“It’s not always easy to figure out which potatoes to use for what,” writes Deborah Madison in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Some 25 years after the book was published, those words still ring true, especially when you consider the range of conventional and heirloom potato varieties available at supermarkets and farm stands. The best potatoes for roasting, baking, mashing, and frying aren’t always interchangeable.
The perfect mashed potatoes are those that strike the ultimate balance - fluffy texture matched only by rich, buttery creaminess. However, all too often mashed potatoes are dense, lumpy and at their worst - gummy. The difference comes down to proper potato selection, ideal cooking method and the appropriate handling of mix-ins. Keep reading to unlock all our secrets to ultra-creamy mashed potatoes.