The first question we sought out to answer when finding the best potato ricer was actually, do you need a potato ricer at all? If you insist on choosing to prep raw potatoes with a box grater or mash cooked potatoes into the perfect consistency with a standard potato masher, a gourmand’s food mill (no thanks) or dare we say…your bare hands, then by all means, stick to your methods. But we’d encourage you to open yourself up to the idea that a potato ricer can still be a practical kitchen gadget.
The best potato ricer
It’s definitely the best option for home cooks making large batches of mashed potatoes. Ricers require a fraction of the effort required for a conventional masher and can produce fluffy mashed potatoes without releasing too much starch (which can end up in an excessively elastic, gummy situation). People who’ve committed the cardinal sin of mashing potatoes with a hand mixer will be especially familiar with what happens when you over-beat potatoes: Restraint is key, and a potato ricer is one tool that can keep you in check.
To those of you who still want to dismiss a potato ricer as one of those dreaded bulky mono-tasking gadgets that take up precious drawer real estate from more practical kitchen utensils, we say: That’s fair. The name potato ricer, doesn’t really connote a sense of versatility. But make no mistake, in a resourceful chef’s hands, the tool can sub in for a surprising amount of unconventional kitchen jobs. Use it to crush avocados for mass amounts of guacamole or to quickly process fresh tomatoes for a sauce. Or as an oversize garlic press to crush several cloves all at once, or to process steamed veggies for homemade baby food. It almost functions like a handheld food processor in a way, breaking down softened or cooked fruits for applesauce, jams while still leaving a pleasing texture and offering you the option to avoid schlepping out the Cuisinart.
With that in mind, we took a batch of potato ricers to task, and found one that we think most worth the space it might take up.
The best potato ricer: Oxo Good Grips 3-in-1 Adjustable Potato Ricer
Unlike any other potato ricer we tried the Oxo good grips adjustable potato ricer allows adjustments to the size of the ricer holes without fiddling around with removable plates. All you have to do is rotate the bottom disk, and two square grids shift between large, medium, and small holes. The larger gauge is ideal for people who like their mashed potatoes to be a lil chunky, while the medium gauge works well for a gnocchi dough or for pouring batter through for spaetzle. The finest hole size produces a smooth mash that gets you pretty darn close to a purée, if you’re aiming for creamy mashed potatoes with the smoothest possible texture.
We know Oxo for its high-quality kitchen tools, and the ricer, an updated version of the original Oxo good grips stainless-steel ricer, was no exception. The notch at the end made it possible to anchor the ricer against the mixing bowl, and the stainless-steel body was heavy duty enough to crush its contents even when overfilled.
As for cleanup, the bottom disk detaches easily for hand-washing, and the entire ricer is dishwasher-safe on the top rack.