I was thinking about buying a potato ricer for use with cauliflower (for me) and potatoes (for the family). Does a ricer make that much of a difference vs. mashing? TIA

I've never heard of a potato ricer but it looks like it is something for getting all the lumps out of mashed potatoes?

I prefer having texture to my potatoes although I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of mashed potatoes. I will occasionally make a mashed potato/cauliflower mixture but I use my handheld blender and I like to leave chunks although I could get it completely smooth if I wanted.

I have a potato ricer, in fact my mother had a potato ricer so that is probably why I bought one long ago. I actually used mine a lot when making mashed potatoes for a large family. The blender would work, too. I've also used my big mixer to whip the potatoes.

But why I am responding to this thread is that I never thought of using it to make mashed cauliflower. I make cauliflower (fake potato) salad often. I guess I should dig out my potato ricer and see how it works with cauliflower.

We do keep learning, don't we? Hope you get a good answer to your OP question.

Thank you for the replies. I think I am just going to keep mashing the cauliflower with a standard masher. Sometimes I have these "moments" when I think I need something new. I'm the only one in the family that eats cauliflower in the first place.

A potato ricer is also fantastic for squeezing water from cooked or thawed spinach.