam tests a big range of variables might be my favorite kind of video that he makes. So informative to discover what matters and what doesn't, or what the effect is from changing certain steps in case you want to achieve a certain outcome. So helpful, thank you!!

[@KeiFlox]

Couldn't agree more, I love these types of videos and I've been binge-watching them all week.

[@aml8444]

I prefer the most basic mash as he suggested, but prior to even adding salt in the end, I prefer a very healthy spoonful of sourcream - mix appropriately- then adjust with salt, pepper and anything else to taste.

[@perkypears]

sour cream is the best topping for potatoes

[@sebastianguerra6358]

The references to previous videos really make the Adam Ragusea Cinematic Universe feel alive.

[@TheOtherKT]

I was half-expecting at some point to hear a very aggressive "just chop them up, put it in some water, and boil it!"

[@dareon8677]

honestly the embracing of the jokes are why i watch this channel

[@martinbogadomartinesi5135]

a big knob of butter as the brits would say

[@Jesse__H]

I watch for the combination of Adam's excellent writing, scientific rigor, always-practical conclusions, and tiny little man shorts.

[@Kevin-mm8go]

HE SAID IT! HE SAID THE THING!

[@danm8004]

The embracing is. "The embracing are" makes no sense.

[@dareon8677]

@@danm8004 respectfully, I dont give a fuck

[@ActionPhilip]

Adam, I've never left a comment on one of your videos, but I must clarify an injustice that you've committed against the French people by stating that it's insane that one would dry out the potatoes and then make it up with large amounts of butter. The recipes you're referring to that go as high as 50% butter by weight are pomme purée, an indulgent version of mashed potatoes that seeks to add as much butter as possible to the potatoes without having the starches separate. Rather than the butter being a flavouring agent of the mash, the mash is simply as vehicle in which you are to stuff as much butter as humanly possible. As you may know, adding more butter than you ever thought possible to a dish is just about the most French thing you can do and pomme purée is a perfect example.

[@billdickhaus]

Does not sound at all appetizing to me. I like butter. I like potatoes. But half and half? Nope.

[@UBvtuber]

I never expected french people and Paula Deen to have something in common, but here we are...

[@mscrabson]

I put lots of butter in my mashed potatoes. I’m with french on this one

[@JonLambert1]

Doubters - try it before you knock it. Yes, it’s incredibly unhealthy. But 1:1 butter to potato is one of the best things I’ve ever made and put in my mouth.

[@scrambledeggs1295]

@@billdickhaus this is the only half and half I'll put in my coffee

[@Beryllahawk]

The "simmer it for a long time" thing at the end there - I've not tried it with potatoes but you can bet I'm going to - however, I already do use that kind of idea for certain other veggies, because my son (he's on the spectrum) cannot STAND the texture of cooked onions. He loves the flavor of good caramelized onions but the texture just sets off an "ew" factor for him. Therefore, if I've got that kind of time anyways, I will take my onions, celery, etc - I get some good color on there quickly, then I set them to just simmering for 15 or 20 minutes, and then take the immersion blender to them. Not only does it solve the onion-texture problem - it makes the best pan sauce/gravy. (Well the best one I personally can make, I'm absolute rubbish at roux)

[@ha231]

I did this just yesterday. Onion, celery, garlic and carrots, lightly cooked for a long time to remove the texture as much as possible. Don't have an immersion blender so used my spatula to try my best to smush everything into a smooth texture.

[@Beryllahawk]

@@ha231 Nice! It's so good, isn't it?

[@ha231]

@@Beryllahawk Very! 😊

[@Beryllahawk]

@@myopiczeal something to try! I need more reasons to use the v-slicer i got anyways hehe

[@JP-su8bp]

Regarding being rubbish at roux, you might consider researching the method that begins with baking the flour until it rather resembles cinnamon.

[@kidyuki1]

I often try to guess who the sponsor is going to be as Adam starts his segue into the ad. This time, he said "effortlessly delicious," and I said "Ah, Squarespace." I didn't say I was good at this.

[@lasercat538]

I haven't gotten to the end yet. My guess is that one food sponsor that delivers meal kits (can't remember the name) Edit: Oh the sponsor is 3 minutes in

[@doplop]

i wish i could play but i use subtitles so i know before he says it

[@danielkerkhoff9452]

lol reminded me of Breaking Bad where Jesse's like "Ah, wire"

[@exploshaun]

I always expect squarespace first. Honestly websites are delicious.

[@rizzystardust2404]

I actually thought that too tho

[@pepsiisbetterthancoke6283]

"Why i season my stomach lining, instead of my food."

[@Voidward]

Last time I made mash I was also quartering chickens and decided to render down fat from the skins to use later. At some point I decided to use the crisped up skins like bacon bits, cut them up very fine and throw them in the mash. I think it was the first time my wife finished her oversized portion of mashed potatoes. Ended up somewhere between bacon bit mash and KFC skins mash. Really nice way to take advantage of something you might normally toss.

[@ghannawi13]

This brings to mind something that I thought of as I saw the portion of this video about simmering the potatoes at a low temperature for a long time. I wonder what the result would be of simmering the potatoes in something like tallow or some other type of animal fat, essentially doing a potato confit with the intent to later turn it into mashed potatoes

[@boutrosboutrosboutrosboutros]

I worked at a fancy restaurant in the late 80s that baked their potatoes then scoop them, and riced them. Then mix in butter and cream, salt, they insist this was for a better result

[@Henrex2000]

Baked mash and boiled mash are noticeab8le different

[@Jimjam-lk4ud]

I used to work in a gastro pub, we'd salt then steam them, rice them so it's smooth and then add boiled double cream that had garlic and herbs in it then once it was mixed add white truffle oil

[@kingjames4886]

I could see that making a difference.

