In the winter months we are drawn to comfort food, think bangers and mash, roast dinners, and shepherd pie with mashed potato being a staple to warm us up and keep us full.
Warm, buttery and a great vessel for almost anything, nothing soothes the sowl more, but there’s nothing worse than a bowl of mediocre mash.
Luckily for home cooks a TikTok chef has taken to social media to save your dinner with one simple ingredient that’s already in your cupboard and can make all the difference – taking your potatoes to a whole new level.
TikTok chef Jenny’s Table has revealed her secret technique for mashing potatoes is a few drops of malt vinegar. Inspired by the classic crisp flavour the chef adds a healthy sprinkling of salt and a big glug of malt vinegar.
The flavour combo is a classic when seasoning potatoes, whether it’s a pack of Walkers crisps or some fish and chips at the seaside, but the zingy liquid never made it across to the world of mash – until now.
In the video, Jenny Table said: “My unpopular opinion is that salt and vinegar mashed potatoes belong on the table. My theory is that if it works on a potato chip (crisp) then it will work on potatoes in any form.”
The combination makes sense both on paper and in your palette. The richness of the milk and butter is balanced out by the sharpness of the vinegar making it much more satisfying and lighter in your mouth.
It builds on the idea of the five basic tastes humans can feel, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, with the malt vinegar introducing the extra sour taste.
The great thing with this recipe is you can add as much or as little as you’d like, for those not wanting the sharp taste, a few drops will lead to a more balanced flavour, but for anyone wanting the chip shop taste they can add as much vinegar as their heart desires.
Commenters on the video have gone wild for the idea with one saying: ” My family would revolt on me but this sounds so good,” while another added: “I’ve dreamed about trying to make mashed potatoes inspired by salt and vinegar chips!! Thank you for making me feel less crazy.”
Her full recipe also involves melting the butter and heating the milk before adding it to some soft-boiled potatoes to allow the fat to deeper absorb into the potatoes.
Nigella Lawson’s mashed potato recipe also involves the use of some acid to balance out the potatoes, although she calls for the introduction of it in the form of the much milder sour cream for those wanting to avoid vinegar all together.
