Mr Mash Instant Mashed Potato

I love mashed potatoes! However I hate peeling potatoes, mashing the potatoes and cleaning up after potatoes! My mum was the same and I was practically brought up on smash, but for some reason it just dosen't taste the same as it used to do!

I decided to give Mr Mash a try after spotting it in a food discount shop for 99p for a large box of approx 15 servings! (Who are they kidding) A large box contain 3 foil sachets and each sachet is supposed to serve 5 portions! Each sachet weighs 120g but there are around 700g of potato in each sachet.

It is really easy to make, you simply add the potato which is in a powder form to boiling water. 1 pint of water per sachet of potato mix adda knob off butter and stir leaving you with a not bad looking bowl of mash! It say you may add salt which I do as I find it a little bland without.

It can also be microwaved, just put cold water in a bowl add the potato and stir well then heat in the microwave for about 5-6 mins depending on your microwave. What could be simpler?

When you have followed the instructions you are left with a pale cream coloured mash which i find despite following the instructions to a T sometimes are firm and fluffy and soemtimes a bit limp and sloppy! I suppose as they are made with real spuds the potatoes used determine the finished result!

Once you have got the right amount of salt worked out to use they are really quite nice, certainly acceptable for a quick and lazy alternative to real mash. I don't think I would use them all the time as they aren't quite as good as the real thing. They are also greatly improved by using half milk and half water to mix them but if i'm going to clean burnt milk up I may as well clean a spud pan!

Mr Mash contains all the nutrients you woulf find in fresh mash as they are steam cooked before powdering!

Each pack contains 99% real potato the remaining 1% is made up of emulsifiers, anti-oxidants, stabalisers and flavours!

The box is green with a picture of mash and lamb chops on the front and mr mash written in white on a brown band around the top of the box, just so you know what to look out for!

All in all I would say keep a pack in your cupboard for emergencies. Mr Mash can be bought in most big supermarkets at around £1.35 for the 3 sachet pack and about 50p for a single sachet. They work out quite a bit more expensive than proper potatoes but thats the same for most convenience foods.