Potato Ricers

I bought a new potato ricer today because the old one was such a pain to use.

First, some background: I am a Tool Junkie. Capital T, Capital J. Some people say that a new hobby for me is just an excuse to acquire some cool new tools. My philosophy is that the right tool gets you at least half-way to success. I also believe that tools should be a pleasure to use. A tool that adds aggravation to a job is not a tool to keep.

Here is my old potato ricer. Notice that the bottom portion (that the potato gets squeezed though) is a removable plate. It came with two plates each with different sized holes. “Oh cool”, I thought. The problem is that the bottom plate sticks to the pressure plate (the flat part attached to the upper handle that presses on the potato and squeezes it through the ricer) each time you use it. So the sequence would always be:

1. Open the ricer and insert a potato.

2. Squeeze the handles together, forcing the potato out through the bottom plate.

3. Open the ricer.

4. Unstick the bottom plate from the pressure plate.

5. Put the bottom plate back where it belongs.

6. Repeat.

What a pain, eh? With Christmas coming up I knew I would be making mashed potatoes and I did not want to wrestle with that ricer one more time. So I went to Plate It Up! and bought a shiny new stainless steel Endurance potato ricer. (I love stailess steel kitchen tools.)