There's a better way to make mashed potatoes, and this is it

"The journey started just before Thanksgiving last year, when my sister and I discussed an episode of "Milk Street Kitchen" where the experts trumpeted a new, supposedly better, way to mash, with the usual ingredients (potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper) but a new technique. We were intrigued, but decided we better not mess with a key component of our super-traditional Thanksgiving dinner."

"My friend Peter and I set up a control group with the usual method: boil cut-up potatoes (I like Yukon Gold) in water, pulverize them and then add in milk and butter. At the same time, we also tried the "Milk Street" method, in which you simmer the potatoes in milk (you don't want to boil, which would scald the milk) until it's almost all absorbed, then mash the butter in."

"The control group was still good but, when tasted side-by-side with the cooked-in-milk version, they seemed watery and as bland as mashed potatoes are always accused of being. Cooking potatoes in milk makes them richer, with almost a caramelized element, and with a much creamier consistency, as if they've been whipped. They feel fancier, restaurant-y, but I'm confident they'd go great with the rest of the Thanksgiving meal stations of the cross."

A side-by-side test compared two mashing techniques using Yukon Gold potatoes and a hand masher. One method boiled cut-up potatoes in water, then pulverized them before adding milk and butter. The alternative simmered the potatoes in milk until the liquid was nearly absorbed, then the butter was mashed in. The simmer-in-milk approach produced a richer, slightly caramelized flavor and a whipped, creamier consistency. The boiled-then-added method tasted comparatively watery and bland. The milk-simmer technique creates a more restaurant-like mash, though diners accustomed to traditional flavors may notice the change.

Read at Boston Herald