Mashed potatoes using the sous-vide

A potential customer asks us if it is possible to make mashed potatoes using the sous-vide cooking technique and mashing the potato inside the same cooking bag. Here is the response from our chef.

It is possible to make mashed potatoes in the sous-vide. The cooking temperature must be 90ºC and the cooking time for medium sized potatoes will be 40-45 minutes.

Place all the ingredients (potato, nutmeg, garlic, milk, butter, salt and pepper) into a vacuum bag that can withstand high temperatures of up to 120ºC, seal and cook.  With this technique your mashed potatoes will have a homemade appearance. It will be difficult to achieve a smooth puree. Nevertheless, once the potatoes are cooked, you can use a blender to make a traditional purée, smoother than if it were mashed by hand.

Take into account some important points, such as:

1. It is important to slice the potatoes uniformly so that they cook evenly and are ready at the same time.
2. When vacuum cooking, you must remember that there will be no evaporation. Therefore, the amount of liquid must be in proportion so that when the potatoes are ready, you are not left with a purée that is not thick enough.
3. Once the potatoes are cooked, if you wish to mash the potatoes, do so while they are still hot. Thus, they will not turn gooey and you will be able to make a traditional purée.

To finish, our chef has given us some practical tips to make this technique especially interesting for making mashed potatoes:

1. Simply mashing the potato after cooking will result in a more homemade mashed potato that will not need any further processing other than regenerating the bag when it is to be used.
2. Any purées you decide to make will be perfect in terms of quality and shelf life. This is because with the with a vacuum, on one hand, the organoleptic values are preserved during processing and, on the other, the shelf life is extended.
3. They will be well stored and very well organised at the time of the service.
4. If you cut one of the corners of the bag, it can be used as a piping bag to serve the purée more easily, on the plate or as part of a composition.