Why You Should Be Cautious When Adding Milk To Mashed Potatoes

According to YouGovAmerica, mashed potatoes are America's third most beloved United States-made dish. And while the widely-adored side can come smothered in cheese or flavored with olive oil, every delicious pan of mashed potatoes has some of the same essential factors. Aside from, of course, the potatoes, most servings of this Thanksgiving dinner staple involve butter, salt, and something to ensure the mashed potatoes will be perfectly creamy (via All Recipes).

But although there are a few out-of-the-box ways to guarantee your mashed potatoes turn out smooth, like throwing in mayonnaise, the most commonly used method is to add milk. And if you think that means you need to pour a large helping of the ingredient into your pot to ensure your mashed potatoes are the perfect consistency, think again. Because despite being an essential part of mashed potatoes' recipe, using too much milk could mean a fate as terrifying as dry mashed potatoes.

Although mashed potatoes' creaminess is a part of their appeal, their taste suffers when they turn out so wet they slip out of your spoon. And according to Serious Eats, throwing in too much milk won't just cause diluted mashed potatoes. The website reported that once you accidentally drown your mashed potatoes in milk, "there's no simple way to remove liquid" from the dish. While My Recipes claims corn starch is a reliable way to restore your potatoes' solidity, Serious Eats explained that starch could end up causing the overall fluffiness of the potatoes to suffer.

The website reported that throwing in more peeled potatoes could level out the dish without compromising the potatoes' fluffiness. But to avoid making more food than you planned, pay less attention to how much milk your cookbook urges you to throw into your potatoes. Instead, it suggested, slowly pour in small amounts and gauge how much you need as you go. 

This will help you prevent your mashed potatoes from getting soggy in the first place and save you from wasted time, depleted food resources, and the sadness that comes with accidentally botching your mashed potatoes.