View source for Instant mashed potatoes

{{short description|Dehydrated mashed potatoes reconstituted by adding water or milk}}
[[File:Croyden_House_Instant_Mashed_Potatoes.jpg|thumb|A modern package of instant mashed potatoes]]
[[File:Instant mashed potatoes.jpg|thumb|Instant mashed potatoes]]

'''Instant mashed potatoes''' are [[potato]]es that have been through an industrial process of cooking, mashing and dehydrating to yield a packaged [[convenience food]] that can be [[Food processing|reconstituted]] by adding hot [[water]] and/or [[milk]], producing an approximation of [[mashed potato]]es. They are available in many different flavors.

Mashed potatoes can be reconstituted from [[flour#Types|potato flour]], but the process is made more difficult by lumping; a key characteristic of instant mashed potatoes is that it is in the form of flakes or granules, eliminating the chunkiness. Analogous to instant mashed potatoes are instant [[poi (food)|poi]] made from [[taro]] and instant [[fufu]] made from [[yam (vegetable)|yams]] or yam substitutes including [[cereal]]s.  [[Poha (rice)|Poha]], an [[rice|instant rice]] mush, is also much in the same spirit, as more broadly are other instant [[porridge]]s, formed from flakes, granules, or pearls to avoid lumping. Brands include [[Smash (instant mashed potato)|Smash]] and Idahoan Foods.

Flaked instant mashed potatoes are most commonly found in stores in the [[United States]], Mexico and [[Canada]]. Granulated forms are generally reserved more for institutional or restaurant use.

== History ==
[[File:Dehydrated shredded potatoes.jpg|left|thumb|Dehydrated shredded potatoes, circa 1940.]]
The practice of drying [[starch]]y [[root vegetable]]s for [[food preservation|preservation]] and portability is widely attested around the world, and likely dates back to before the advent of [[agriculture]]. Potatoes in particular have been [[freeze drying|freeze dried]] since at least the time of the [[Inca empire]], in the form of [[chuño]];<ref>{{cite book |last1=Somervill |first1=Barbara |title=Empire of the Incas |date=2009 |publisher=Chelsea House publishers |location=New York |isbn=978-1-60413-158-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofincas0000some/page/97 97] |edition=Second |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofincas0000some|url-access=registration |quote=freeze drying amongst the inca. }}</ref> another example is in Japanese [[Ainu cuisine]], where potatoes are collected frozen from the ground in spring, then dried.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Iwasaki-Goodman |first1=M |title=Indigenous Peoples' food systems:Chapter 7. Traditional food systems of indigenous peoples: The Ainu in the Sara River region, Japan. |date=2009 |publisher=Hokkai-Gakuen University |location=Japan |page=149 |url=http://www.fao.org/3/i0370e/i0370e08.pdf |access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref>

U.S. Patent 1025373, developed by  Ernest William Cooke, titled "Dehydrate Potatoes and Process of Preparing the Same", and describing a product that was to be reconstituted in hot water, was applied for in 1905 and granted in 1912.

Flake-form instant mashed potatoes date back at least to 1954, when two [[United States Department of Agriculture]] researchers were issued a patent for "Drum drying of cooked mashed potatoes" (U.S. Patent 2,759,832), which describes the end product specifically being "as a thin sheet or flake".

In 1962, Canadian scientist [[Edward Asselbergs|Edward A. Asselbergs]] was issued U.S. Patent 3,260,607, entitled "Preparation of dehydrated cooked mashed potato", for a particular industrial method of producing the product.

== Nutrition ==

Instant mashed potatoes have substantially more [[sodium]] than fresh potatoes, and much less dietary fiber.  In other respects they are similar to mashed fresh potatoes in their nutritional qualities, about two-thirds [[starch]] by dry weight, with smaller amounts of [[protein]], [[dietary fiber]], and [[vitamin]]s.  The largest difference is the loss of [[vitamin C]], although some products may be [[food fortification|enriched]] to compensate.  One hundred [[gram]]s (3½ oz) of unenriched instant mashed potatoes provides 11%  of the [[Dietary Reference Intake]] of vitamin C, compared to 18%  provided by the fresh potato version.<ref>[http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s01zg.html Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Potatoes, mashed, dehydrated, prepared from granules with milk, water and margarine added<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

== Other uses ==
* [[Thickening agent]] in gravy, soups and sauces<ref>''Athens Banner Herald'', [http://onlineathens.com/stories/040109/liv_420511426.shtml#.Vdh2UtL77mg "Thicken sauces and soups with instant potato flakes"]</ref>
*[[Sourdough]] starter<ref>''Athens Banner Herald'', [http://onlineathens.com/stories/042909/liv_434462395.shtml#.Vdh6NNL77mg "Try a bit of creativity with instant potato flakes"]</ref>
*Substitute for [[bread crumbs]]<ref>''Global Post'', [http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/things-make-instant-potato-mix-42044.html "Things to Make With Instant Potato Mix"]</ref>
*[[Mouse Control]]<ref>[https://www.yalepest.com/kill-a-mouse-without-traps-and-poison/#:~:text=Cocoa%20and%20Plaster%20of%20Paris,the%20common%20runways%20of%20mice. ''Yale Pest'']</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
* [[List of instant foods]]
* [[List of dried foods]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Potatoes]]
[[Category:Canadian inventions]]
[[Category:Dried foods]]
[[Category:Instant foods and drinks]]