Mashed potatoes are one of the staple comfort dishes that go with many meals, and everyone has their own way of making them. However, culinary experts at Delish think they’ve found the secret to getting your potatoes extra fluffy every single time.
They argue that your mashed potatoes only need one ingredient to achieve a whipped and fluffy texture. To put it to the test, they compared it to a controlled portion of regular mash, as well as another dish with a similar ingredient added to the mix. The secret ingredient? Baking powder.
Delish added one teaspoon of baking powder to one dish and one teaspoon of baking soda to another, both against a control sample. Their regular recipe for mash included sour cream and butter.
They said: “So what’s the real secret to incredible mashed potatoes? Apparently, it’s not just a bunch of sour cream and a bunch of butter; it’s something that’s already sitting in your pantry.
“As a potato professional, I’m gonna test the theory that baking powder makes your mashed potatoes incredibly fluffy. I’m a little sceptical, but we’re gonna use science to figure it out.”
Their “standard procedure” for mashed potatoes includes sour cream, butter and salt. For version one of their test, they added one teaspoon of baking powder, and in version two, one teaspoon of baking soda.
Delish continued: “The theory is that baking powder reacts with the acid to make a lot of little tiny air pockets, which makes your potato super duper fluffy.”
They whipped up each potato dish with hand whisks. When trying the mashed potatoes with baking powder added, Delish said: “I’m mad that’s what the base was, I actually did not want this to work. I don’t like people putting a whole bunch of extra stuff in my mashed potatoes, but… that’s really good. Oh my god, these are thicker.”
When trying the baking soda mash, they were pleasantly surprised. They concluded: “I’m gonna take V1 every time, because V2 kind of just makes me a little bit sad, but it doesn’t taste bad.”
If you’re looking for a mashed potato full of fluffiness and that tastes great, Delish suggested using baking powder. However, if it was determined on fluffiness alone, Delish would recommend adding baking soda to the mix.
