A ricer is a kitchen gadget which can be extraordinarily useful, especially for making mashed potatoes and other pureed foods. For young parents, it can make an excellent gift, since a ricer is ideal for making baby food. Since ricers are somewhat obscure, you can also be assured that the parents will not receive multiples. Many kitchen supply stores sell ricers with a variety of inserts. You can also locate a ricer using your favorite search engine, although you may want to add “kitchen tool” to your search to clarify what you are looking for.

The design of a ricer resembles an oversized garlic press. One side of the ricer has an extrusion plate with a series of holes in it, while the other side is solid. Food is placed into the ricer and the solid side is squeezed towards the extrusion plate, usually using the handles of the ricer as leverage. The soft food compresses, and is ultimately forced out of the extrusion plate. The result looks like small grains of rice to some consumers, leading to the name for the device.

Using a ricer results in an even, creamy, fluffy puree. For mashed potatoes, a ricer is ideal, making a fluffy pile of potato mash which is creamy and soft even before dairy products have been added. The common use of a ricer for mashed potatoes has led some producers to label it a “potato ricer.” A ricer can also be used to process cooked pumpkin for pies, or other vegetables for pureed dishes. Some manufacturers make ricers with removable extrusion plates, allowing plates with holes of different diameters to be inserted, for chefs who want a variance in grain.

Related to the ricer is the food mill, a kitchen gadget which operates on similar principles. A food mill, however, is designed to accommodate much more volume at once. Most food mills resemble oversized sieves, with a large area to place food in and a hand crank to compress the food, forcing it out the bottom of a food mill. For large meals, a food mill is more suitable than a ricer. A food mill can also be used for projects like deseeding tomatoes.

Aluminum is a common material used to make ricers, which are sometimes manufactured with plastic handles for easy gripping. When picking out a ricer, make sure that all of the parts including the extrusion plate will be easy to clean, and avoid metals which may rust or discolor as a result of prolonged kitchen use. In most cases, a ricer is dishwasher safe, but cooks with dishwashers may want to confirm that for their individual models.