# Instant Mashed Potatoes



## agmccall (Jan 26, 2017)

Hi All

several years ago I started getting instant mashed potatoes by Idahoan. They are really simple and great for camping. Just add boiling water. 

I took a look at the ingredients and other than the things I can not pronounce the basic ingredients are potato, Veg oil, salt, sugar, buttermilk powder, nonfat dry milk, 

most of this I have stored anyway, and just did a search and I can get powdered shortening, and powdered butter.

So my question is, has anyone made these on their own, it would be great to have the recipe or ratios to make. Might not always have access to real milk and butter, or refrigeration for that matter.

Thanks

al


----------



## jimcosta (Jun 11, 2017)

For prepper purposes I have to ask, "Why go to the trouble of mixing your own?

Our group has inventoried lots of sealed bags of mashed potatoes from Sam's Club and thrown them into storage. 

Is your intention to store a huge quantity and save a lot of money in the process? If so, do you think you can obtain that result? If so let me know and we will follow your lead in the future, seriously. We are still trying to learn.

We never considered making our own anything other than bleach because of its necessity and short life expectancy.
Everything else we just purchased in volume and price saving from volume purchasing and just moved on to our next problem. We also always focused on foods that did not require vacuum packing later.

I guess our real goal was simplicity, expediency and inexpensive.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

We have a few large buckets of dehydrated potatoes and some #10 cans of powdered butter and powdered milk. Add potatoes, water, powdered milk, powdered butter and mash it all up=Mashed Potatoes. 

But personally I like the dehydrated potatoes unmashed.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

That would be the leftovers from last nights, baked or boiled, then heated/mashed with a little butter, pepper and salt. :tango_face_grin: If they didn't get to be homefries.........

Slippy, you dehydrate taters? 

You need a root cellar! If found a 2-year old tater bag that still will grow this year, some onions too!. I'll plant some so you can see fall time


----------



## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

I have....sort of. I've boiled the potatoes & mashed with a bit of water, dehydrated, then powdered...….don't add any fat or it will rot/go rancid. Add any fats like milk & butter when you reconstitute, or it can be skipped all together. 

I will say the texture is a bit grainy and not as 'smooooooth' as fresh or maybe even store bought, but it will do the trick. Any failure here is probably my own and I'll be experimenting to see if it can be improved.


Then again, SHTF....who cares if it's grainy......you have mashed potatoes, minus all the chemicals. Milk & butter???? Only if you have them & if not, water will suffice.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Mad Trapper said:


> That would be the leftovers from last nights, baked or boiled, then heated/mashed with a little butter, pepper and salt. :tango_face_grin: If they didn't get to be homefries.........
> 
> Slippy, you dehydrate taters?
> 
> You need a root cellar! If found a 2-year old tater bag that still will grow this year, some onions too!. I'll plant some so you can see fall time


Sadly root cellars in the Heart of Dixie don't work too well. Too much rain, too many snakes, too freakin' hot for too long and humidity that will make my short and curlies, curl! 
Plus about a few feet feet down from the topsoil Slippy Lodge is on Shale Rock and Clay and it holds water which is good for ponds and lakes but not for root cellars.

I tried to dehydrate potatoes once and it didn't work very well. The last 2 buckets of dehydrated potatoes that I bought were from Augason Farms. Inexpensive and a nice shelf life.


----------



## agmccall (Jan 26, 2017)

jimcosta said:


> For prepper purposes I have to ask, "Why go to the trouble of mixing your own?


Couple of reasons. As a prepper I like to learn new things and have multiple ways of having what I want/need.

From what I have read the shelf life is 18 months and while some say they will last much longer others say the oils will go rancid.

I am already storing the ingredients, potato flakes, different types of powdered milk, powdered butter. So while I will have a supply of these instant potatoes it does not make sense to me to pack in mylar and buckets. I would rather use the space to store foods of more nutritional value without all the unpronounceable ingredients.

The ingredients have multiple uses where the instant potatoes really only have one. Sure I could open a pack and spoon into soup for a thickener, but I have potato flakes for that.

al


----------



## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

@jimcosta when you say you have sealed bags of mashed potatoes, I'm assuming you mean mashed potatoes that are purchased insealed mylar bags? How exactly have you stored these and how long do you expect them to last?

For anyone who's paying attention, the Idahoan potato soups are quite good, even better than their mashed potatoes.


----------

