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(when) do you peel potatoes?

 
master gardener
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I mostly don't.

When a recipe calls for potatoes to be peeled, I most typically ignore that and everything works out fine. My wife insists on partially peeled potatoes for mashed potatoes so I half-peel each spud in stripes and toss those into the frozen broth bag, and then the bits of peel in the mash are smallish, but I still feel like I get the heartier fare by including the peels.

Anyway, I just saw a recipe for frying potato cubes and it called for peeling and I can't imagine why I'd do that.

So -- do you peel potatoes? And when do you or do you not?
 
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I feel seen by this question haha!

I am a skin-on kind of guy. I however peel because my wife prefers quite a few preparations without it. I have learned to get around this request by making baked potatoes frequently as that is an acceptable preparation skin-on.
 
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Usually when I peel and cut the potato into chunks when I boil them.

I leave the peel on when cutting the potato for French fries.

My MIL boiled whole potatoes for potato salad because then they were easy to peel.
 
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I almost never peel potatoes. I frankly can't see a situation where I would peel them..... maybe if I was making some sort of potato bread or cake or something?
I leave them on even in my mashed potatoes, I like the rustic texture.

My husband grew up in a place where you peel everything, so he still peels the potatoes for mash. I see it like ironing: why make things more complicated if you don't absolutely need to? Also, fiber, vitamins....
 
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Most of the time, no I don't, unless the potatoes are quite old and wrinkly, or I specifically want to make some deep fried potato skin snack (dipped in sour cream & chives or some hot sauce. Yum!).

If the skin is too old and wrinkly, usually by the end of winter, then I peel them and boil the skins.  I give them to the chickens, mixed with some old bread that has soaked in whey.  They love it and by that time of the year. they also deserve a treat!

If canning them, then I also peel them, more threat for me!
 
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I don't peel potatoes. To my mind they're a vegetable with the peel on, and simple starch without it. We grow varieties with thin skin and loads of flavour (the kind that would never stand up to mechanical harvesting).

For mashed potatoes, I leave the skin on and dice them fairly small before boiling. You don't even notice the peel. I think they taste better. I notice that higher end restaurants are doing the same thing now.
 
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I generally prefer not peeling, but I think a case can be made for it if the potatoes are on the verge of turning green. Most of the solanine is in or just under the skin of the potato, so peeling (and maybe cutting away a bit more than the skin) might sometimes turn a horrid-tasting, somewhat toxic, spoiled vegetable into usable starch. Of course, that also removes most of the nutrients, but you would've lost those anyway if you had to throw the whole thing.
 
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Eino Kenttä wrote:I generally prefer not peeling, but I think a case can be made for it if the potatoes are on the verge of turning green.


Of course! I definitely cut out any green or bad spots or patches, along with any eyes or anything else untoward. But I don't throw out a potato unless it's really a horrid situation, there's almost always something to salvage.
 
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I'm a peel-on kind of gal - unless I'm craving & making old fashioned potato candy. That happens about once every 5 years or so.
 
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I don't ever peel potatoes.  I just cut away anything that isn't appetising.

What do we think about this new study of solanine content in potatoes in various states?

“Solanine thresholds for acute toxicity are consistently misapplied in home kitchens. We’ve measured over 1,200 retail and pantry-sourced potatoes since 2022—and fewer than 0.7% exceeded 10 mg/100 g, the level at which we recommend caution. Most ‘sprouted’ potatoes tested were well below 2 mg/100 g—even with 2 cm sprouts.”
— Dr. Lena Cho, Toxicologist & Lead Author, FDA-Collaborative Potato Safety Study (2024–2026)

https://commercialtoolry.com/food/you-ve-been-wasting-potatoes-sprouts-aren-t-toxic-2026-guide
 
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Apparently I am in the minority here :) I actually prefer peeling my potatoes quite often.

If the potatoes are young and/or thin skinned like the red ones, I don't mind leaving the skin on. But many of the storage potatoes with thicker skin, I prefer it off.
 
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I don't peel....Steve does...we both eat what ever the other of us cooks though, no complaints.
Growing up mom would cook a big pot of whole unpeeled potatoes for her 'famous' potato salad.  Once done, my sister and I had the job of pulling off the peels...easy at that point but my hands can still feel the heat ...for some reason we had to peel them as soon as they came out of the boiling water.

If they are store bought non organic I might peel but those are rare.
With our own homegrown organic I want to eat every bit of goodness.
 
Christopher Weeks
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Ac Baker wrote:What do we think about this new study of solanine content in potatoes in various states?


Neat! I’ve never looked up the science on it, but I also don’t really peel off eyes or slightly green skin, though I do slice off any eye-growths with my thumbnail. Some of the potatoes that I grow from TPS make me a little bit ill, and I throw those away instead of replanting the next year.
 
