I agree completely. I only peel potatoes for mashing if it’s for a group and I’m not sure everyone likes them that way. But anyone who prefers unpeeled mashed potatoes would never consider using instant potatoes anyway.
Lancastrian.
None Such mincemeat sold in the US still contains a small amount of beef.
Almost every old recipe I’ve seen calls for meat of some sort. Meatless varieties are sometimes described as “mock mincemeat.”
Not “meat”, necessarily, but I think that “mincemeat” often includes suet.
Once, back in grade school, we had some sort of thing in social studies where we were encouraged to make an old-fashioned recipe for the class. I made mincemeat cookies, and the ingredients on the mincemeat just said “mincemeat”. Not very helpful, that.
I’ve seen it sold in jars.
Custard, in standard American culinary lingo.
But flan comes with the caramel sauce and custard does not.
Flan is a firm custard that is typically baked with a caramel sauce.
Indeed so. I can hardly ever recall having had it. Partly because it is something of an acquired taste. The stuff looks like frog spawn. No idea if it tastes like frog spawn, but since Dopers are a varied and freewheeling crowd, maybe somebody here can comment.
About the only thing worse than instant mashed potatoes is instant oatmeal. IMHO, both are better suited for hanging wallpaper than for human consumption.
Making mashed potatoes is not exactly difficult. Actually, it is easy enough that I can manage it, if Mrs. Ded is not doing the honors. Peeling the potatoes? That does not take long, especially if they are large pones, which are easier to peel despite their size. Then boil them into submission; hey, you don’t need to stand over the pan, take a break and discover the cooking sherry. Once the tubers are soft, add some butter and then some milk, and then mash. Think of it as a free workout for your arm muscles. The result is worth the effort, tasting far better than something out of a packet. And that is usually the case anyway.
As Colibri says, bread pudding is easy to make. A touch of vanilla and maybe some cream as well … sybaritic luxury.
The most common context in which I encounter “custard”, in American lingo, is as a filling for doughnuts. Whether the “custard” found in doughnuts is actual custard or not, I don’t know.
The second-most-common context is “frozen custard”, some of which is actually custard, but the label is often incorrectly applied to any soft-serve ice cream.
I actually like it a lot. However, I think it used to be much more popular than it is now. I recall it as being pretty standard in cafeterias and diners when I was a kid in the 1950s and 1960s, and my mother used to make it at home. But as I said, I rarely see it any more compared to other puddings.
I’ve not seen semolina pudding in a long time, either.
It takes how long?! Are you including the time it takes to grow and harvest them?
If you peel them - which I generally don’t - then you could maybe add a few minutes (I’m talking family cooking here, not catering quantities), and maybe the ubiquity of electric kettles in good ol’ 240 volt Britain means the water will be hot quicker here too…but still. That’s a hell of a long time.
I’m counting peeling them, since I think most people do. Most recipes I checked suggest boiling for 15-20 minutes, which is consistent with my experience. If you can peel, cut up, and mash by hand to a creamy consistency even a family portion in less than 10 additional minutes my hat is off to you. That’s what my estimate of a half hour is based on.
When I make mashed potatoes for a big family dinner like Thanksgiving I peel and cook several pounds. And mashing that much by hand until they’re creamy takes some time as well. That’s what my estimate of an hour is based on.
My husband and daughter sometimes make tapioca pudding, so I guess I think of it as an ordinary food. The texture and appearance put me off it, but honestly, it tastes a lot like any other pudding. Tapioca has almost no flavor of its own.
Oddly, I always use tapioca to thicken my blueberry pies, and the texture never bothered me there. Although, now that I’ve found powdered tapioca (rather than the little spheres) I’ve been using that.
I guess I have only made mashed potatoes for big family meals. I don’t really like mashed potatoes, and rarely eat more than a bite or two when they are on my plate. (I don’t hate them, but there’s usually something more exciting to eat, like meat or vegetables or dessert…) So I only cook them when they are “expected”, which I guess means “Thanksgiving”.
I think of making them as a significant chore. I hadn’t really thought about how it would be quicker and easier to make a smaller batch.
I observe that making a big pot of rice or pasta takes almost exactly as much effort as making a single serving. 
My life has been changed since I discovered potato ricers. I’ll never go back to mashing. It’s way faster and way easier, and the texture is better. You don’t have to work on it for 15 minutes to get those last little unmashed chunks (although I understand some (very strange) people prefer chunky mashed potatoes).
Look, no offense, but you guys…boil everything, including bread. Toad in the Hole. Meat Pies. You were a lot of help in WWII, but you can’t cook.
Well, that comment is offensive. Times two.