The three Biggest Potato Ricers of 2024, Examined & Reviewed

Hear, I like simplifying a job as lots as the next particular person. As soon as I’m staring down the barrel of a five-pound bag of potatoes that should be mashed, I would love to look to my meals processor or stand mixer for an assist. Nonetheless, neither of these residence tools will make acceptable spuds. For the silkiest, fluffiest mashed potatoes, the underside line is to cut back the mashing, as they comprise quite a lot of starch and may grow to be gummy if overworked. Enter the potato ricer.

Think about a ricer like a giant garlic press. Cooked potatoes go in a perforated hopper basket, then a lever will get pressed proper right down to push the potatoes by small holes (usually the scale of a grain of rice, subsequently ‘potato evaluation’). As talked about above, the a lot much less you are employed potatoes, the a lot much less starch is launched, resulting in a fluffier mash. There are totally different selections for mild mashing, like meals mills or potato mashers, nevertheless in case you’re looking out for an easy technique to mash potatoes that almost ensures you gained’t overwork them, a potato ricer is your biggest wager.

To hunt out the easiest ones, I examined 9 potato ricers. After 18 kilos of mashed potatoes, I landed on my three prime picks.

If you happen to occur to need the additional typical press-style ricer, the Chef’n was a dream to utilize. The dual-gear hinge presses potatoes simply with a lot much less effort than totally different fashions. The handles are comfortable and the hopper basket detaches from the physique for easy cleaning.

This heavy-duty ricer merely match an entire potato, pressing the spuds out swiftly due to its all-over perforations.

The Assessments

• Potato Check out: I examined each ricer by, correctly, ricing potatoes. I used each ricer to make a batch of Kenji’s Extraordinarily Fluffy Mashed Potatoes, noting how easy each ricer was to load with cooked potatoes, the time it took to rice them, and the last word consistency of the mashed potatoes.
• Cleanup Check out: I then washed each potato ricer by hand to evaluate the cleaning course of.

What We Realized

All Potato Ricers Will Rice Potatoes

All of the ricers produced silky, fluffy potatoes. I struggled to detect variations between nearly your entire mashed potato samples processed with the various ricers. So, whereas there have been nearly no true ricing failures (a minimum of among the many many pool of ricers I examined), some ricers have been far more good to utilize.

Straightforward and Sturdy Was Biggest

What separates a so-so ricer from an excellent ricer? Straightforward design and sturdy constructing. The ricers I most well-liked biggest lacked fairly a couple of crevices for mashed potato to make its method into. Sturdy constructing was moreover key, as pressing potatoes by a ricer requires you to utilize pressure—and a flimsy take care of is certain to bend or break over time.

Cosy, well-sized handles have been essential as correctly. Gap handles with metallic edges (like these on the Bellemain and Priority Chef) pressed into my palms and fingers unpleasantly, whereas sturdy handles (identical to the handles on the Norpro and Chef’n) have been further comfortable to utilize.

One Press Plate Was Adequate

A few fashions I examined obtained right here outfitted with various plates with holes in diverse sizes. Whereas this can be useful in case you’ve plans to rice various greens, in case you’re primarily going to be using your ricer for potatoes, the extra parts seem pointless. As long as the holes have been comparatively small—between 1/16- and 1/8-inch—the following potatoes will come out silky simple.

The hopper baskets on some fashions (identical to the RSVP and OXO) had holes solely on the underside (like a garlic press) whereas others had holes on the perimeters as correctly (identical to the Norpro and Williams Sonoma). Whereas fashions with further holes had a minuscule velocity profit when ricing, that saved time slipped away after I wanted to scrape lingering potato tendrils from two to 4 surfaces as an alternative of 1.

The Requirements: What to Seek for in a Potato Ricer

potato ricer should have an uncomplicated design with sturdy constructing. I most well-liked a ricer with out nooks and crannies for bits of potatoes to smush into. Sturdy, simple handles which have been a minimum of six inches prolonged have been most likely probably the most comfortable and simple to utilize. A hopper basket with a big opening to easily load potatoes into and small perforations make for a constructive, fluffy mash. If you happen to occur to’re planning on cooking various mashed greens, having press plates with different-sized holes could also be advantageous. Nevertheless, in case you’re merely going to be mashing potatoes, they’re not very important.

Seek for a model that will go throughout the dishwasher. (Every ricer I examined was dishwasher-safe.) I don’t see any trigger to complicate your life by together with a software program to your kitchen that requires hand-washing when there are so many selections that don’t.

Our Favorite Potato Ricers

What we most well-liked: This model felt like someone considered the precise method to make a potato ricer larger, using a novel method. Instead of pressing two handles collectively vertically to energy the potato by the hopper, you push two levers collectively—not in distinction to a pair of hedge clippers. The ricer is comprised of two separate gadgets: The underside half houses the hopper basket whereas the best is cylindrical with a spiraled canal throughout the edges that screws snugly into the basket. Both aspect has one take care of connected. After loading the basket with potatoes, you line up the two halves of the press using the purple dots on each side for guidance after which press the two handles collectively. This twists the cylinder on the best and screws it down into the steel basket, pushing the riced potato out of the underside.

