Team Mash Potato Party

What you need

• Large potatoes, 4
• Butter, 2 spoonfuls
• Milk, 1/2 cup, warmed
• Salt, a pinch, plus more to taste
• Water, enough to cover the potatoes
• Pot, 1
• Colander, 1
• Potato masher, 1
• Serving bowl, 1
• Fork, 1

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Wash 4 large potatoes, set out the pot, colander, masher, fork and serving bowl, and keep the stove zone for grown-ups only.

1. A grown-up peels the potatoes and cuts them into chunks. A grown-up does this
2. Rinse the potato chunks in the colander under cool water.
3. Count the chunks one by one into the pot of cold water.
4. A grown-up heats the pot over high heat until it boils. A grown-up does this
5. A grown-up lowers the heat and simmers the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes. A grown-up does this
   Ask: What do you think the fork will feel like when it pokes a cooked potato?
6. A grown-up drains the potatoes, then everyone waits 5 minutes. A grown-up does this
7. Add the butter and warm milk to the potatoes.
8. Take turns mashing, ten big squishes each!
   Ask: Do the lumps feel easier or harder to squish as you keep going?
9. Taste, add a pinch of salt, then taste again.
10. Spoon it into the bowl and swirl the top! Who will you share it with?
    Ask: What topping or twist should our potato team try next time?

Play it again

• Mash relay: each person mashes for 10 seconds, then tags the next masher.
• Taste judges: everyone scores the salt from 1 to 5 before and after each pinch.
• Swirl show: take turns designing the top, like a snail, a wave or a smiley face.