Baked Cheesy Mashed Potato Bites Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do people add sour cream to mashed potatoes? ›

Sour cream adds a little bit of tangy flavor and a boost of richness to mashed potatoes. It's a fun change from the standard milk or cream and butter combo usually flavoring mashed taters. You can even try your hand at making homemade sour cream from heavy cream!

The best potatoes for mashed potatoes are a starchy varieties like russet, Idaho or Yukon gold. Starchy potatoes are best for mashed potatoes because they have a fluffy, almost airy texture that breaks down easily.

More often than not, gluey mashed potatoes are caused by a large amount of waxy potatoes being overworked and mashed in the cooking process.

Sour Cream: The sour cream helps keep the mashed potatoes fluffy. Cream Cheese: This adds a bit of creaminess without being too overpowering. Heavy Cream: Increases the creaminess and helps thin out the potatoes a bit.

Sour cream is much richer than milk and it could make your potatoes too rich (per The Kitchn). Adding a touch of sour cream to your potato recipe can add a bit of richness and some zip without taking away from the texture you may be desiring when making mashed potatoes.

Instead of regular milk, pro chefs generally use a generous helping of buttermilk and plenty of half-and-half or (even better) heavy cream in their potatoes. If you think the bartenders up front are pouring heavy, they've got nothing on the cooks in the back who are in charge of the mashed potatoes.

Add a Thickening Agent

This is the most common way to thicken mashed potatoes. You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry. Potato flour and potato starch would work as well.

Thick-skinned varieties like russets will give you the fluffiest results. Steer clear of waxy red-skinned potatoes, which turn gluey when mashed. If it's too late to make the swap, change course and roast the potatoes tossed with oil, garlic and some fresh rosemary if you have it, instead of boiling them.

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Yukon Gold potatoes are a favorite for mashing not only because they have a high starch content (hooray!), but also because of their naturally buttery flavor. They also don't absorb as much water as russet potatoes (aka Idaho potatoes), which can get a little mushy if overcooked or not properly drained.

Why did my mashed potatoes turn GREY? ›

Once they have been peeled and cut, raw potatoes will turn brown quickly. This process, which is called oxidation, happens because potatoes are a naturally starchy vegetable. And when exposed to oxygen, starches turn gray, brown, or even black. An oxidized potato is completely safe to eat.

Butter helps make the starchy texture of potatoes richer and eliminates that "cling" some potatoes get when they're freshly mashed. You shouldn't let butter be the only dairy you use, however.

"Become somewhat sticky" is not a sign of spoilage (in the food safety sense,) it's probably the starch gelatinizing. Unappealing as mashed potatoes, but not a clear sign that it will make you sick if you ate it. But better to make the potatoes closer to the time they will be eaten so that they are more appealing.

Baking with Sour Cream: The creamy texture of sour cream makes baked goods more moist than if you used milk. This makes sour cream an excellent choice for recipes that are known to have drier results, like sponge cakes.

Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.) shortens gluten strands, which essentially leads to the most tender baked goods," she adds.

Sour cream is commonly used as a condiment on foods, or combined with other ingredients to form a dipping sauce. It can be added to soups and sauces to help thicken and make them creamy, or in baking to help increase the moisture level over and above using milk.