Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot (4-liter minimum)
• •Potato ricer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Small saucepan for warming milk
• •Fine grater or Microplane for nutmeg

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the potatoes

   Place the peeled, quartered potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by about three centimeters. Add a generous pinch of salt. Starting in cold water is important. It lets the potatoes heat evenly from the outside in, so you don't end up with mushy edges and a chalky center. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook for 18 to 22 minutes, until a knife slides through the thickest piece with no resistance at all.

   Cut the potatoes into even-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate. A quarter that's twice the size of its neighbor will still be hard in the middle when the small ones are falling apart.
2. 2

   Drain and dry

   Drain the potatoes thoroughly in a colander, then return them to the empty pot. Set the pot back on the turned-off burner for one to two minutes, shaking it gently a few times. You'll see the surface of the potatoes go matte and chalky as the residual heat drives off the last of the water. This step matters. Wet potatoes make gluey Püree. Dry potatoes absorb butter and milk properly.

3. 3

   Rice the potatoes

   Press the hot potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pot. Do this while they're still very hot. Cold potatoes resist the ricer and the starch tightens up, leaving you with lumps that no amount of stirring will fix. If you don't have a ricer, use a fine-mesh sieve and push the potatoes through with the back of a spoon. Never use a food processor, a blender, or an electric mixer. The blades break the starch cells open and you'll get wallpaper paste instead of Püree.

   A potato ricer is a small investment that makes an enormous difference. Every Austrian kitchen has one. It's the only tool that gives you the silk-smooth texture without overworking the starch.
4. 4

   Add butter first

   Set the pot with the riced potatoes over the lowest heat your stove can manage. Add the cold, cubed butter all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until every piece has melted and disappeared into the potato. Butter goes in before milk. This is the Viennese way and there's good reason for it: the fat coats the starch granules first, which keeps them from absorbing too much liquid and turning gummy. The order matters.

5. 5

   Add warm milk gradually

   Pour the warm milk in slowly, a little at a time, stirring gently as you go. The milk must be warm. Cold milk shocks the starch and tightens everything up, and you'll spend five minutes stirring out lumps that didn't need to exist. You may not need all the milk. Stop when the Püree drops off the spoon in a slow, heavy ribbon. It should be loose enough to pool slightly on a plate but thick enough to hold a gentle shape.

   Gretel always said the Püree tells you when it's had enough milk. Watch the consistency, not the measuring cup. Some days the potatoes are drier and want more. Some days they don't.
6. 6

   Season and serve

   Grate the nutmeg directly over the pot. A quarter teaspoon is right for this quantity, but taste and trust your own palate. Add the salt and a careful pinch of white pepper. White pepper because Viennese cooks don't like black specks in their Püree. Taste once more. Good Erdäpfelpüree should taste like butter and potato and just a warm breath of nutmeg behind it all. Serve it immediately, straight from the pot to the plate, next to whatever it's meant to accompany. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Use mehlige (floury) potatoes, not festkochende (waxy) ones. Floury varieties like King Edward or Russet have more starch and less moisture, which gives you that smooth, light texture. Waxy potatoes make dense, sticky Püree no matter what you do to them.
• •Never reheat Erdäpfelpüree in a microwave. It tightens the starch and turns it gummy. If you must warm it up, do it gently in a pot over low heat with a splash of warm milk, stirring constantly. But honestly, this is best made fresh.
• •If you want to go the way my restaurant kitchen does it, replace half the milk with warm heavy cream. It's richer, more indulgent, and exactly the kind of thing a Gasthaus serves when it wants to remind you why you came.
• •Grate the nutmeg fresh from a whole nut. Pre-ground nutmeg loses its volatile oils within weeks and tastes like sawdust compared to the real thing. A single whole nutmeg will last you months.

Advance Preparation

• •Erdäpfelpüree is best made fresh and served immediately. It loses its silky texture as it sits.
• •If you need a head start, you can peel and quarter the potatoes up to four hours ahead. Keep them submerged in cold water so they don't oxidize and turn gray.
• •Warm the milk just before you need it. It can sit covered on the counter for ten minutes without losing too much heat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)