The Effortless Hack That Makes Peeling Potatoes A Total Breeze

Everybody loves eating potatoes, but nobody likes peeling them. It is such an unpleasant chore that it has long been a trope in television and film. When someone gets knocked down to the absolute bottom of the totem pole, that's their job in the kitchen. But what we're about to share with you turns the whole task on its head. As it so happens, one simple cut can make peeling your potatoes an absolute breeze — and it doesn't even require a peeler.

All you have to do to unlock this method is take a paring knife and slice through the skin in a circular motion around the middle of the potato. Drop the potatoes into a pot of boiling water and cook them until they are tender all the way through. Once cooked, remove them from the water and allow them to cool enough that you can easily handle them. To speed up this process, either drop the potatoes into an ice bath or simply run them under cold water.

Once the potatoes have cooled down a bit, you'll be astounded by how easily those skins come off, particularly for thicker-skinned varieties like russet or sweet potatoes. You may even be able to slide the halves off in a single piece, making the cleanup process much easier as well — no time spent fishing stray potato peels out of the sink or between the cabinets, just one easy piece that you can toss straight into the compost. Alternatively, you can save them and turn those potato peels into a crispy soup topping.

The bonuses of this technique are clear: peeling potatoes with a fraction of the effort. As soon as you master this simple method, you will be absolutely swimming in potatoes — and that is never a bad thing. There are nearly endless ways to use up a big bag of potatoes, from the familiar to the foreign. Yes, you can use them for a big pot of mashed potatoes or to top a shepherd's pie, but equally you could whip up a batch of patatas bravas or some nice herb and cheese croquettes.

There are a couple of downsides to this technique, however. In addition to having varying levels of effectiveness with different types of potatoes, the larger downside is that it takes a lot longer to boil whole potatoes than it does peeled and cubed ones. You may save a bit of peeling time with this technique, but the cook time is likely to be doubled — and that's the one that runs up your utility bill.

We will leave the issue in your hands as to whether you'd rather save cooking time or peeling time, but you may be better off checking out some other clever potato peeling hacks rather than relying on boiling your potatoes whole. Then again, if you find yourself hankering for some mash in a kitchen that isn't equipped with a vegetable peeler, this trick could be exactly the tool you need.