[@bobbobson2291]

The greatest video title syntax of all time has returned

[@jaxom97]

In culinary school I was always told that: "You can only heat up mashed potatoes once" because otherwise the quality would degrade. I never took this too seriously but I also haven't really tested it out specifically. What are your experiences with this? P.S. Ultimate mashed potatoes absolutely require them to be cooked sous vide in beurre noisette :)

[@karlinchina]

Leftover reheated mashed has texture problems.

[@ryanfritts1574]

In the restaurant we keep them in the hot box until use and make more as needed

[@SimuLord]

Starch retrogradation (the same thing that makes French fries a use-it-or-lose-it proposition when you get 'em hot out of the fryer) will kill mashed potatoes just as dead.

[@kingcrimson4133]

I find leftover mash to be just fine. Sure, not as creamy and fluffy as freshly cooked, but I find the heavy density of reheated potatoes to be yummy as well.

[@N0THANKY0U]

reheated mash can be massively improved by adding extra butter during the reheating process. Then again, what can't

[@jackielinde7568]

Never heard of some of these myths. For the skins one, I usually leave the peels on potatoes, because I like the look and texture of mashed potatoes with some skins in the mix. Never did it for flavor. Same thing on the "absolute drying of the potatoes." (Then again, I'm a lazy person, so I get them "good enough" drained. I'm adding either milk or chicken stock back into the recipe, so a little added water isn't going to hurt.) Also, DO NOT EVER USE AN IMMERSION BLENDER!!! EVER!!! I mash mine by hand, and my brother was doing his with the immersion blender. I get nice, fluffy potatoes (albeit with some lumps), and he gets shiny glue. I ended up buying him a vegetable ricer. I wonder if he's taken it out of the box yet.

[@jayerscios]

gluey mashed taters are the worst thing ever

[@insertianameia2224]

I either use the hand masher then whip with a fork or just use my hand mixer if I'm lazy. They come out the same. I also leave the skins on but I prefer the taste that way, as well as texture. No matter what type of potato is used.

[@billdickhaus]

I only do it by hand, and limit how much I do it. I would much rather have some chunks than an overly smooth puree, which I really do not like.

[@hailtothevic]

@@billdickhaus I only learnt about the gluey mash thing a few years ago, but I agree with you on smooth potatoes. I didn't go through the pain of teething and braces just to eat baby food!

[@RTCPhotoWork]

Agreed on every word...with the addition that I only salt after.

[@joejones1779]

I'm a retired 51 year old, I was in the kitchen cooking with my Mom, grandma and aunts. When all the other kids were out playing in the yard. I've always enjoyed cooking, i do most of the cooking at home. I really enjoy your videos, not only informative, but very entertaining. Keep em coming.

[@LindsayOLeary]

Wait... no advice on over-mixing?? I've definitely done that with a stick blender when my kitchen was too small to also have a hand mixer - it makes the potatoes very gluey and a terrible, sticky texture. I've stuck to a potato masher ever since. Regardless, great advice, as always!

[@vke6077]

I for one like the gluey texture.... A matter of preference it seems :-)

[@cloudyview]

Yep, I made glue once as well 🤣

[@jameshaulenbeek5931]

That's similar to Chinese style mashed potatoes - Chinese Cooking Demystified did a great video on it. No dairy - butter, milk, cream, etc... none of it. They use a sticky potato and mash it up with a mortar and pestle.

[@maskddingo1779]

My favorite thing to use is a "ricer" or a food mill.

[@colinhendry6116]

"over"-mixing is key for some culture's mashed potato dishes though, all preference

[@joshdoesstuff763]

“Why I salt the earth, not my potatoes”

[@khanhtran8772]

Watch out, he might embrace the Roman cuisine in the future

[@joshdoesstuff763]

@@khanhtran8772 SALT CARTHAGE!!!!!

[@Banom7a]

my earth apples

[@patrickmcdonald3853]

I honestly don’t know how Adam isn’t the most popular cooking dude on the internet. (Or at least up there at the top) His videos have the highest signal to noise ratio of literally any cooking channel I know of. They’re wonderfully scripted, and insanely entertaining imo

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Agreed, and as far as high SNR, also check out Alton Brown or his old show Good Eats.

[@danieltsmoke]

Ok you stirring with a chef knife is hilarious and the visual form of nails on a chalk board 😂

[@Am-iz9di]

Adam, we appreciate you! Hands down some of the most fun videos to watch!

[@RadioactiveLobster]

Something my family has done forever that when I tell other people about it I always get weird looks is eat mashed potatoes with Apple Sauce (almost always home made) on them. We make a fairly thick home made apple sauce, none of that "could drink it through a straw" or babies food consistency Apple sauce. It's very good.

[@victorquesada7530]

Interesting, I never would have thought of that, but apple sauce on pork chops is pretty acceptable, as are latkes and apple sauce. Thanks!

[@MsElizaRae]

Lots of people love pork chops and apple sauce so why is mashed potatoes weird? 😂

[@risariamanx8996]

aren't potatoes also apple of the earth or something?

