How much is 2 pounds of potatoes or whatever - do you use a scale?

[progree]

For an accurate recipe, when something calls for 2 pounds of potatoes, I want to be in the ballpark.

If you use a scale, do you find it to be accurate (e.g. weigh a quart of water (32 fluid ounces) or some other amount and compare its weight to what it should weigh, after subtracting off the container's weight, namely 32 ounces = 2 pounds).

Do you bring a calculator to the kitchen to subtract the container's weight? Sigh.

And how do you determine the container's weight except by using the scale whose accuracy you are questioning?

Edit: I see Amazon has a bunch of food scales from $10 to $30 and plenty that are higher cost.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=scale+for+foods

EDIT - this is a generic question, I'm not just interested in weighing potatoes, but ultimately weighing a variety of foods.

[Bettie]

1. It's about three medium potatoes

I usually use 4, because everyone in my house loves potatoes.

Edited to Add: 3 medium is about one pound, so if you need 2 pounds, you'd need 6.

[Farmer-Rick]

2. I got a scale to be able to sell at the Farmer's Market

So, I weigh most every recipe. It's just easier for me. I weigh each potatoe separately and keep a running total in my head. It's usually a little over 2 lbs of potatoes. Big potatoes weigh a lot.

But for more complicated recipes, I prefer to do it by weight. Most European recipes are by weight...grams. It's more accurate and then no need to wash measuring cups.

There is a feature on most scales that you can tare your container's weight. Put your container on the scale. Press tare....it will zero out the container weight and just give you the weight of what you add to the container.

A small scale is the best kitchen tool I have ever bought.

[progree]

3. Rec'd. Thanks :) "tare" is another word to add to my vocabulary

[Haggard Celine]

4. I think it's literally 2 pounds as weighed.

It isn't that much. After all, a 5 pound bag of potatoes is pretty small.

[progree]

6. I usually get the largest Russett potatoes I can find because peeling is much faster

per pound of potato than peeling a lot of small potatoes. Some of these Russett potatoes that I get are monsters. With eyes!

[Haggard Celine]

7. I don't always peel my potatoes.

The skin doesn't bother me. I just make sure I clean them good. I really prefer the small red potatoes, but I can eat any kind.

[progree]

11. Thanks. I'll explore other kinds of potatoes. I don't care how large or small they are if I don't have to

peel them. I read that Yukon Gold is fine with the peels on.

I've had Russet potatoes with both skin on and peeled, and I prefer peeled. Even though I read that the peels have considerable nutritional value.

[Haggard Celine]

14. Yukon Gold is good.

I like them almost as well as the small red potatoes. I like to boil them and let them soak in the crab boil. They're delicious that way. I don't care for corn on the cob, but a lot of people put corn cobs in there along with the red potatoes. I really like to soak mushrooms in that water. The spices will fill those mushrooms with flavor.

[Voltaire2]

5. I use a scale a lot.

Good ones will zero out your container before you put anything in it. Also I generally buy produce specifically for a meal, so if I need 2lbs of potatoes I buy 2lbs of potatoes. Although as far as potatoes go, a little more or less doesn’t matter.

At this point I don’t like recipes that don’t give weights but use volume or quantity instead. 3 potatoes is a nonsense quantity. 1 cup of flour is equally inaccurate.

[progree]

9. Thanks. I figured some might make it easy - "Good ones will zero out your container before you put anything in it"

[Marthe48]

8. I use about 4 potatoes that fit in my hand

without closing my fingers all the way. I guess you could buy a 5 pound bag, count how many potatoes in the bag and divide the number of potatoes into 5. It seems like 3 or 4 i a good way to get a rough estimate
Or prepare the potatoes, and measure out 4 cups.

Here is a link that might help: https://www.howmuchisin.com/produce_converters/potato

[progree]

10. Interesting - howmuchisin.com

Here is a link that might help: https://www.howmuchisin.com/produce_converters/potato

[Callalily]

12. I use a kitchen scale all the time,

especially for weighing flour. Much more accurate than using a measuring cup.

