mashing

Etymology

verb

1. present participle and gerund of mash

noun

1. The process by which something is mashed or beaten to pulp.
   In the culinary process, there are none of those peelings and washings as in the case of potatoes and turnips, […] none of those squeezings and mashings and choppings, before the worthless mess can be got upon the table. 1847, Food for the Million. Maize against potato
2. The action of soaking malted barley etc., in order to convert starch into sugars as part of the brewing process.
   More hot water is added, and the mashing process repeated, until the grain has been wholly deprived of its saccharine matter, which is generally accomplished by three, or at the most, four mashings[…] 1835, Robert Dundas Thomson, Thomas Thomson, Records of General Science, volume 2, page 459
3. The process of preparing tea in a teapot.