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.

  • xeddyx@lemmy.nz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    41
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • Frater Mus@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      24
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

    • GBU_28@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Some recipes seek the smoothest consistency. Skin interferes.

      If you aren’t cooking that specifically, just wash the skin.

      • flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        Do you mean there’s something other than roasted and mashed?

        Oh… How could I forget gnocchi?! That wondrous improvement on pasta

  • Thaolin@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    45
    arrow-down
    10
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • Heikki@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      49
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s not true. For a potato, about half the total fiber is found in the skin. No other nutrients are drastically reduced.

      Source

    • Pantherina@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • TalesFromTheKitchen@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

      • gowan@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        12
        ·
        1 year ago

        Not if you remove eyes, sprouts and green parts. What you want to avoid is green flesh. If you scratch under the skin and its green pitch it.

        • GCostanzaStepOnMe@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          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.

          • danhakimi@kbin.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Toxins exist in the water you drink and the air you breathe, unless you distill the water to the point of actually being dangerous to consume.

            A small concentration of toxins is absolutely unavoidable. The presence in potato skins is pretty negligible.

          • gowan@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            They are in such small concentrations that your body tends to eliminate them. They do not accumulate.

          • TWeaK@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            I think cooking goes a long way to dealing with the toxins, also. Raw potatoes are very toxic.

            • GCostanzaStepOnMe@feddit.de
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              No, alcaloids are stable under heat that’s why you should also discard the water when cooking potatoes with skin.

              • freebee@sh.itjust.worksOP
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                1 year ago

                you seem knowledgeable about potatoes. Is it okay to let the water cool down and water outside plants with it?

                • blackbrook@mander.xyz
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  I don’t know, but if you let it sit on your stove for a few days you can develop a really impressive stink!

              • AAA@feddit.de
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                Not that I ever reused the potato cooking water, but TIL. Thank you.

    • Player2@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Worth mentioning that different types of potatoes have more and less pleasant skins to eat, so it depends

  • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    1 year ago

    “most efficient” depends on what you’re maximizing for

    Speed?

    Effort?

    Potato wastage?

  • BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    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.

    • HumbertTetere@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      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.

      • BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        Sorry! Had no idea. I have a network dns filter and adblocker on my browser and didn’t have an issue. For what it’s worth, target carries OXO brand stuff and there’s plenty of sites that sell their brand as well

    • mycatiskai@lemmy.one
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

    • freebee@sh.itjust.worksOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      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!

      • oatscoop@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I bake with and can a lot apples – an apple peeler is the fastest way to peel, core, and slice an apple.

        It just comes down to having the space and “need” to justify buying one.

  • schmurian@lsmu.schmurian.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I would agree that the tool you use has the most impact. I really like this one. For me it works way better than the one in your picture.

    Alt: Picture of a peeler, with a blade that has teeth

    • freebee@sh.itjust.worksOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      true, it impacts the technical options. When my last one broke, I looked for quite a long time to find exactly one like in my picture again. The head needs to jiggle about to follow the shape of the potato while peeling. Static peelers feel very weird to me.

      • evranch@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        I have a few of these in my drawer, I only use this style as the Y-type are awful IMO. I like the whittling motion and not the scraping motion, it feels natural. All other styles are a gimmick.

        I just took a look. All have floating blades and my current favourite is probably the “Kuraidori” from Home Hardware. Lots of blade, not much guard, solid stiff single piece handle and thick blade. Blade is marked “Solingen Duo-Cut Germany”.

        I farm, grow a lot of potatoes in my garden and they are a staple of my family’s diet. I just go ham on the potato with that style of peeler, must be only a couple seconds per potato. I definitely overcut sometimes but as potatoes are nearly worthless to me compared to the peeling time, NBD.

        Another hot potato tip, I always pressure cook them if not baking or roasting. It turns out reliable results super fast and uses very little water.

    • Schaedelbach@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      We have one of those. It’s called “Sparschäler” over here in Germany. I have no idea how to translate it but maybe “a thing that peels and saves as much of the veggie in the process” or savingspeeler?? Whatever, my point is: those little teeth are something else! I got them stuck in the skin of my fingers/hand so often, I got another one without the teeth. The one without teeth isn’t as effective (especially when I peel carrots) and cuts more off the vegetables I peel. Feels smoother, though!

  • krayj@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 year ago

    I don’t normally peel my potatoes, but when I do, I use the peeler like I’m whittling a piece of wood.

    But peeling oranges…I do the same thing you try to do with potatoes: I try to get the peel off in one single long spiraling piece.

    • Dorgel@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      The one with the serrated edges? I don’t like it, it’s a bitch to clean, even though it saves x amount of cutoff… I much prefer the type linked by op, I have an even more ergonomic one from wmf that I love

      • PissinSelfNdriveway@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Yea that’s the one I have and love it. I just chuck in it the dishwasher. Probably not great on it but it’s over 2 years old and cuts like new. Pretty sure them make a non serated one.

  • treadful@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    I want to know more about the peeler in the photo. I’ve never seen anything like that.

  • tintintin@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    1 year ago

    From experience in Restaurants: boil them first and usually you can peel them then by hand. Like ripping the skin of in two parts with each hand.