Let’s have a heart-to-heart about a culinary crime of opportunity. You peel, you chop, you boil, you mash. But right at the first step—the boiling—you’re committing a tragic act of flavor dilution. You’re pouring the single greatest chance to build a foundation of taste straight down the drain.
This isn’t just a “TikTok hack.” This is fundamental kitchen wisdom that separates forgetgettable, one-note spuds from legendary, soul-satisfying mashed potatoes. The moment you swap plain water for a flavor-rich liquid, you transition from making a side dish to crafting an experience. The potato is a humble, starchy sponge. Why on earth would you hydrate it with nothing when you could infuse it with everything?

Here is the undeniable, game-changing reason to stop the bland water boil, backed by science, technique, and the promise of the best mashed potatoes you’ve ever made.

The Core Principle: Potatoes Are Flavor Sponges
When potatoes cook, their starch granules swell and absorb the surrounding liquid. If that liquid is water, they absorb… water. If that liquid is rich, savory, aromatic broth, they absorb that flavor directly into their very core. This is not a surface-level seasoning trick; this is deep, structural flavor infusion that no amount of butter added at the mashing stage can replicate.

Boiling in water is a missed opportunity for foundational flavor. It’s like building a house on sand instead of concrete.

Your Flavor-Boiling Liquid Arsenal: Choose Your Adventure
Ditch the water. Embrace one of these powerful alternatives.

1. The Umami Bomb: Homemade or High-Quality Stock