Review: Edward & Sons Organic Instant Mashed Potatoes

My roommate and I were doing our weekly gorcery shopping at Woodman's friday. I did quite a bit of poking around the health and organic aisles and came across a box of these mashed potatoes--the "chreesly" variety, to be exact. It caugh my eye, despite being "instant", and I threw it in the cart.

The directions on the back of the box include directions for two servings (half the box) or fr servings (the whole thing). This is nice if you're the only vegan in the household. Since my roommate was at work, I only made half the box.

I didn't realize when I bought the product that you also need a milk and a butter replacer. I had them, of course, but it was weird having a box tell me to add soymilk--usually you have to make those substitutions yourself. It made me happy. The whole process, in fact, brought a smile to my face. It reminded of all the instant things I used to make in my vegetarian days (don't get me wrong--I much prefer the way I eat now, but nostalgia is a powerful thing).

The potatoes cook up ridiculously quick. My plan was to microwave some leftover while they were cooking, but I had to microwave the rest of my food after. The box says five minutes, but if you only make half the box the water boils up so quick it's like two minutes, tops.

So, how did it taste? Just like instant mashed potatoes. Nothing beyond that, but I think the product acheives exactly what it sets out to do. The "chreesly" flavor was a nice surprise--it actually tasted like there was a little cheese in there. I normally don't care for fake cheeses--I'd rather just go without than have a mediocre substitute--but I would definately get the chreesly kind again. I put some freshly ground pepper on top of mine, too.

Overall, they really are only instant mashed potatoes, but the cheese flavor gives it an extra something. I think I'll buy it again, but only when the rest of my family plans on eating something similiar or instant mashed potatoes themselves. If I ate them again I might try adding some Earth Balance as a topping. A vegan gravy would probably go well with one of the other flavors, but it just didn't sound right on top of the "chreesly" kind.

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