Practical and economical, mashed potatoes in bags always help out busy families, anxious to feed their hungry little ones. But since it is a processed product – therefore consume in moderation – which puree should you turn to in the supermarket to preserve your health? The experts of the Yuka application and Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad, dietician-nutritionist, help us make the right choices.
On Yuka, a puree gets a score of 100/100
There are many brands of flaked mash (plain mash, cream mash and nutmeg mash, etc.), but which is the best or rather the “least worst” from a nutritional point of view?
To find out, you have to look at the labels carefully. And to do this, the Yuka application is a great help: it scans food products to decipher their composition and assess their impact on health.
After analyzing the different puree recipes on the shelves, one of them seems to stand out from its bagged comrades: it is the “Auchan Organic Plain Mashed Potatoes“, which obtains the excellent score of 100/100 and a Nutri-Score A.
“Ranked on the first step of the podium, it was voted the best puree available on the French market”, specifies the Auchan brand.
Good points mainly due to its composition: 99.9% potatoes, all from organic farming and some possible traces of milk.
Another massive argument: its micro-price, 2.44 euros. Something to delight budget-conscious consumers.
Industrial puree: how to choose the right one on the shelves?
When choosing a powdered puree, the first instinct is to look at the list of ingredients.
“This is what I always advise doing first!” admits Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad. “The ideal is to find an ultra-simple composition, as short as possible: potatoes, a little milk, possibly salt… and that’s it. The longer the list grows, the further we move away from the raw product.”
The expert also recommends checking the salt and added fat content (in the nutritional analysis table) and avoiding “cheese flavored” or “old-fashioned” versions that are often full of flavorings and additives.
“If we finally want a good visual reference, the purees noted without additives on Yuka or bearing an organic label are often the “healthiest”, concludes the expert.