Like, I get comments from people telling me it’s weird I always try to peel potatoes like I am trying to make the worlds longest 1-piece potato peel. To me it feels way for efficient and fun to continu down a potato in 1 peel, while circling around it, instead of randomly scraping a hundred different pieces of peel off and having to reintroduce the cutter knife to the potato for every piece.
The most effecient way is to NOT peel potatoes. Why would you ever want to peel them? Potato skin is yum and rich in nutrients, whereas the flesh is mostly carbs. By throwing away the skin, you’re not only wasting nutrients, you’re getting rid of the texture and fiber it adds.
Why would you ever want to peel them?
I used to eat the skins until my kidney stone went to the lab. No more skins or spinach for me. :-( Kidney stone pain is an amazingly-effective incentive for dietary change.
I was a bartender for a bit.
It’s normal for coworkers to complain about picky/annoying guests.
A coworker came up to me:
Jfc guy said he wanted a lot of lemon with his Pepsi, I gave him 3, he said he wants like a whole lemon worth of slices wtf
Me: Was he… Old?
Yeah…?
Me: kidney stones. That mans probably had a few, and he’s done with em. Give him a sidecar of fresh lemon juice (something we had on hand), you’ll make his day.
Spinach is oxalate rich, and oxalates are the main cause of kidney stones https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-steps-for-preventing-kidney-stones-201310046721
Some recipes seek the smoothest consistency. Skin interferes.
If you aren’t cooking that specifically, just wash the skin.
Given that the skin has up to 12 times the nutrients of the entire potato it covers I personally stopped peeling my potatoes in most situations. It also adds a great crispy texture when you’re roasting or frying. With that said, you do you when peeling. If it’s cathartic to peel it all in one piece go for it. Or you can cut the potato in half and simply use a knife to trim the skin off like a sweet potato.
You should NOT do this with Potatoes. Their skin contains Solanine, which is a nightshade toxin.
Other veggies and fruits yes, but not potatoes. Other nightshades like Tomatoes and Pepper are way different.
Fresh or properly stored non “green” potatoes should be safe to eat with the skin, as the solanine content is usually below the threshold of 100mg per kg, as I understand it according to this Source. What I found interesting is that the Solanine apparently accumulates in frying oil (it starts breaking down at about 170°C according to Wikipedia) which might be troublesome since some places swap frying oil infrequently.
The toxins exist throughout the skin, but in smaller concentration than in the sprouts and green parts. Doesn’t mean that the skin is inherently unsafe to eat, but you probably should peel it if you eat potatoes regulary, or if you’re cooking for children, old people or someone immunocompromised.
Hey OP, I haven’t read through the entire thread yet but I have a couple of suggestions. Fancy cocktails are a hobby of mine and a high quality peeler is essential for pulling thin, delicate strands of citrus zest for garnishes. The OXO Good Grips Y Peeler is a fairly popular one. With the added benefit of being able to replace the blades when they go dull. They also make a swivel peeler (the one in your picture) if you prefer that. My personal favorite is the Viski y peeler.
There’s also channel knives, they’re made to specifically cut continuous long, thin strips of citrus zest so you may find those pretty fun to use on your potatoes. With a little practice, you could probably peel an entire potato without stopping once. Like peelers you have a couple of options. The Triangle knives are good. You would use them in a similar way to Y-peelers. I’m not sure what the form factor for these are called but they’re used in a similar way to the peeler in your picture.
Lastly, if you’d like a very quick (efficient) way of peeling them, you could always use an apple peeler. I can guarantee those will peel anything quicker than you could do by hand. And they’re kinda fun to play with too
And a tip: pull the potato, not the peeler. Use your had with the peeler as leverage, but keep it still and use your hand with the potato to move it through the blade.
Boy, Oxo has has a terrible website. Decline their tracking and it gets stuck “Processing request” while blocking the whole page. Accept and it’s immediately usable.
The Y peelers or as they were called in the kitchen I worked in “the lady’s shaver” are great because you can cut on the back and forward motion.
Carrots, potatoes, cucumber all peeled superfast by peeling back and forth instead of only one direction.
this is the quality dedicated response i’m looking for haha.
I’ve considered before getting something like the apple peeler, but my girlfriend was like no it’s just a gimmick we don’t really need it, it will just clutter up the kitchen or get forgotten about in a closet. Guess I know what I want for christmas!
Lol everyone’s got their thing! I’ve wanted an apple peeler for a while too but I don’t have much use for it. If you want something smaller and af a lower price point I really think you’d enjoy a channel knife. Once you get good with them you’ll be peeling entire potatoes in one shot
Bucket of water with potatoes and a drill with a toilet brush for a drill bit.
“most efficient” depends on what you’re maximizing for
Speed?
Effort?
Potato wastage?
Then define the balance. How many seconds of efficiency is worth sacrificing 1 gram of edible potato?
