Riced Mashed Potatoes
It was in the 1770s that Europeans first ate potatoes in major quantities. Only when bad growing seasons hit their grain crops did the people eat what they earlier regarded as a lower-class food.
The Hessian fly threatened the wheat crop on American farms from 1770-1800. Potatoes did not replace breads and noodles for the German settlers, but they did become a substantial supplement to their diets from then on. By the mid-19th century, potatoes were frequently on the menu three times a day.
Amish families still eat a lot of potatoes—they like their flavor, and they find them substantial. Eaten alongside a schnitz pie, they make a more serious meal of an otherwise quickie snack. Mashed or riced potatoes give strength to nearly any menu. Potatoes at breakfast time last well until lunch.
New potato recipes continue to be invented. Here are a few old favorites that have survived through the generations.
Ingredients
- 6 medium-sized potatoes peeled and cut in chunks
- ½–¾ cup milk scalded
- ½ tsp. salt
- brown butter
Instructions
- Cook potatoes until very soft in small amount of water.
- Pour ½ cup milk and salt into the saucepan with the potatoes.
- With a manual potato ricer, immediately mash the potatoes by hand.
- Add additional milk if they seem too stiff.
- Stop mashing at whichever stage you prefer—when the potatoes have been formed into noodle-like strands, or when they are as smooth as an electric mixer’s end result.
- (The Amish, because they do not have electricity in their homes, always mash their potatoes by hand.
- )
- Cover with brown butter.