Mashed potatoes, especially, has had a memorable history. It all started in 1771, where a Frenchman, Antoine Parmentier introduced potatoes as a theme for a competition. He won first prize. He cultivated potatoes and even had a group of imperial troops tosentry his field near Paris. However, the guards may have not been vigilant enough, because peasants managed to steal some from the raise. This effectively launched potatoes into French and, much later, European cuisine.

There are many variations of mashed potatoes around the world. Some like it plain; others add cheese, bacon bits and even wasabi. The French add egg yolk and style them ? la Parmentier? in a honor to the man who brought the spuds to them. In England, there are still traditional-style shops selling ?bangers and mash? and ?pies and mash?, favorites among the working class. Apart from that, mashed potatoes are included in shepherd's pie, Colcannon and potato croquette.

Mashed Potatoes Recipe!

In making mashed potatoes, you'll need one (1) cup of heavy cream (use low-fat cream if you're watching your shape), half (1/2) cup of salted butter, salt for flavor and six (6) medium-sized potatoes. The best potatoes for mashing are red and russet Burbank potatoes. They give a rough and unique feel to the end meal. If you don't like lumps in your taters, use Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes. These give a flat and creamy feel to the whole dish.

First, peel of the skin of your spuds. Make sure you take of the eyes, which are flecks of skin embedded in the potato. If you want a rural taste, you can keep about half of the skin, because the skin contains many nutrients, although they're harder to squash later. cover them in cold water to prevent them browning over.

Next, cut them to 2-inch chunks and add them to a decent-sized pot. Pour water until the spuds are entirely submerged. Adding salt is optional at this stage. Cover the pot and apply high heat until it comes to a boil. Then reduce it to a easy boil and wait for 15 to 20 minutes. To find out if they're cooked, poke one of the potatoes with a knife and it should have no problem entering. If the taters stick to the knife, they need a few more minutes.

Drain the water and allow them to dry, while you heat up some cream and butter in a saucepan at a low temperature. Now comes the fun part; the mashing. Use a food grinder or a potato ricer. Avoid using electrical mixers, since they will over-mix the taters and break the starch molecules. The starch is what that gives the dish its wonderful feel. Mix them to a nice and lumpy mixture.

Stir in your butter and cream into the bowl. The next stage requires your imagination. Add anything that suits your mood into the puree. It could be chives, parsley, cheese or leeks.

Potatoes are also great for your health while they improve glucose tolerance and protect against colon cancer. I bet Sir Walter Raleigh didn't know that when he thought potatoes are only fit to be thrown into animal feed.