Mashing potatoes into the pot with food mill, with green onion mixture in skillet on the right.

There is a kitchen tool that many of you don’t have, but should invest in… a food mill.  I swear by it, there is not better way to make lump-free, perfectly textured mashed potatoes.  The food mill consists of three parts: a slanted bottomless bowl, interchangeable disks with holes in various sizes, and a crank with a bent metal blade which mashes the food and pushes it through the disks as you turn it.  There are generally three corrugated feet on the bottom of the bowl to old the mill in place on the rim of a pot or pan.  The bowl may be plastic, stainless steel or aluminum and the disks and blades are usually made of stainless steel.  I prefer the style with the plastic bowl, for easier clean-up.  Not only is the food mill used to make perfect mashed potatoes, but also removes the sees when making tomato sauce from cooked tomatoes or to remove pulp from other cooked foods when making a sauce or puree.

Prices range from $20 to $100, I own several (because of the cooking school), but almost always use the $20 plastic model. You can find a food mill at most well-stocked kitchen stores or online.

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