Yogurt vs milk in mashed potatoes?

[Robin Garr]

Mashed-potato-yogurt.jpg

Neither Mary nor I cares for milk as a beverage, so we rarely have any around the house, and with this impetus I've found that a little plain organic yogurt thinned with a small amount of potato water - plus butter, of course - makes an excellent substitute. It contributes the necessary dairy but also adds an appetizing tang that you don't get with milk. In the dish pictured, I used this procedure and also stirred in a bit of grated grana padano and finished it with a good fine grind of black pepper.

I posted this on Facebook to general agreement, but I noticed that David B disagreed, which reminded me to post over here for further conversation. So, what do you think of this idea?

Why not. I can imagine the tang is a nice feature. I'm all for these 'experiments'.

Any dairy will work: milk, cream, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche.... It comes out slightly differently but they're all good. (Remember, I'm the guy who doesn't care much about cake vs pie but I can't pass up ice cream.)

During my 6 month chemotherapy I developed lactose intolerance, so I've substituted yogurt for milk in a few dishes, such as pancakes and white bread. It almost gives the bread a sourdough taste.

I loathe mash, especially with the addition of anything.....and butter on any vegetables

I love mashed potatoes pretty much any way you make them. I've done them with butter and potato water only and with additions of cream, milk, sour cream, and half an half. I love them all. Yogurt sounds like it would work well.

[Robin Garr]

I love mashed potatoes pretty much any way you make them. I've done them with butter and potato water only and with additions of cream, milk, sour cream, and half an half. I love them all. Yogurt sounds like it would work well.

I'm with you, Mike. The yogurt approach was kind of serendipitous for me because I discovered it by accident, going with a dollop one time because we didn't have any milk. Not only did it work well, it added a nice dairy tang that you don't get with milk and could get only at a much greater calorific expense with sour cream.

Try mixing in a fine olive oil instead of butter or any other additive, do it while mashing the potatoes, and continue adding oil + salt and pepper as needed while mashing and mixing until you get a smooth creamy puree. 'Tis our preference by far.

Try mixing in a fine olive oil instead of butter or any other additive...

Of course, always good to take things in a Southern direction. A friend of mine from Spain once gasped when he saw me adding milk to mashed potatoes, lamenting that I had spent too much time around northern Europeans.