[@janetmackinnon3411]

That"s pretty normal in Zurich, Switzerland.

[@higginswalsan]

People do that with latkes so it’s not abnormal

[@TheCman5015PLPro]

Honestly Adam, I love this video. This is the sort of testing that I dream of doing, but I end up just doing maybe one of these every now and again. I love mashed potatoes. So interesting!

[@mini-_]

I love this "I wonder what happens if I do these tiny changes" type of content

[@Mystro256]

3:32 holy crap, I was told hello fresh was wasteful on packaging, but is that legit carrots in a plastic bag, in a paper bag? Even the meal kit I occasionally get doesn't do that.

[@goranpersson7726]

eh, never understood that stuff. although my issue isnt really the wasteful packaging, it's that I seriously doubt there is a need for anyone except maybe the infirm but then again they probably have assistants and caretakers to deal with the problem instead. like going to a store and getting groceries isnt hard nor that time consuming, cooking is something everybody should know atleast enough to be able to bang out a handful of dishes that are somewhat quick and easy that you can rotate through in a week. and tbh it is one of the easiest things to succed at (i qualify a success as a meal you can eat safely and doesnt make you want to hurl) like legit, sure it might take a bit of trial and error to find what you like but it is entirely viable to just wing every meal based on what can be found in your kitchen as long as you make regular stops to the store to grab a bit of each food group. granted now that I work in the industry and have been classically trained as a chef I find that way easier but even back when i was like 10 I could knock up a meal big enough to feed a family that tasted pretty aight

[@SirWussiePants]

@@goranpersson7726 I did Hello Fresh just to force some variety in my diet and it ended up Hello Fresh was pretty much the same each week after a while. They also seem to think the world lives on Mexican style dishes (I do not). Where are the Italian style meals? Or anything else? I stopped delivery after a bit because it was just forcing me to ignore their recipes to get some variety (and to avoid mouth burning spices) and just using the ingredients they sent me.

[@SimuLord]

@@goranpersson7726 How much value do you place on your time? The interval between when I get home from work and when I need to get ready for bed if I don't want to be a zombie in the morning is about five hours, six tops-I get home at 5 PM and since I wake up at 6:15 in the morning, I'm going to want to be in bed between 10 and 11. In those five or six hours, I need to cook and eat dinner, make sure my cat is taken care of (scoop out his litter box, feed him and top up his water, play with him until he's not literally in my hair causing trouble in a "play with me human!" kind of way), and do something sufficiently entertaining (like watching a sporting event or playing a video game) that I don't feel like my job is eating my life and that I'm getting burned out. And I'm a guy who's not got a wife and kids to worry about. If you have a family, add "quality time with the spouse" or "making sure the kids get their homework done or get to soccer practice or whatever" into the budget for those hours. How much would you pay to take grocery shopping out of the equation? If that amount is more than what HelloFresh or other meal kit delivery services charge, then you're wasting your time grocery shopping and spending more money (in the sense that time is money) on that than you would just getting the ingredients sent to your door. People assume that their free time is...well...free in the sense that they effectively treat their off-work hours like they have no economic value. Maybe it's because I studied quite a bit of Econ in college, but to me, my "free" time is the most precious time of all, which is exactly why my employer has to pay me time and a half if they want more than 40 hours out of me each week. I value my personal time at least that highly and budget accordingly.

[@enter_eagle]

You could potentially recycle the plastic if you wanted to. That's assuming you live near a recycling plant like i do. But then again, you assumed everyone lives near a grocery store, so you probably don't mind assuming everyone lives near a recycling plant. Hmm, also, sometimes the store just doesn't have bulk carrots for some reason and i have to buy an entire bundle of carrots wrapped in a plastic bag because i wanted one carrot. That's anecdotal, and when that happens i just buy the smallest amount of bagged carrots i can get. There are definitely ways you could 100% get on a high horse and talk about how you don't contribute to Hello Fresh's wasteful ways. You could always walk/ bike to your store, only buy things in biodegradable materials or plastics you always reuse/ recycle, always only buy the exact amount of food you need, ect. But as it stands, most people drive gas powered cars to a store, purchase goods that all have plastic packaging, have that bagged in disposable plastic bags, and buy too much food to toss later because stores are designed to make people buy more than they intend to. More so, it almost feels pointless to say this, but us consumers are on the terminal end of the pollution chain. I *think* that's what people mean by implied concent, or something, where companies just do shit like mass produce disposable plastic for us to buy, and then say it's *our* responsibility to make sure it ends up in the right places. Which, yes, people shouldnt litter, but people are going to litter. Not even to mention what environmental cost their resource collection/refinement/production/transportation is doing to the environment. I mean, even in a perfect system, the work flow would be: corpos mass produce plastic trash and we, consumers, spend a dilligent amount of time making sure all that plastic ends up exactly where it needs to go. Which is either a land fill, or a recycling plant, where corporations can then reuse some of that plastic in the next volley of trash they throw at us. My point is that the Hello Fresh vac pack carrots is bad, but it's not really any worse than the alternative, which i mentioned earlier.

