The Common Potato Mistake That Could Make Clam Chowder Inedible - Tasting Table

"When you overblend potatoes, it makes for a glue-like consistency, which ruins the chowder. What Witwer is referring to is the act of pulsing the potatoes with a food processor or immersion blender for an even thicker chowder. It can lead to great results, but you need to be careful."

"When potatoes are blended, their starches are released, causing them to become sticky or gummy. This can ruin the creamy texture of any chowder or soup, and it's very hard to backpedal on. To avoid it, Chef Witwer recommends pulsing the potatoes in a food processor only briefly and leaving some bigger pieces for texture."

Clam chowder requires careful handling of potatoes, which serve multiple functions: bulking the soup, naturally thickening it, and providing textural contrast to the creamy base and chewy clams. When potatoes are over-blended using a food processor or immersion blender, their starches release excessively, resulting in a gummy, glue-like consistency that compromises the entire dish. To prevent this, potatoes should be pulsed briefly in a food processor, leaving some larger pieces intact for texture, and this should occur before adding cream. Using lower blender settings, reducing potato quantity, and selecting appropriate potato varieties like Yukon Golds or red potatoes also help maintain proper chowder consistency.

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