Food - Drink
Why You Should Add Butter And Cream To Mashed Potatoes Separately
By KALEA MARTIN
Whether you like your mashed potatoes country style, extra smooth, or covered with gravy, you can't go wrong with the addition of butter and cream. While you might assume that you can add both in at the same time, since everything will be mashed together eventually, your potatoes will be better if you don’t.
Cream contains a high amount of water, and when combined with the starch molecules in potatoes, it creates a gummy texture. To avoid this, all you have to do is add the butter first, which will coat the starch in fat to shield it from the water in the cream, leading to silky mashed potatoes rather than gluey ones.
Additionally, do not melt the butter before adding it, as melting it causes the fat and milk solids to separate, and no matter how much you try mixing, it will never disperse evenly. Alternatively, you'll want cream that's warm or at least room temperature, as the potatoes won't be able to absorb it otherwise, resulting in pools of cream.