Flamey, it just reminds me of back in 1971, when I just could not make mashed taters the way Jerry liked them (aka, like his mom mad) LOL

I made them smooth, with lots of butter and milk, with cream, with lumps, but he kept saying.. no, that's not it.

Later, after I was in Oklahoma, and my English had gotten good enough to ask, I asked his mom about the mashed tators. She took me to her cup board, and pulled out a box of instant.

We still laugh about that one.

Me, of course I had only tried it with "real" tators.

Moni

When my kids were young, we had instant potatoes a lot. When I started making real ones, my son kept saying "these are lumpy, make the GOOD kind". He still loves them and he's 37.
JoanMN

Hi Flamey,

Maybe I've been "experience deprived" ... but I've never met a magician who produced "instant potatoes".

Around here, it mostly takes from two to three months to grow potatoes.

And ... when one stores them in the basement (not in controlled atmosphere conditions) - they get those dang sprouts on 'em so much!

Enjoy your potatoes, regardless of how you get 'em.

ole joyful

P.S. I've heard that, when boiling regular potatoes, pour some of the water into the pan with the dippings to make super-charged gravy.

o j

I also switch the amount of milk and water around and I have had guests who are surprised to find I am using instant potatoes. I don't use a name brand, I use the Aldi store brand.

Thank you, ma'am! I never thought of that to make them better. I keep a box on hand but hardly ever use them, would rather have the real thing. Think I'll try that little hint...

I like them, but DH doesn't usually. I'll try your tip next time and see if he changes his mind.

a small amount of instant potato flakes can also be used to thicken soup! Just stir in a handful until you get the thickness you desire!

OJ, that is the ONLY way to make gravy if you have drippings and boiled potatoes at the same time. It's how I was taught/shown you made gravy, and I was about 12 at the time. So that's been 50 years ago. Why is it I remember that, but can't remember what I did or what I had for dinner last night?
Leslie

I don't even use water at all...just milk....they taste just like homemade...well...almost anyway! LOL!
In real potatoes I use milk & butter then throw in some creamer...the kind for coffee(Cremora)...yum!!!

All this talking about it is making me want more, we still have leftover gravy. lol Good thing we're out of flakes. I guess we'll have it on brown rice.

Nice to know that some of you out there like 'em as much as I do. I don't know that my mom ever made mashed potatoes from scratch, being a Brit, she liked 'em boiled and buttered and parsleyed. So it was instant if we wanted mashed. And those are my 2 favorite ways to eat them, too.

HI, CR!!!!! So nice to see you, been really busy at work? How're all the pups?

I always looked down on instant mashed potatoes until someone gave me a box of instant garlic mashed potatoes from Trader Joes. Yummy!

At Meals on Wheels we often have mashed potatoes and they are always from a box but we add onion seasoning and if we have it, we'll add sour cream...My DH would only eat the "real" ones until he tasted these and now he wants the Meals kind...

DD prefers the instant. Everyone else likes them from scratch. I usually make them from scratch. Mine are always whipped by a hand mixer, so they are very smooth. I add Butter, milk and sour cream to mine.
Judy

Instant mashed potatoes (like anything that came in a package) was a "treat" for us LOLOL. I still like them now. I like real mashed too. I don't think I've ever met a potato I didn't like ;).

Dh use to hate instant mashed potatoes until I started using Idahoan brand.I always use more milk,sometimes cream,salt,pepper and lots of real butter.Several years ago we had a little cafe and served mashed potatoes every day.To make them go farther I would cook the taters and mash them in the water they were cooked in with milk and butter then add instants to make them the desired consistency.Everyone raved about my mashed potatoes.LOL
When I make them from scratch I always use a little of the cooking water to mash them in then add milk or cream and sometimes sour cream.I mash them with a hand mixer.My aunt makes the best mashed taters.She uses canned milk instead of regular milk.
OJ- My mother taught me to use the tater water in gravy.Makes cream gravy taste wonderful too.I always use half milk (usually canned evaporated milk),half water in my cream gravy.Substitute the tater water for the water.
Quick and Easy potato soup......peel,slice and boil a medium size potato.When it's done mash it up with a potato masher or a fork,add milk,butter,garlic powder,salt and lots of pepper and thicken with instant mashed potatoes.It will be creamy with little chunks of potato.

Lilliepad, Whenever I make potato soup I always use a couple of spoons of instant potatoes to it to thicken it a bit. I also add some worcestershire sauce to it. Yummy...
Linda

I never peel potatoes now when I mash them, I saw my DD's BF do it that way he used thin skined ones or red ones and you cut them up really small they cook fast, mash them they are a bit lumpy but so yummmy and easy peasy. He does garlic ones too I have never tried those.

I do instant alot also, my family does not care I always have a box just in case.

I was another one that looked down on the instant brand until I had the Idaho brand at a friend's house. We love them. It's just DH and I and it's a lot faster to whip those up than peel, boil and mash them.

My DH hated instant potatoes..until...I would boil one potato then grate it into the flakes, add some of the potato water, wah lah..tasted like real 'taters. Of course I used milk and butter also.

I add a few tablespoons of buttermilk to my mashed potatoes, along with the butter, milk and salt and pepper, and a pinch or two of sugar. I'll have to try the potato water in the gravy next time though - sounds so good!
Nancy

One of my favorite school lunches was fish sticks and mashed potatoes with melted butter. Of course, they used instants. That was one of the first meals I would cook when I got out on my own. Still a favorite except I can't find decent fish sticks!

When I started using instants, I learned quickly it was easy to put too much liquid in them so I'd take a measuring cup and put in butter (way more than it said to), milk (way more than they said to) and would then add water to the level needed, which was way less than they said to use. And they always needed a lot more salt than recommended too. Nowadays, I don't keep milk around too often so I keep a box of powdered milk. So I add water but add a BUNCH of the powedered milk. Probably enough to make it more of a cream than milk! But I've always had pretty good instants that way. There are a couple brands that are better than others too, I've found.

When I make instant potatoes, I use sour cream instead of milk, and I add about a half teaspoon each white pepper and salt. Nobody in the family minds instant potatoes.