What Kind Of Potatoes To Use For Mashed Potato Recipe?

There are two things to consider when you are choosing the right potato for your mashed potatoes recipe. One is the amount of starch in the potatoes and the other is the texture of the potatoes.

Low Starch Or High Starch Potatoes?

A potato is mostly made of water and starch and by the amount of starch you have high starch potatoes or low starch potatoes.

High starch potatoes are potatoes like russet and yukon gold. More starch means fuller potato cells which give fluffier texture.

Low starch potatoes are potatoes like round whites. They are waxier and absorb less water (better for cooking, mashed spuds). Cooks also say they have more flavor and less “starchy” taste.

The second thing to look for when you wonder what kind of potatoes to use for mashed potato recipe is texture.

Potato Texture

Texture determines how the potato should be cooked. We can divide potatoes into waxy and floury.

Waxy potatoes are new potatoes. These are harvested early  – in spring or at the beginning of the summer.

Floury potatoes are the usual potatoes the you find in the supermarket. They make the main share of potatoes and are harvested towards the end of summer at beginning of autumn.

If you need potatoes for mashed potato recipe then look for floury potatoes. They are less likely to become gluey. Also a tip – if you are adding milk to your mashed potatoes – add warm milk. Cold milk can cause the starch in the potatoes to set and you will get gluey mashed potatoes.

On the other hand, if you are looking for potatoes to bake, new potatoes might be better. When the potatoes are harvested their skin is very soft, thin and delicate. These are new potatoes. If they are left to cure the skin thickens and you get “old potatoes” (I just made that up I think :)). New potatoes taste better but again, they are not the best kind for making mashed potatoes.

Now, we have picked the right potatoes, lets start cooking- how to cook mashed potatoes. And when you are done cooking browse our site and find some delicious mashed potatoes recipes.