Mash in one minute with Idahoan Perfect Mash ! (review)

Going food shopping used to be so simple ! Wandering down the aisles of your local supermarket, browsing for new products, comparing prices, checking ingredients, not worrying about being too close to that bloke who has just been coughing over there. Not looking in sheer desperation at the big, empty shelves either. Not even having to choose because a sack of potatoes or a bag of apples, because there's not enough room in your shopping bag and your arms aren't strong enough for both. Well, let me just whisper a little something in your ear ... Idahoan Perfect Mash. It weighs next to nothing and I bet there's still loads on the shelves, even in these times of confinement ! If you're dubiously going "hmmmm", thinking "yuck", I'll be honest ... so was I when I first tried a pack that was in a Degustabox a while ago (wow, it was all the way back in 2018 apparently), but it's actually blooming lovely and so simple to make !

If you're unsure of how Idahoan Perfect Mash works, it's totally simple. You just boil up some water - in a kettle, in the microwave or in a pan, it makes no difference ! - stir in the dried mash, leave it for 1 minute and - ta-da! - you have a bowl of mash, ready to serve three people. No washing, peeling, chopping needed. It really is that simple. If you want it to taste extra rich and moreish, stir through a knob of butter just before serving. Yum ! It's smooth, creamy and genuinely tastes of potatoes.

Well, that's because it is made with real potatoes, funnily enough ! Top quality russet potatoes to be precise, known as the best potatoes in the USA, which have had their water content slowly and carefully removed. Did you know a portion of potatoes contains half your daily recommended vitamin C allowance, has more potassium than a banana and is a good source of vitamin B6, fibre and magnesium? Even more importantly, the kids will love it ! It can be eaten as a side dish with meat or fish (this was served with Partridge with Apple & Bacon, if you fancy having a look at the recipe, but chicken would work well too), used on top of a cottage pie or even made into potato croquettes.

Idahoan Perfect Mash is available in six flavours - Buttery, Classic, Roasted Garlic, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon & Cheese and Butter & Herb. We've tried Butter & Herb and Roasted Garlic, which are both lovely, but I really want to try Bacon & Cheese next. It sounds divine ! 

Each 109g pack makes approximately 600g of mash, which is enough for three servings. It has an RRP of £1.50 and is available from Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Coop, Waitrose, One Stop and on Ocado.

Disclosure : We received some samples, in order to share our honest opinion.