Smash

[woodpijn]

A while back I tried cooking with Smash (instant mashed potato) at home, and I actually liked it better than normal mashed potato. Alex, independently and unknowingly, asked me what I'd done differently with the mash because it was so nice. So now I use it all the time, because it's both quicker and nicer

Comments

[ghoti]

I personally don't like Smash, but I see no reason why that should stop you eating it!

[woodpijn]

But should it stop me cooking it for the student supper? If your tastes are representative of most people.

[ghoti]

I don't think my tastes are more representative of most people than yours or Alex's; I think you should carry on as you are.

[atreic]

It's a different food. Like instant coffee and coffee from real beans. Some people think using instant coffee is a sign that you're lazy, some that you have no taste, and some that you're poor. Personally, I really like instant coffee, and really like coffee from beans, and on different days in different moods will want either.

M cooks a really amazing thing with sausages and apples and smash. But when I first was dating him and realised it was smash and not potatoes I had exactly the same 'eugh!' response. Then I ate the food and it was really nice, so I got over it.

[I wonder if smash got better between us being kids and now?]

[emperor]

I wouldn't use smash where I wanted mashed potato, but in the odd recipe (like atreic describes) it's quite a good ingredient.

I can totally sympathise with not wanting to peel 80 potatoes! I think you're only allowed to be obviously-snobby about it if you offer to peel the spuds next time round ;-)

[woodpijn]

To be fair, I picked the recipe. I could have done something with rice.

[toothycat]

Tried it once, thought it was much worse than regular mashed potato.

Mind you, what's the basis for comparison? - how do you normally make mashed potato? I usually add a bit of salt, a hefty quantity of butter (actually butter, not marge) and about one part full fat milk to three parts potato by volume. If you're comparing to just literally mashed potato, I can see Smash might be an improvement...

[woodpijn]

I was comparing Smash with salt and pepper and butter to mashed potato with salt and pepper and butter. I sometimes put a dash of milk in (either kind). Wouldn't 1:3 milk be really sloppy?

[toothycat]

For a pie top it's certainly fine, the liquid boils out and the milk makes it go cheesy :) but YMMV

Smash, of course, you could just reconstitute with milk rather than water.

[ptc24]

By way of explanation: I'm a picky eater, and in particular I'm picky about mash. I like my mash the way my mother makes it - my sister does it the same way. Once I tried making mash myself and it turned out nice. But I don't trust anyone else with mash - I recently plucked up the courage to try some of the mash at work, and I got about 10% of the way through before deciding I couldn't continue. It's a good canteen at work, so it's me, not it.

So I think I tried Smash and didn't like it, but that may be generic pickiness about mash.

I used to be that ridiculously picky about baked potatoes as well, but I seem to have got over that. Somewhere in the middle is coleslaw - I'm not sure what it is that other people do wrong, probably too much mayonnaise, but a fair number of people get it right.