[@SimuLord]

@@enter_eagle There's also the problem of not just 'do you live near a grocery store' but 'do you live near a GOOD grocery store'? Living as I do in an area (south King County, outside Seattle) that's not particularly affluent, the local Safeway's often catering to the taste of the kinds of people who buy their groceries with EBT cards. It's not totally ghetto, but it ain't a Whole Foods on the Eastside where the rich folks live. As such, if I'm going to walk over there, I know I'm going to be hauling home the ingredients for working-class food-no fancy produce or upscale cuts of meat. Not that I personally mind; even though I'm on a middle-class income, I grew up in a working-class family, so nothing makes me happier than a manager's-special pork shoulder blade steak that costs six dollars for a Fred Flintstone portion with a bunch of applesauce dumped on it. That's one reason I've moved away from delivery since moving into my current apartment. During COVID I lived in a much worse neighborhood in a "food desert", and I had _everything_ delivered, but now that I'm in a walkable area in a nicer part of town-not "rich", but nicer than "where all the violent crime statistics come from and make the place look more dangerous than it is overall"-the time-for-money equation I mentioned in my other post has tilted back toward me getting the exercise and walking the 10 minutes each way to get what I want to cook fresh. But man, if I could walk to, say, the Whole Foods in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood or a Trader Joe's on the Eastside? Wouldn't that be nice! I just can't afford any of the apartments that would let me do that because I'm not Jeff Bezos.

[@rohiogerv22]

I prefer my mashed potatoes on the dry side-"fluffy" is probably the best adjective; definitely not "creamy"-and all I tend to do is get the potatoes fairly dry, add about half a stick of butter, and then add sour cream til I like the texture. I've never felt anything better than neutral about potatoes with any noticeable quantity of milk added.

[@drivebyshrimping7304]

Right? I want mashed potato, not potato soup.

[@Gosub315]

Absolutely LOVE this Adam. Well done sir.

[@mytuberecap5346]

Just last week I came up with this idea that turned so well, it will be my go to method from now on. I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this but here it goes. You will need a slow cooker, preferably. On high setting for about 5 hrs. Whole potatos with skins completely submerged in a marinate of your choice, you know water and all the spices you want your potatoes to taste like. I actually used the leftover marinate from a chicken I slow cooked previously and the result was pretty great. You can mash or eat whole, but it is the first time I actually tasted flavors other than potato inside the potato itself.

[@gregmuon]

I've never heard of most of these myths. It was still fun to watch them get debunked! 😁

[@MZachary21]

Hi Adam, if you do anymore work with boiling potatoes I think you should look into changing the PH of the boiling water. Kenji talks about it in his crispy potatoes recipe, but the PH seems to dramatically affect the texture of boiled potatoes

[@jasonreed7522]

Definitely an interesting angle, although if you have to adjust the pH the method used could also impact flavor independent of the pH change. (You could add tiny amounts of sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, or vinegar to the boil water to lower pH and i imagine each of those will have a different flavor impact.) I suspect you could probably write a doctorate thesis just on analysis of the effects of adjusting the boiling water of potatoes on the flavor profile of the end product. (Especially with the effort of controlling all possible variables)

[@christopherflorian2382]

I f-ing love this channel! Great content Adam.

[@JacobTJ1]

I love your videos...the science aspect of these videos are truly fascinating

[@lolsmol]

I am loving these comparison videos. They help me learn why we do what we do. Anyone can follow a recipe, but I think I am learning how to cook better from these videos.

[@nabibbs2402]

in another universe Adam with a goatee is probably saying "why i salt my boiling water and not my potatoes, Long live the empire"

[@justaspork2090]

omg yes🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@DingoTheDemon]

But... He already has a goatie

[@justaspork2090]

@@DingoTheDemon he technically has a beard not a goatie, plus we're talking about this vid kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqSmp3Sfn6ehars

[@nolanchap7092]

Adam you tease. I'm now looking forward to a stellar mash potatoe series.

[@hhjones9393]

Adam, your sound edit is awesome on this vid!

[@zadiczane7618]

"Why I poison my victim, not the murder weapon (and other homicide myths debunked)"

[@godminnette2]

Something I've been doing recently is taking these canned dehydrated potato flakes and making mashed potatoes with them. Three cups of water, a cup of milk, a quarter cup of butter, and a teaspoon of salt per three cups of flakes. It makes some incredibly smooth mashed potatoes that I'd be proud to serve at Thanksgiving; I also put in some mushroom powder (which just adds a savory umami note, doesn't taste like mushroom at all) and garlic powder. The way the flakes just dissolve into the water just makes for unparalleled smoothness, though I do miss the skins! I normally love keeping skins in mashed potatoes, even russet potatoes.

[@purplegill10]

That mushroom powder trick sounds interesting. I might actually try that.

[@sammarcum4931]

Thank you for imparting your wisdom and patience in experimentation. Personally, I found years ago that leaving a portion of the boil water, using unsalted butter, and just a smattering of sea salt after the boil, led to the perfect mash.

[@1873Winchester]

I don't dislike dry food, I think I would like that mash at 4:50... Would soak up gravy real good too

[@itspitched]

I feel a lot of the "myths" we talk about in the industry stem from the professional side where consistency is king. Heavily salting the water when boiling 15 pounds of potatoes makes the mash more consistent without working more and saving time.

[@Sembazuru]

Yet the term "heavily salting" isn't a precise quantity... If it was n number of grams of salt per unit volume of water, then that would lead to consistency... I think I agree with Adam here (especially after having over-salted my water and gotten over-salted potatoes before) that salting to taste at the end can give more consistent results because of the immediacy that salting-tasting-salting-tasting can give.

