How To Peel A Potato?
By Mary Anne Durkee
Peeling a potato? Just about anyone can do it. This was what I thought till the other day I had a friend over for lunch. Although he is a novice at cooking it was very sweet of him to have volunteered to help me with the cooking. So here we began, he washed the vegetables for me (little things that he felt he could do). Then thought we could go ahead and when he asked about what else he could do I suggested peeling the potatoes for the fries.
He had seen me peeling the carrots and picked up the peeler and tried 2-3 times without making any visible difference to the potato. That”s really the first time I realized that there really are people out there who need help on how to peel a potato. So this blog is dedicated to my friend who did manage to learn after all how to peel a potato.
-First and foremost, I would suggest that for beginners the peeler is a better tool than the knife. You are more likely to injure yourself with a knife if you are an absolute beginner. A simple potato peeler (the right size that you can hold in your hand) is all you need.
-Wash the potato peeler well, before starting. You must also remember to wash and dry the peeler after every use to get rid of all the peels stuck in it and keep it clean. Hygiene is very important in the kitchen and as one who cooks you are also responsible for the health of those you feed.
-Wash the potatoe well and pat dry. Potatoes generally have a film of dust on them and therefore, washing them becomes all the more important.
-Hold the potato firmly with your hand (for righties like me , it is the right hand for the peeler and the left hand for the potato). Hold the peeler at a slight angle so that the blade of the peeler is able to peel off the skin of your potato easily. Move the peeler towards you with every act of peeling. A little pressure is all you need to apply.
-Once you know just how to do it, all the potatoes that you need can be peeled quickly and without much effort. Keep turning over the potato and repeating it until the entire potato is peeled.
-If you decide to use a knife instead, then hold the knife in the hand you would hold the peeler in. Slowly work the knife in a direction towards you peeling off the layer of skin. You need to be extremely careful and have good control while peeling so as not to cut your fingers or peel it instead of the potato.
Peeling a potato can be really easy if you know just how to do it or else it can be the toughest of jobs (my friend claims to have mastered one of the toughest things with learning how to peel a potato). There are a lot of delicious dishes you can make with the versatile potato, do not let ignorance on peeling be a stumbling block to some great cooking.
About The Author
Mary-Anne is a featured member and regular contributor at ifood.tv, a global food network, featuring recipes from all over the world. Other popular healthy recipes videos on ifood.tv include Easy Recipes, Egg recipes and Eggplant recipes