Yours is theory, mine is practical experience.

Butter is fine, but don't add too much milk or cream or I
guarentee you'll end up with potato glue. Add a lot and
you'll have potato soup.
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On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 06:15:46 GMT, "J Quick"
> wrote:

>
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
> > >
> > I think the secret to remember is that the insides are
> > really mashed potatoes and the trick with mashed is to keep
> > it on the dry side (or else you end up with potato glue).
>
> The potato starch becomes gluey when it doesn't have enough liquid or fat to
> bind to and absorb, not because it has too little. The secret with mashed
> potatoes is to keep all of the ingredients piping hot when mashing so that
> the starch will adequately absorb it, creating a smooth, but not sticky,
> texture. If it seems to be a bit gluey, add some more hot milk/butter.
> Baking it afterwards is needed to brown the top and crisp the skin, if the
> mashing/whipping was done when it was steaming hot. Otherwise, the long
> baking time is needed to get everything back up to temp for the same effect
> to occur in the oven. I would also suggest seasoning and oiling the skins
> well for baking.
>