[@fluffymunchkin]

A lot of cooking/baking myths seem to stem from the industry, and part of that is definitely related to scale. Some things simply aren't applicable when dealing with domestic quantities, and vice versa. Take choux dough, for example: you're not supposed to add the eggs all at once (partly due to better controlling the final consistency), but it's perfectly fine to do so in a domestic recipe with 3-5 eggs. But heaven forbid you try that in a giant Hobart boi with 30-50+ eggs, the dough will never come together due to the emulsion irreversibly breaking.

[@plapperkfr2045]

Yes, that's also (in many cases) my take on it. My favorite example is a "KZbin Professional Cook" proving once and for all that your water does not have to boil (vigorously or at all) to make perfectly al dente pasta. He was right, of course. Also, he stoud for 15 minutes next to his pot of pasta, continously stirring so nothing sticks. I imagine, you do this exactly zero times in even a halfway busy restaurant...

[@JohannGambolputty22]

This makes perfect sense to me. I heavily salt my water but always have to add a lot of salt during mashing so now I will exclude that first step.

[@amberl2639]

One of the reasons I watch these videos is your willingness to show people that old, commonly stated cooking practices are not always true. Many less experienced cooks don't know any differently than the things they were told by someone in their family or the words of a professional chef who's comments may or may not be true when you account for context, ingredient/tool variations or a different kitchen setting. Keep up the good work. I like watching someone apply logic and science to question the 'because we always did it that way' practices!

[@SomeShavedSheep]

I always save my boil water for the starch. If I’d salt the water, my gravy would be extra salty. Also, rinsing your potatoes and letting them steam is REAL important if you’re making potatoes dauphinois… which is my personal choice of mash.

[@GreenLarsen]

First time hearing either of those 2 myths, and I have always used some of the water from the boiling in my mash, it contains plenty of vitamins/salts from the potato, so naturally you want to include them. Both for taste and other reasons. Glad to hear that I can simply continue doing as I have always done ^^

[@barvdw]

Only when using 'new' potatoes, ie. the early harvested ones, a real treat in Spring, I'd drain them thoroughly, perhaps even halfway cooking, as those tend to have more solanine in them. You won't die from it, but some people can get a little stomach ache from it.

[@haebi_]

"why I season my potato masher, and not my potatoes"

[@RoloTomasie]

Why I salt my mouth rather than my food.

[@gligh_t3334]

Here we go again. Adam seasoning everything but the main dish series continues!!!

[@tamsinboldick7035]

I understand the salt + water science but I have recently read that if you have really hard potatoes, (eg probably harvested a bit too early), adding salt to the water helps to break down the pectin chains (& softens the potatoes).

[@makanih808]

HE DID IT! HE SAID THE THING

[@seanwenstrom2202]

Very cool video! Regarding overboiling, my Swedish family recipes, for making mash with Almond potatoes, call for boiling them until they fall apart on their own. Bit of a waste since they're great on their own with just a little salt. But boil them to a mash, pour off most of the water, crush them with butter and salt to taste, makes a great mash with minimal effort. I've never worried about overboiling mash potatoes - but you can save a batch of overboiled potatoes by making a mash! P.S. Wikipedia's giving me very little. Yes, that's an actual breed of potatoes.

[@nathanmiddleton1478]

My "ultimate mash" has simply come from laziness. Cube your cleaned potatos with or without skins into a closed microwave dish, add some salt and oil. Microwave until they start to wilt. Whip with butter. They turn out smooth and thick the way I prefer.

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Laziness can be used to develop a sort of 'lean manufacturing' approach to cooking, and also aid the pursuit of excellence. The trick is to analyze the process and figure out which part is the biggest pain in the ass that you dread doing -- then find a better way. Once you repeat that optimization step few times, your recipe/steps will be very nearly perfect (especially if you can add net value during optimization). Using the microwave method is an excellent idea and makes boiling totally redundant (boiling is the most tedious part, although I default to instant potatoes).

[@pinbi7]

great video you've confirmed what I've thought and been preaching all along. if by mistake you left too much water(oops), add potato starch or powdered mashed potatoes(no more then a tea spoon) it will get right back to the proper consistency without changing the taste much, if at all

[@Nicksonian]

Yesterday, I chopped up some onion and threw it in the water with the potatoes. And when I mashed everything, I included a couple cloves of chopped garlic. I like a chunky mash so the bits of onion didn’t bother me at all and added a depth of flavor that was a big improvement. Potatoes are not devoid of nutrients so don’t think of them as empty calories…especially if you use the skins, which I do. I also cut the butter in half and add olive oil.

[@Suomiwimbula]

Exactly what I do! I sometimes add a small amount of chopped carrots or sweet potato if I want to mix it up a little too.

[@GreenLarsen]

That's also how I often make mine. Carrots, celeriac, parsnip are also all good additions

[@sephirothjc]

I read on a couple of sites (and double checked it on Snopes) that mashed potatoes, or more generally, the combination of skin-on potatoes, and milk or butter, actually has all the nutrients a human needs, albeit not in the right proportions.

[@N0THANKY0U]

switch out those regular onions for green onions and you have reinvented that classic irish dish "champ"! delish

[@Suomiwimbula]

@@sephirothjc Interesting, I wonder if they used unprocessed milk for the test or the store variant?

[@onyxplays94]

I've literally never heard either of these things said about mash potatoes

[@nickoleary1760]

Thank you sir, for confirming my thoughts through your tests.

