The Parchment Paper Hack To Easily Smash Potatoes

Making crispy-edged smashed potatoes? When you're pressing cooked potatoes onto a baking sheet, there's a risk that they'll get stuck, and it should come as no surprise. Potatoes are full of starch, which is so sticky that it can be used to make glue. They can cling to the pan during cooking and may also stick to the bottom of the glass or other tool you're using to press them down. And no one wants to spend time wiping off their tools when they could be getting ready to eat instead. 

As is often the case in baking, parchment paper is the answer, and we're here to add yet another use to our 17 parchment paper hacks you wish you knew sooner. Start by tearing off a sheet and lightly crumpling it before laying it down. Place your cooked potatoes on top of the paper.  Then cut another piece of parchment paper slightly larger than whatever you're using to smash the potatoes, and hold it under that tool every time you press it down. You'll find that you can move quickly between potatoes without pausing to clean the tool. 

Why is parchment paper such an effective fix for food that's always sticking to the pan? It's because pans are not as smooth as they look. Under a microscope, you'd see that metal has many little bumps and pits, and the oil you use to grease the pan doesn't always cover these irregularities evenly. Any spot that's not covered by oil becomes a potential sticking place for food.

Meanwhile, parchment paper is coated with silicone when it's manufactured, which gives it a very even, uniform surface with no place for food to hide. By placing a small piece of this paper between your tool and the potato, you can press and release cleanly every time. What's more? Most brands of parchment paper are safe to use with temperatures up to 420 degrees Fahrenheit, so the bigger sheet will keep the potatoes from adhering to the pan, helping them slide right off when you're ready to eat.