Potato pearls/instant potatoes. The usual ingredients include
potatoes, salt, butter (cream, salt), partially hydrogenated canola oil,
monoglycerides, diglycerides, milk, sunflower lecithin. The
ingredients vary a little among the manufacturers, but they are
essentially all the same. Freshness is preserved with sodium bisulfite
and BHT. They generally have a shelf-life of about eighteen months.
These instant potatoes are prepared by putting 1/2 cup of instant
potatoes into a container. Add one cup hot or boiling water. Allow to
sit for 2-3 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve. Makes 2 servings.
Potato flakes. I've only found one brand that is straight
dehydrated potato flakes--Bob's Red Mill. Other potato flake brands
usually have at least some additives and preservatives. For all brands
of potato flakes, butter, milk, and salt must be added to make mashed
potatoes. When packaged for long-term storage, they have a shelf life
of up to 30 years.
My family and I really prefer our mashed potatoes to be made from fresh
potatoes. We grow potatoes, and if we have a good harvest, we store the
potatoes. Life's just better that way. But we haven't had a massive
garden since moving to the high desert on the side of a mountain.
Growing large quantities of potatoes hasn't been an option for us for
several years. So we include the dehydrated flakes. My husband also
insisted on storing potato pearls them because he grew up on them and
likes them. He's the only one who uses them. They taste really fake to
the rest of us. I don't have anything more to write about potato
pearls.
Potato flakes, on the other hand, well, we can talk about those for a while.
A little while back, I needed to clean out the freezer to make some
space. Spying some hamburger and mixed veggies, I figured it would be a
good night for shepherd's pie. And that I could try out some of those
potato flakes. The recipe on the can calls for 3 cups boiling water,
1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup milk, and 3 cups potato flakes. I
was pretty sure I didn't need that much, so I scaled the recipe down to
2/3 that amount. And I remembered that I had some yogurt in the fridge
that didn't set. I could use that instead of the milk. And I
remembered adding sour cream to mashed potatoes in the past to make
shepherd's pie, and that it worked out nicely.
So I mixed up the potatoes with the yogurt. And I tasted. I had to
reluctantly admit they were OK. Just ok. Then I stirred in the sour
cream. These buggers were tasty! I think the texture still whispered
they were from a box, but they were good. I licked the fork I used for
stirring. Then I used my finger to clean the sides and bottom of the
pan. Ouch. That was embarrassing. Then, because I had plopped down
the last spoonful on top of the shepherd's pie, and because my husband
wasn't looking, I carefully picked up that little plop and popped it in
my mouth.
You have no idea how happy I am that my kids weren't watching. The shame of it all.
Anyway, so now you know those potatoes can be made to taste pretty
good. And truth be told, I'd actually prefer these to home-canned
potatoes turned into mashed potatoes. Maybe it was because we didn't
can the right variety of potatoes, but the instant just tasted much
better. They had a better texture. I'll limit the home canning of
potatoes to French fries and beef stew.
And in case you were wondering, there are a whole lot of ways to use
potato flakes beyond making mashed potatoes. You're going to want to
stock up. We'll cover some uses in the following weeks.
Links to related posts:
Instant Soups for Emergency Kits
More Dough Enhancers for Lighter, Softer Bread
Slug Burgers
Seven Really Diverse Ways to Use Instant Potato Flakes
Deep Fried Zucchini
For further reading:
http://www.potatoesusa.com/potato-products/dehydrated-potatoes
http://happypreppers.com/potato-flakes.html
https://www.cooksinfo.com/instant-mashed-potato-flakes
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/surprising-recipes-with-potato-flakes/
https://www.bobsredmill.com/potato-flakes.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/2011/12/instant-mashed-potatoes-taste-test-whats-the-best-brand.html
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-make-mashed-potatoes-with-chicken-broth/
https://theprovidentprepper.org/potato-flakes-delicious-and-versatile-long-term-food-storage-staple/
https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1OyCER6-Z0g1AXE8-uFnKwh58aRXo6nQCvssEYuozgBQ&hl=en
Shepherd's pie is how I use them and to make fried potato cakes. Also making potatoes soup when I only have a couple of potatoes left.
ReplyDeleteHubby has to have real potatoes for mashed potatoes too. Me I don't care
Just looked at slug burgers. Yep on the menu.
ReplyDelete