You don't have to buy a high-end scale. Just make sure that it has a "tare" feature, which I'm assuming they all should have.

I balked at buying one thinking that I wouldn't use it, but I was wrong!

[MontanaMama]

13. I keep a compact digital scale in the kitchen

and use it often for recipes that call for a specific weight of an ingredient. Especially for canning things like marinara or salsa. The brand I have is Escali. It’s very thin and is usb rechargeable and can also has a solar battery which I like when I’m in the garden and want a certain amount of something and don’t want to over pick. The scale has a tare function so you can weigh the basket or bowl and get to zero before weighing your food. I used to scoff at kitchen scales but I love this thing! It was a good price too.

https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/solar-kitchen-scale?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=adtaxi&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4vKpBhCZARIsAOKHoWSd5sRHj81bDwVZQuKqVVQzCnlDVxTN8w1cqMcNt7v2kM92OovGbaMaAovuEALw_wcB

[Warpy]

15. I have a scale and sometimes I weigh things out

for baking, but things like potatoes I'll just eyeball according to whatever they're going to be cooked with or how they're going to be cooked. IOW, I won't slice up a whole 5 pound bag of spuds for Potatoes Anna or for potato soup, but neither will I weigh everything out precisely, wasting part of a potato because it's a few ounces over.

Potatoes are very forgiving. Julia Child often said things like 3 large potatoes or 4 smaller ones, which could translate to one absolutely enormous Prince Edward Island potato I used to get in Boston. As long as everything is seasoned, it will come out fine.

[progree]

16. What triggered this today is a multicooker recipe for mashed potatoes

https://www.spendwithpennies.com/instant-pot-mashed-potatoes/

They were obsessing with how much water should be used in a multicooker for 5 pounds of potatoes -- enough for pressure cooking but not so much that the potatoes are soggy. Also the 1" of water is a lot more than the maximum 1.5 cups that is also stated -- in my 6 quart multicooker, 1" is 26.6 fluid ounces which is 3.3 cups. Quite a discrepancy.

Also, it's a recipe for 5 pounds, but I don't want to make 5 pounds of mashed potatoes at a time. And I want to follow the recipe, like do 2.5 pounds of potatoes and cut everything else in the recipe in half.

And then my multicooker manual says always use at least 1.5 cups of water for pressure cooking. If I'm cutting the recipe in half ... I can't cut the water in half to 3/4 cup.

I've been cooking potatoes in several different ways for 60 years, I'm not a ring-a-ding-dong. I just want to follow this recipe rather than winging it. I have no idea what 2.5 pounds of my very large Russett potatoes looks like, I'll probably just use 2 of them. (EDIT: potatoes have close to the same density as water, so 2.5 pounds volume will be about the same as 2.5 pints).

Some have commented that I can just weigh the right amount at the store. I'm sick and home-bound, so I can't go to the store and do that. I'm using a shopping service like Instacart called ShipT. I suppose I could make a special request for 2.5 pounds of potatoes, but I don't like making special requests.

[Warpy]

17. We who have tiny urban kitchenettes and limited equipment

boil our spuds for mash, draining them when they're done and putting the pan back on low heat for a bit to evaporate excess water.

I suggest you do the same if there's a bit of water in the potatoes, just drain and dry over low heat before you mash them.

Mine get mashed with a vintage type wire masher, heavy cream, fresh or freeze dried chives, freshly ground black pepper and a little salt. The wire masher leaves them a little lumpy, but that's the way I like them.

[progree]

18. I followed the recipe all halved, and used 1.5 cups of water as my IP instructions say is a minimum

https://www.spendwithpennies.com/instant-pot-mashed-potatoes/

I didn't drain any of the water when the cooking was done, I mashed anyway (as the recipe said "do not drain" ). The consistency was good until I added the 1/4 cup of milk, then when mashed in, it became too mushy for my preference.

Next time before mashing, I will drain the considerable amount of water that was in the bottom, add the milk, and mash, and add water or more milk in increments as I see fit.

Anyway with chili bean "gravy" it was delicious, it could be better and will be next time.

IP = Instant Pot