Potatoes, peeled or not?

I really despise potatoes served with their skins on as I cannot stand their texture. I was once served a really nice seafood chowder in a restaurant where they did not peel the potatoes. The contrast between the rough skin and the smooth chowder was horrible. I took out each potato, peeled it, then put it back. So much better!

I used to enjoy the TV program “Chef at Home” with Michael Smith, except that he used to smash potatoes without first peeling them. I always found that disgusting. His dishes themselves were good.

I’ve been told time and again that all the nutrients are in the skin, but I really don’t care about that.

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My suggestion, then, would be for you to peel them.
We, on the other hand, rather enjoy both the texture and flavor of the skins of various potatoes. That said, husband doesn’t like the skin of baked potato so we are able to share and enjoy the parts we each enjoy.

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Depends on what I’m using them for and what kind of potatoes they are. I peel russets for mashed, but love them skin-on when baked or roasted. Also love rustic French fries with the skins on. Then, a question - what’s the point of buying baby red-skinned potatoes if you’re going to peel them? We also love the tiny creamer potatoes roasted in their skins. I personally always peel potatoes for a chowder, though. Lots of variables in my book…

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Well, first, this isn’t true. Some, yes. Not “all” and not really even the majority. Maybe a lot more of the fiber is lost, but that’s about it.

You do you. I love mashed potatoes with the skins on, especially the more delicate skins like gold taters, or in soups waxy potatoes with their very thin skins are fine, too. For me. But I know many people who, like you, don’t like the contrast. “I’d rather lick sandpaper”, a friend once said. So when I’m making stuff for people I don’t already know the predilections of, I ask and tailor to suit.

No skin of my nose, really.

Yes, pun intended.

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‘Despise’ is perhaps a too-strong word for the texture of potato skins, IMO.

Ah, I 'll agree that skins can be visually off-putting if left in some things (chowder possibly being one). But I love the “jacket” of a baked potato–more than the interior, provided the toppings last or the jacket has been butter-roasted. And I don’t mind skins at all in rough, rustic mashers.

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I agree

LoL - when his quote came to mind I knew you’d identify with it.

To answer the question in the title - well, it depends.

I wouldnt peel new potatoes, like Jersey Royals. For old potatoes, like the Roosters I’ve currently got, it would depend on what I’m doing with them. Skin on for baked but skin off for roast. Skin on for sliced and fried, skin off for saute.

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I agree on no skins in mash. But no way I’d fish the potatoes out of chowder and peel them.

Thr skins on creamer potatoes are so thin that theyre nearly unnoticeable.

I love baked potato skins, especially if theyre a little crispy. Ive been known to pull the peels off the potato and eat them by themselves (rolled around a dab of butter)

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There’s a restaurant in Baltimore called the Prime Rib. They are well-known for a popular dish (appetizer or side) called Greenberg potato skins, allegedly named after the long-time patron who first suggested/requested them. Their sister restaurant in DC also has the potato skins on the menu, but without the surname.

I don’t love the skins on russet potatoes, even on those darned potato skin appetizers (which always seemed to me like a way to re-use what should go into the compost). But the skin on thin skinned potatoes like red and even yellow, don’t bother me that much. I still peel regularly when I cook at home, but when I’m at a restaurant and they are red potatoes I just eat them as is.

I love smashed baby reds with garlic and heavy cream. It’s a requested side when folks are invited to dinner chez Meekah.

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Yes, it often depends on the potato and application. Even when I make fries, sometimes i want the tough russet skin, sometimes not. The tad of variety offered by that option potato pleases me.

I never peel reds or golds, either. The skin helps texture, IMHO.

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If I’m making mashed potatoes, I cook them with peels on. I use a ricer to “mash” them and the peels stay behind. Saves a lot of work if you’re making a big batch.

I agree on the chowder potatoes–they should be peeled before going into the soup.

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Now, that’s funny.

I’m the exact opposite.

Mashed potatoes, always peeled.

Stews, soups, etc., never peeled.

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I’ll open with notceasikynifentufyingvwiyh disliking ANY food as much as expressed in the opening post. That said…… we almost always use new (baby) potatoes for anything but baked or yams/sweet. Their skins are so soft that I always leave them on whether mashing or roasting or ‘salad-ing’. No texture issues for me. Besides…. Peeling tiny potatoes just doesn’t seem worth it.

You’ll ooen with what, then? Lolol

:woozy_face::joy: Fat fingers + impatient posting.

Well I guess that depends on what dish you are going to make from those potatoes. And does that dish require potato skin or not. If not then I think potatoes can be peeled off first then washed once or twice and then boiled. That way they can be directly used instead of going through the process of peeling them after boiling.

I rarely peel potatoes as I prefer to have the skins on.

This does bring me to my contention that ‘potato skins’ is the only truly American dish. To carve out the ‘flesh’ of the potato and bake the skin and eat only the skin. It’s pretty much unheard of in Asia, Europe, Africa, and South or Central America.

I think its a grand contribution to world culinary delights.

"The inspiration for the potato skins at R.J. Grunts (in Chicago), one of the first restaurants to offer the now omnipresent dish, came from a radio story about sailors eating the vitamin-rich skins to ward off illness while at sea, he says. “My brother relayed the story, and I said, ‘OK, let’s monkey around with potato skins,’” Melman says. “I’ve always been a person who pays attention to what people say. It usually leads me to the new ideas I’ve tried.”

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