Some potato ricers come with interchangeable discs with multiple hole sizes. This is a great feature if you hope to use your ricer for a wide variety of jobs. But if you have only a specific use in mind, hoppers with a fixed hole size are often less cumbersome to use and easier to store. Size of Hopper Potato ricers are great for making mashed potatoes, but if you're looking for a bit more versatility in your kitchen appliances, Bellemain's Stainless Steel Potato Ricer is the perfect option. Bellemain's potato ricer comes with three interchangeable disc options that make it easy to grate up various foods, including baby food, dense root vegetables, and fruit purées. The grips on the handles make it easier to squeeze them together, making this an excellent option for users with hand pain or mobility issues. However, some reviewers note that removing the plunger from the hopper basket can be difficult after squeezing. This potato ricer also has a non-slip knob that allows you to rest it on bowls or pots when using.

The handles, especially, need to be able to stand up to the torque you are planning to put on them. Look for products made of metal that use a single piece that extends around the hopper and through each handle. Any joints along the horizontal handles are a break waiting to happen. Ricers are fairly simple tools but they have to put up with a lot of force. That means these little gadgets need to be well built. When you’re done mashing, the removable perforated stainless steel basket and the ricer can go in the dishwasher for easy cleaning. These extended handles provide extra leverage and require less force needed from you to mash even full-sized russets—just make sure the potatoes are well cooked. The extra length means more torque on the ends of the handles. Even though they are made of stainless steel, they will bend if you try to squeeze an oversized, al dente tuber. These handles also aren’t as comfortable as others here but there is more surface area to grip, and the design means you won’t have to squeeze as hard.

One flaw in the design of this potato ricer that kept it from taking the best overall spot, however, is that it does not have a feature that allows you to rest it on a bowl or pot to make loading the hopper less messy. The hopper is also on the smaller side, often only fitting one small potato or half of one. Still, reviewers say the smooth consistency this ricer makes is worth the extra time pressing may take. Pot-holding knobs or rests are a great addition to have on a potato ricer. The knob or rest allows you to set the ricer on a pot or bowl while reloading it to make the process easier and create less of a mess. Press the potatoes into a pot . Or mixing bowl if you won’t be reheating them right away. If you’re using unpeeled potatoes, you’ll have to stop frequently to remove the skins from the hopper.

While its stainless steel design makes it easy to clean, many users mention that it's best to use dish gloves if cleaning by hand as the discs have sharp edges. This potato ricer does best with peeled potatoes and is not recommended for making riced cauliflower. Its 18/10 stainless steel design ensures it won't bend, rust, or stain, but it's still important to thoroughly dry it before storing. The oversized Norpro Jumbo Potato Ricer has the capacity to make your meal prep simpler. The huge hopper is large enough to fit a full-sized russet potato. That means no pre-dicing needed from you. In fact, with this fine mesh ricer, you don’t even need to peel your potatoes before you boil them. Simply plop them in the pot, boil, cool, then put the whole tuber into the ricer. The perfectly smooth, mashed potatoes will come through, leaving the skin behind to be discarded.Overall, this potato ricer is a great lightweight option that helps easily make delicious mashed potatoes. I don’t know about you, but I’m a little obsessed with mashed potatoes. They look so unassuming on the plate, but somehow fluffy mash potatoes always ends up being my favorite part of the meal. I get a little sad, though, if I’m greeted with a lumpy, gummy, overworked pile of spuds. They’ll still taste great, but their texture leaves something to be desired. I’ll let you in on a little secret: If you ditch the hand masher, food processor, or stand mixer and use a potato ricer instead—like our top-rated Chef'n FreshForce Potato Ricer Press You see, a potato ricer pushes the boiled potato through tiny little holes, breaking it up into the smallest pieces possible without disturbing the starch molecules. T​hat means fluffy, airy mashed potatoes. And, these gadgets aren’t unitaskers, either! We’ll talk more about the mountain of ways you could use your ricer in a minute, but let’s get to the main event first: Our winners.

Many stainless steel potato ricers can be tossed into the dishwasher to help with this chore. But, unless you have a super-powerful dishwasher, don’t plan on a dirty hopper coming out perfectly clean. In most cases, you will still need to give the tool a good rinsing before tossing it in with your other dishes. When choosing your ricer, try to strike a balance between how much prep you’ll have to do to fit items in the hopper and how much physical exertion it will take for you to mash what you can fit in there. Handle Strength and Comfort Potato ricers look similar to a garlic press and create rice-like potato pieces while incorporating air in the pressing process, which makes for a light and fluffy potato texture. Potato mashers require a methodical press and twist motion to mash up potatoes for a silky consistency. Potato mashers are a better choice if you like to make mashed potatoes with the potatoes' skins, but not if you want a more whipped and fluffier texture.Written by Lindsay D. Mattison, Professional chef, recipe developer, and product tester with years of experience in home and restaurant kitchens. Material: Plastic, stainless steel | Dimensions: 14.5 x 3.7 x 4.5 inches | Weight: 1 pound | Hopper Capacity: About 2 cups | Dishwasher-Safe? Yes