Mashed potatoes made easy

    This useful recipe uses a kitchen scale and a little math to help make consistently tasty mashed potatoes. The butter, milk and salt are calculated based on the weight of the cooked potatoes. No measuring cups or spoons are dirtied in the making of this delicious side dish.

     Here are the recipe ingredients listed by both cumbersome volume and also the far easier and more efficient weight. Notice the use of a spreadsheet in this recipe. The advantage of this will be shown later.

 This recipe also reflects calories and calories for gram for those of us who sometimes count.

1) Select any amount of potatoes of any desired size. Or simply weigh about two and half pounds of raw potatoes to approximate what is needed for serving about five people.

2) Fill a dutch oven or other pot about half full of water and turn burner on high.

3) Peel and slice the potatoes into any desired size. The larger the size the longer the cook time. Put them in the heating water.

4) Boil the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a fork or knife easily goes through them.

5) Ready a mixing bowl on a kitchen scale. Zero it out.

6) Drain the water from the cooked potatoes and dump them in the empty bowl on the scale.

1651 grams of cooked potatoes

7) Note this weight. I enter it on a spreadsheet set up to calculate the correct weights of the rest of the ingredients.

The cells can easily be set up to do the math for you

 This can be done by hand of course, multiplying the potato weight by each of the ratios in turn to arrive at the correct ingredient weight.

8) Add the calculated ingredients to the potatoes on the scale, zeroing out the scale between each addition.

9) Mix at high speed with a beater or use a Mixmaster. About two minutes gives a good consistency.

Always tasty, always consistent and always easier to make

10) Enjoy in moderation. I'm kidding. There is only one calorie in a gram.