This potato ricer is also incredibly heavy-duty and reasonably priced. The edges of the handle are too sharp for my liking, though. OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Ricer, ($29 at Amazon ...

But oddly enough, if I’m trying to achieve a silky smooth mashed potato, I turn to a ricer instead. The trick to velvety potatoes is to avoid overworking them, which makes them gummy and heavy.

All you do is use the handles to press the lid down on top of the potato, which pushes it through the ricer. Each handle is lined with non-slip silicone exactly where you need to get the best grip.

But having said all that, I truly could not live without my potato ricer, a bulky, annoying-to-store tool that unfortunately ...

A potato ricer is a handled tool with a lever to push potatoes or other soft foods through a perforated plate for a rice-like consistency. (It looks kind of like a big garlic press.) Using it is ...