This unorthodox design had no downsides: It was easy to load potatoes into the hopper with out the best half of the ricer in one of the best ways, there have been fewer surfaces to scrape potatoes from, the handles have been comfortable, and the twisting motion required a lot much less effort than typical ricers. On prime of all of that, the detachable halves and crevice-free design made it one in all many greatest fashions to clean.

What we didn’t like: I couldn’t uncover one thing to complain about with this one, though I would like it obtained right here in a number of colors.

Key Specs

• Provides: Nylon and stainless-steel
• Number of perforations: 106
• Distance between perforations: 1/8-inch
• Weight: 1.1 kilos
• Cope with measurement: 6 3/4 inches
• Opening dimension: 3 1/8 inches
• Care instructions: Dishwasher-safe

What we most well-liked: If you happen to occur to’d need a further typical potato ricer this model from Chef’n is an excellent alternative. The “twin gear” hinge makes pressing potatoes by the hopper a noticeably less complicated and smoother experience.

Whereas many fashions included plungers and hopper baskets constituted of stainless-steel, resulting in an unpleasant metal-on-metal scraping when pressing the ricer shut, the plunger on this model is constituted of the equivalent plastic as a result of the physique. This made for a simple, scrape-free ricing experience. The prolonged plastic handles have been well-made and cozy to hold. The chrome steel hopper is large for easy loading and detachable for painless cleaning.

What we didn’t like: This model is heavier. It’s moreover the most expensive ricer I examined.

Key Specs

• Provides: Plastic and stainless-steel
• Number of perforations: 271
• Distance between perforations: 1/16-inch
• Weight: 1.5 kilos
• Cope with measurement: 6 1/2 inches
• Opening dimension: 3 1/4 inches
• Care instructions: Excessive-rack dishwasher-safe

What we most well-liked: If you happen to occur to’re after a model that will accommodate an entire potato in its hopper, this is usually a good selection. It has comfortable handles and perforations on all sides of the hopper, allowing potatoes to maneuver by merely.

What we didn’t like: It’s pretty huge, heavy, and messy to utilize (due to the aforementioned perforations). Resulting from its dimension, it’s more durable to retailer, too.

Key Specs

• Provides: Cast aluminum and rubber take care of, stainless-steel
• Number of perforations: 1,260
• Distance between perforations: 1/16-inch
• Weight: 2 kilos
• Cope with measurement: 6 3/4 inches
• Opening dimension: 4 inches
• Care instructions: Dishwasher-safe; hand-washing is helpful

The Rivals

• OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Ricer: The transient handles on this model have been uncomfortable to utilize and the slim opening on the hopper basket made it powerful to load.
• Williams Sonoma Potato Ricer: This ricer is made by Chef’n and is kind of equal to my favorite. The one distinction is the perimeters of the hopper basket are perforated along with the underside. I found that further holes provide little better than one different ground to scrape potato from, nevertheless in case you’d like further holes this model is barely cheaper than the Chef’n.
• RSVP Worldwide Spud Potato Ricer: This is usually a sturdy ricer, though it did actually really feel a tad flimsier than totally different fashions. It’s easy enough to clean, nonetheless, it is a should to make sure that every bit is completely dry sooner than reassembling. In some other case, the gadgets are more likely to get caught collectively.
• MyLifeUNIT Heavy Accountability Enterprise Potato Ricer: The handles of this stainless-steel ricer have been uncomfortable to utilize and the event was chock-a-block with nooks and crannies for mashed potatoes to make their method into.
• Bellemain Potato Ricer: This model felt unstable all through use together with having uncomfortable handles and a hopper basket that slipped away from the physique when opening the ricer.
• Priority Chef Large Potato Ricer: This ricer’s constructing was flimsy. The plunger is held loosely to the physique, allowing it to wiggle from left to correct as you’re using it. I didn’t like how the metal-on-metal scraped when opening and shutting it, and the handles have been uncomfortable.

FAQs

How do you use a potato ricer?

Most (nevertheless not all) potato ricers are designed like huge garlic presses. You place cooked potatoes (or totally different greens) proper right into a perforated hopper, then apply pressure with a lever that pushes the meals by small holes.

What’s a potato ricer for?

Successfully, primarily potatoes. Though you can press totally different delicate meals devices by it, like avocados to make simple purées, most totally different greens need one factor slightly bit further forceful to interrupt down their highly effective fibers and cell partitions.

What’s the aim of ricing potatoes?

Ricing is an efficient method to mash potatoes whereas ensuring that they do not grow to be gummy. The ricer breaks down the potato whereas solely rupturing the cells as quickly as as they cross by the hopper. It’s an notably helpful gizmo in case you’re making one factor like gnocchi that requires a really fluffy mash, or in case you merely must guarantee you gained’t overwork your potatoes.

How do you clear a potato ricer?

Every model I examined was dishwasher-safe, though we do advocate inserting it on the best rack the place it’s furthest from the heating ingredient. Check the producer’s instructions for his or her ideas. If you happen to occur to don’t have a dishwasher or need to wash by hand, a bottle brush did a wonderful job of getting potato out of the ricer’s many small holes.

Why We’re the Specialists

• Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn was beforehand an affiliate editor at America’s Check out Kitchen. She in the meanwhile works for The Kitchn.
• She has developed recipes for various New York Events bestselling cookbooks, along with an IACP award winner.
• For this evaluation, Andrea examined 9 potato ricers by using them to rice potatoes. She moreover examined how easy they’ve been to operate and clear.