[@mytimetravellingdog]

I'd love to see a follow up to this video on mashing techniques and stuff. Like all the stuff about not using whisk due to the texture it makes which is something I keep see coming up but doesn't seem to be an issue in this video. Using a ricer vs whisk vs masher etc. How to get certain textures etc etc

[@IamJustaSimpleMan]

Regarding powdered milk vs milk. Ive completely switched from normal milk to powdered milk, cause its cheaper, more convenient, lasts longer (both in terms of expiration and how much dosages you get out of one unit) and I can make stuff as milky as I want, without adding more liquid.

[@vgamesx1]

I would say less waste is the biggest benefit, simply make it on demand instead of it expiring, you can buy a gallon and may not even drink half of it, but you still get it because sometimes you do need more and it's better value than a smaller container.

[@MajoraZ]

Something I think might be cool to for you to investigate, is what is going on when you're microwaving "instant" mashed potatoes and you overcook them, and it turns into almost the texture of a dense/dry bread, and with crispy edges where the potatoes meet the container. You can see the same sort of thing happened with microwavvable lasagnas and pasta dishes with sauce and cheese, where the top or the edges get super fried and crispy and overcooked in a good way. I'd love to know what causes it and how to consistently cause it or in other contexts with other foods.... as an aside, This is probably a "me" thing, but I find the way most people make Mashed potatoes to be pretty gross, where it's this super homogenous, oozy mush. Same deal with scrambled eggs where people want it very creamy and running: To me, "mashed Potatoes" and "Scrambled eggs" just means "baked and roughed up with a fork a lot" and "a fritata you break into seperate pieces",m where there's more distinct chunks of food.

[@joshwertheim]

Isn't that just a maillard reaction on the ingredients by the hot container material? Like the food is getting cooked by the microwave with radiant heat but also partly by conduction. I've noticed this especially if I reheat chili or meat sauce in a regular bowl. The bowl can get too hot to touch and at the same time it seems to create roasty bits of that food along the edges.

[@JaboRuizLuque]

A wild guess but maybe its possible that the instant mashed potato has more sugars so it browns faster? I don't know why it could have a different texture

[@billdickhaus]

I use them all the time, but instant mashed potatoes should not be made in the microwave. They are questionable on the stove top as it is.

[@tacitus_]

Just add more water to the instant mash if they dry out.

[@anyascelticcreations]

Yes! I'm voting for that future video too! And I just left a comment saying that I prefer my mashed potatoes with the skin on and still lumpy. I prefer my eggs very rusticly cooked too. Nice and lumpy like you just stirred them a few times while you're messing with making bacon and toast at the same time. Though, to be honest, I like both mashed potatoes and eggs so much that I almost don't even care how they're cooked. I've actually been adding an egg or 2 in with the water, (which I don't measure), and then salt and instant potato flakes. Mix with chopsticks or a fork and microwave. I add Greek yogurt, cotage cheese, and avocado at the end. Mix everything with a spoon, or mix just the cottage cheese in at the end and add the Greek yogurt & avocado in dollops on top. Super easy, quick to make, doesn't waste dishes or time, and tastes quite good! Somewhat healthy, too. It's definitely not gourmet, but I like it that way. 😋

[@allenflett1214]

Love the direction this channel has taken. Great mix of recipes and cooking ….theory?

[@applehoney368]

The more scientific approach that Adam takes on simple recipes has taught me so much. I love all the experimentation he does to get the ultimate version of whatever he is making. Thank you Adam for showing us a different way of thinking and making a good mash.

[@stephenlee5929]

Up to a point, but a scientific approach would (normally) attempt to remove any preconceived notions of 'correctness', so blind testing/tasting. Having said that would not wok since his point (preconceived notion) was that it doesn't make a difference, thus no difference to taste.

[@patricksquarepants275]

“Why I eat my hand, not my food”

[@Jacxdy]

nice

[@scottdouglas2490]

Hahahahaha

[@rudyka04]

I love adding chopped fried onions instead of the butter (including the oil that I used for frying. Not much oil is used obviously) then milk. Everyone who tried it, loved it🙂

[@leels31]

This is probably like aloo choka we make in Trinidad 😋

[@rudyka04]

@@leels31 maybe🙂 never been there so i don't know

[@stephgilliam]

I always add a bit of potato cooking liquid to my mash, same as you use with the less thorough draining. Glad to know I have some science to back me up.

[@BarbarianGod]

you can fry the potato skins in a pan with some onions and re-add it into the mash later if you don't wanna waste them

[@gui5602]

The sequel to a legend

[@Targe0]

I don't even drain my potatoes, I simply start with enough water and reduce it down into a starch rich slurry while I cook the potatoes. When the potatoes are cook I mash and mix them with the remaining liquid. To me draining is simply throwing flavour away that could be in the mash and with the right water usage you end up not needing to actually drain at all. I will also add a little sprinkling of stock cub into it as well the give it a little more punch in flavour. It basically turns the slurry into a starch rich gravy that is then mixed into the potatoes when mashed.

[@isaaceiland-hall425]

I'm inspired by your comment (and this video). I'm going to try that next time. Also, it seems like a good idea since "over-boiling" the potatoes doesn't harm them, so start with enough water to boil down, and it's not exact - just boil it down until the amount of water you have left looks about right, the no drain, just add butter and mash. :) So I'll return your great idea with one of mine: I love butter and sour cream in my mashed potatoes. Learned that trick from a fried chicken place in Dallas that used to do it. So tasty!