Anne Miller
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Years ago we frequented a BBQ place where the potato salad had peels mixed with BBQ sauce.  

Odd but good.

So folks, do you leave the peels and mixed into the potato salad or do you peel later like my MIL?
 
Carla Burke
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I leave them on. Even in my potato salad & mash. Granted, I prefer a rustic mash, complete with both peels and lumps. But, especially with a red potato, I like the visual of the intact peel.

I do the potato candy with baked russet potatoes, baked, then peeled. Then, the side benefit to potato candy is that we have those peels (which I leave some extra potato on), and deep fry them. Lovely, crispy side!
 
Tereza Okava
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Carla Burke wrote:I leave them on. Even in my potato salad & mash. Granted, I prefer a rustic mash, complete with both peels and lumps. But, especially with ared potato, I like the visual of the intact peel.


Definitely! and if it's a German potato salad, even better, I think it makes it a lot nicer looking.
 
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I don’t peel unless a medical provider identifies the need to. Yes, there are situations where eating peels,  nuts, and ruffage in general is advised against.
 
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I peel my potatoes only when I wish to waste my time.
 
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My son was in a cooking class, and the instructor had the kids peeling potatoes. Apparently, his reaction of "What? Why?!" was so intense that she thought he'd never seen a peeler before.

Nope. The kid has peeled copious amounts of carrots with a carrot peeler. And, according to him, that was the exact same tool they were using to peel potatoes. But, we've never peeled potatoes. Carrots are quick and easy to peel and the flavor is greatly improved by peeling (if they're store-bought carrots). But, I've never wasted time peeling a potato. We just scrub them, cut off any green/brown/eye spots, and cook them.
 
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Christopher Weeks wrote:Some of the potatoes that I grow from TPS make me a little bit ill, and I throw those away instead of replanting the next year.


That's good to know! I'm hoping to finally start some TPS this year. And I eat a lot of potatoes. (Always with the skin on!)
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Matt McSpadden wrote:Apparently I am in the minority here I actually prefer peeling my potatoes quite often.

If the potatoes are young and/or thin skinned like the red ones, I don't mind leaving the skin on. But many of the storage potatoes with thicker skin, I prefer it off.


If I were cooking some of the big tough skinned Russet Burbanks, for example, I would do the same.

And yet, consider this: I have observed that potatoes actually have two skins -- the outer layer that may be as tough as a baseball glove, and an inner layer that may be delicate and flavourful and loaded with nutrients.

Peeling rips off all of the layers indiscriminately, leaving mostly starch. But scrubbing with an aggressive brush (or even a grater) could possibly peel off the "leather" and leave the tasty, healthy stuff behind.
 
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I don't peel potato or produce in general. A peel would have to taste or feel really really bad for me to give it to the worms.

I do peel bananas. I almost never have bananas anymore though. Avocados, same. Boy it would be cool to be able to grow bananas and avocados though. Someday soon.
 
Eino Kenttä
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Ac Baker wrote:
What do we think about this new study of solanine content in potatoes in various states?

“Solanine thresholds for acute toxicity are consistently misapplied in home kitchens. We’ve measured over 1,200 retail and pantry-sourced potatoes since 2022—and fewer than 0.7% exceeded 10 mg/100 g, the level at which we recommend caution. Most ‘sprouted’ potatoes tested were well below 2 mg/100 g—even with 2 cm sprouts.”
— Dr. Lena Cho, Toxicologist & Lead Author, FDA-Collaborative Potato Safety Study (2024–2026)

https://commercialtoolry.com/food/you-ve-been-wasting-potatoes-sprouts-aren-t-toxic-2026-guide


That's interesting! Personally, though, it's not so much the possibility of getting poisoned that makes me cautious with green potatoes, but rather that I bloody hate the taste of solanine. I just can't stand it, and it seems like my threshold for detecting it is lower than other people's. Don't know if that means my threshold for poisoning is also lower than average, but it doesn't really matter, since my body won't let me consider potatoes food if they're even just a little bit solanine-y. I tend to trust my body.
 
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Christopher Weeks wrote:I mostly don't.
So -- do you peel potatoes? And when do you or do you not?



Assuming the potato is thoroughly washed - and you know its history (pesticides, handling) I wouldn’t peel them unless there is an aesthetic reason - like if I was making Vichyssoise.
 
Tereza Okava
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I stand corrected! I said here that I never peel taters and then last night found myself peeling potatoes for my husband's pre-colonoscopy-prep lunch!
So I guess its "only when absolutely necessary".
 
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Ive switched to using yellow "yukon gold" type. No peeling really needed. I don't like the heavy peel on bakers unless im doing twice baked.
 
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