[@Targe0]

@@isaaceiland-hall425 Well a tip for you trying it, when it starts to look a little like KFC gravy consistency (So thick but still runny) you're at about the right level. Though if you end up with too much liquid you can sometimes end up with a kind of potato soup. Which isn't bad just not what was planned.

[@Artifying]

Please try the French dish Aligot! It’s changed my mashed potato life since trying it in the Aubrac region while backpacking.

[@RoloTomasie]

I'll definitely be standing-by for the Ragusea Ultimate Mashed Potato Recipe!

[@BigHenFor]

The two best methods of mash I have found is: 1) Steaming potatoes using Maria Piper potatoes, are really, really flavourful. They can be steamed skin on or skin off, but they just need a little butter and a drop of milk. 2) Baked potatoes mashed with cream cheese. Again the mash flavour is great and the cream cheese is luxurious. Both methods remove the opportunity for the flavour to leach away into boiling water. Indeed, traditionally my ancestors used to boil 'ground provisions' - potatoes, yams, other tubers and green bananas - with a piece of dried, salted cod, saithe, or pollock. Not only would the food be seasoned, but the cooking water would be used as a basis for soup, and the fish would added to the main dish. Much like the Japanese using bonito flakes and shavings, there was a umami hit from the dried fish. A delicious addition to potentially bland carbs.

[@archangel4318]

Always love these experimental videos. I wish you had a couple of blind taste testers to make the results even more proven

[@GordonChil]

We had mashed potatoes EVERY Sunday growing up. My dad always boiled the potatoes and occasionally would forget to salt the water. I always mashed the potatoes. And I would always add milk, butter, and salt to taste every week the same way. Every time he forgot to salt the water, someone would ask if he forgot.. “sigh.. yes, I’m sorry. I forgot to salt the water”. Maybe it was our water, maybe it was the russet potatoes we used. But nearly everyone in our family of 9 could tell if the water hadn’t been salted. It was subtle, like it tasted a bit more starchy or something. But we could tell. I would put money on that blind taste test challenge.

[@ask230]

An Adam video that doesn't end with "you do you". Like the change up!

[@Adoomie.]

Hey Adam thank you for the vid. Will you please make a general video on potatoes? Different ways to use them, different types, a little history or debates. Also is there a reason why Mr. Potato Head is so iconic and even has a family or am I just a secluded northwest Ohioan who was really into playing with potatoes as a child. Thank you again

[@M_kanpur]

The return of the meme

[@bennparrish8556]

Any info on how much mashing will cause a "gummy" texture? I've always heard about that happening, but really haven't seen it happen except at family reunions where Nana brought out the KitchenAid and whisked the potatoes to the Dickens. Just curious how pressing of a concern it actually is.

[@Ultrazaubererger]

I used a hand blender (the ones with the blades) once for making mash. It turned gummy pretty quick if I remember correctly.

[@74bish]

Yeah same. I was surprised when he used the beater to mash the potatoes. I’ve always heard that that will make them taste soapy.

[@fivesidedpixels4991]

it probably only happens with some varieties of potatoes; something something starch content, maybe. In fact, there’s a Chinese potato dish that aims for this. It gets pounded until the potatoes actually become chewy and elastic. Chinese Cooking Demystified has a good vid on it

[@1TwistedPoet]

Depends on the TYPE of potatoes. Some are more "waxy" and others are more "starchy". Like bread, the more you work it, the more sticky you make them.

[@JDubsCCGsOnline]

I like using heavy cream in my mash instead of just milk. Increases the creamyness of the texture as well as giving it a heavy dairy flavor.

[@cuttwice3905]

I've used the potato water method. I use olive oil so the potatoes remain parve. It also costs a lot less than butter this year. Boiling at 170KF/82˚C gets the smoothest potatoes possible. I only do that for holiday meals or if I have company.

[@proud2deviate]

It can be darn difficult to evenly season a Thanksgiving-size pot of already mashed potatoes, especially if they're somewhat stiff or dry. The salt kinda has to steam dissolve for a minute, then you homogenize as best you can, but it's still easy to end up with a bland corner. Probably the origin of the myth. I like to pre-dissolve additional salt in a little more milk and stir that in, if needed.

[@billdickhaus]

The whole idea of "bland" is a learned behavior. We are trained from birth to expect excess salt in our food. The same for sugar. They are not good for us. Slightly hand mashed potatoes with plenty of unsalted butter is heaven on earth in my opinion. Also good with a quality EVOO instead of the butter.

[@Ironraven24]

@@billdickhaus you need salt and sugar to be healthy. its all about moderation.

[@evan8463]

If the mashed potatoes are stiff/dry, then the cook has committed an additional sin on top of under salting them lol

[@nathanbrisebois8756]

@@billdickhaus trying to eat less sugar and eating low sodium in your diet is a learned behavior, and it's bland 🤷 less seasoning will always be more bland than more seasoning. Not trying to knock you for eating healthy, but alot of the best food in life is just not healthy lol. That's why restaurant food tastes better on general, lots of salt, lots of butter, lots of sugar in everything. "Bland" is a lack of flavour or seasoning, not a "learned behavior". Over-salting at the dinner table or putting extra sugar in things that don't need it like breakfast cereal is a learned behavior.

[@billdickhaus]

@@Ironraven24 If you eat a well balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables you do not need any added salt or sugar.

[@cordeep]

I have a question. One explanation I've been given for salting water while blanching/boiling vegetables is that you'll experience, as you put it, less "cooking loss". The idea being that the salted water has more stuff and as a result, there's a smaller gradient for the nutrients and stuff to diffuse out from the vegetables. Given that the end products were identical/similar, do you think it's worth salting the water to prevent flavor and nutrients from going into the water you're throwing away.

[@Ultrazaubererger]

Cooking loss is two mechanisms: 1. leaching (stuff just gets dissolved) 2. osmosis (stuff gets pulled through a membrane like the cell walls) Though the definitions get blurry here as cell walls break down. Both are equilibrium reactions meaning the greater the difference in the water vs in the potato, the more gets pulled out. So if you have NaCl ions in the solution, less NaCl ions get pulled out of the potato. Usually with salted water the NaCl should even go into the potato. The presence of NaCl should not influence the chemical equilibrium of say sugar (much). It won't influence the equilibrium of non-ions like flavor molecules (usually). What people are describing probably stems from the potatoes cooked in salted water just tasting better because they have more salt in them.

[@FabbrizioPlays]

This probably matters more for onions, celery, peppers, things you could reasonably make a vegetable stock out of. Potatoes have some nutrients but are relatively low compared to other vegetables. And most of those nutrients are in the skin, which you remove on a boiled russet anyway. Most of your cooking loss is just more starch

[@billdickhaus]

No

[@user-zm9ox3de3l]

Hey Adam! I gotta tell you that the powdered milk thing is great. But I like to fry (“brown”) my powdered milk solids in a little butter and add them at the end. Makes the potatoes super nutty and rich if you’re into that. You can add buttermilk powder (not browned). If I do the brown milk solids, I also add a little vinegar or lemon juice to add tanginess and balance out the richness. Love your videos!

[@impunitythebagpuss]

Love the Marlin Perkins - type commercial introduction...takes me back to my childhood! Lol!

[@NbY1337]

Why I salt my computer directly, not play league of legends

[@ellienikolova9072]

I love it when you debunk myths! By the way, I like little lumps here in there in my mash, also in cream soups. Heterogeneity, remember? 😉

[@jacobwiley9873]

I've tried salting/not salting the water and personally found the mash to overall taste more well seasoned when I salt the water. I don't go crazy enough with salting it though that I still add salt to taste at the end when mixing in the butter. Part of it could be that I always only partially drain the potatoes. I drain off as much as I can pour out of the pot without dumping taters in the sink. Adding on to this, I started adding garlic powder into the boiling water as well, enough that there's a slight salty/garlicky flavor to the water, then finish with some roasted cloves. Again, the garlicky flavor seems to have a better baseline throughout the mashed potatoes with some streaks of increased garlicky goodness than if I just did roasted garlic or added some garlic powder at the end. I also always use skin on golds for mashing which might factor into them holding on to the flavor in the boiling liquid better.

[@DrPhanster]

That was the smoothest advertisement lead in ever.

[@Cyril29a]

How many others here started with Babish, then moved to Joshua and now have settled in with Adam?

[@eideticex]

Nice timing on this one. Yesterday my girl made some mash potatoes from scratch and was disappointed in the results. Then she began to view it as some sort of failure comparing her results to my results (in general, not just potatoes). Maybe seeing an accomplished chef like yourself will help her understand the point I was trying to make, that we all must experiment and take note of what did and didn't work to reach those "perfect" recipes we have in our heads.

[@larsdorka]

I've never seen anyone including the peel in the mashed potatoes, but now I'm going to try that :)

[@juansolo1617]

I use heavy whipping cream for mine... and I also do a de-starch boil first, drain, return to pan in new water. Drop a little bit of crushed garlic, whipping cream and butter when blending. I let people decide how much salt and pepper they wanna use.

[@CJODell12]

The return of the “Why I X my Y, not my Z” meme.

[@VerveVarle]

Don't know why, but sometimes I like adding carrots to the mash :)) I just sometimes feel like it :D

[@agony3254]

I'm calling the police

[@VerveVarle]

@@agony3254 and sometimes I may even add fried onion to that :D

[@lulucool45]

tasty. and takes on a bit of orange color

[@VerveVarle]

@@lulucool45 yeah, that's lovely too

[@jacecollins7781]

Love these videos

[@EmperorShang]

Adam, hope you do a video one day on the different brewing styles. Got into a debate with a friend about whether or not drip, French, or cold brew makes a significant difference

[@UdderlyEvelyn]

Two things - and know I'm from Delaware for context. 1. I have never heard any of these myths whatsoever, and I've always wondered what's with milk being added all the time out of nowhere as I grew up. 2. We never call it "mash" here, always "mashed potatoes" (just thought you might find that interesting).

[@vspimentel]

I guess draining the water doesn't make a lot of difference for the style of mashed potatoes I often see here in the US. But for the French puree which is more common where I grew up in Brazil, you have to add much more milk and butter (usually 25 to 30% each). So, you have to drain the potato water more thoroughly to compensate for the amount of liquid you will add later.

[@AnotherDuck]

As a tangent to the water vs milk thing, using hot milk instead of hot water is the one benefit instant coffee has. And as a tangent to that you can use chocolate (either powder mix or pieces) instead of sugar in coffee.

[@KPA78]

In my years of mash potato-making experiences, keeping about a cup of the boiling water (rather than draining the boiling pan dry) ensures additional potato starch in the mix, providing a smoother, creamier product with an 'earthier' potato flavor to the mash.