# Do you eat the skin of baked taters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 5, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478 "2024-10-05T17:00:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/21 "2024-10-05T18:48:59Z")
Sure, skins are good. Wendy’s chili and baked potato is a mighty fine meal with the tasty skin necessarily saved for the end. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/22 "2024-10-05T18:53:55Z")
Yes, as long as its coated in butter. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/23 "2024-10-05T19:01:19Z")
I used to, but now we just nuke the spuds, so the skins don’t get all crackly like when they’re baked. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/24 "2024-10-05T19:19:32Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The idea that most, or even much, of a potato’s nutrients is in the skin is a myth. Heh, I told my kids that myth and they ate (and eat) potato skins. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/25 "2024-10-05T19:25:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I used to, but now we just nuke the spuds, so the skins don’t get all crackly like when they’re baked. I do both - nuke the tater until it’s 3/4 done, then pop it into a hot oven to finish cooking and crisp up the skin, which has been rubbed with oil and salt. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/26 "2024-10-05T19:48:27Z")
Guess I’m the odd one out. I don’t like potato skins. Never have. They taste like dirt to me with only a very mild hint of potato flavor. Over the years I typically have my birthday dinner with my younger sister and brother at our favorite steakhouse. They fight over my baked potato skin. Fine. Have at it. I love the taste and texture of perfectly a baked potato, so I usually only top with butter (too much!) and salt and pepper. If I feel like treating myself I’ll add a little sour cream. I would eat the “load” from loaded potatoes separately if I could, but not on the potato because that overwhelms the potato taste. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/27 "2024-10-05T20:02:00Z")
Talking about this I realize I haven’t had a proper baked potato in a long time. Lately I’ve been enjoying little potatoes. Cut in half toss with oil salt pepper cherry tomatoes halves and sweet peppers roast for 20 minutes. So good and easy! > **[Make the Whole Table Happy | The Little Potato Company](https://www.littlepotatoes.com/)** > > Because everyone, everywhere deserves to have healthy, great food. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/28 "2024-10-05T20:06:37Z")
The skin is the best part if it is crispy. If it is a restaurant potato that has been wrapped in aluminum foil I generally will not eat the skin cuz it is soggy. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/29 "2024-10-05T20:31:07Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > When you are looking at the results, they are shown in order of number of votes, with the highest number of votes at the top Thanks. The poll order makes sense now. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/30 "2024-10-05T20:58:30Z")
I eat the skins, my SO claims he likes them ok but whenever we go out to eat, he leaves the potato skin shell. These do make excellent breakfast potatoes (he eats those) 🤷‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/31 "2024-10-05T21:13:18Z")
I always eat the potato skins. A whole potato, skin and inside and all, is just right. If you’ve heard of _The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society_, know that the pie was not meant to be actually eaten. It was a prop. (This is not a spoiler.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/32 "2024-10-05T22:04:44Z")
I loved the skins when I was a kid and still do. Hollow out the potato and put butter on the skins. Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/33 "2024-10-05T22:11:31Z")
I think there’s a big difference for me between where I’m eating and the skin. At home? Almost always, because I’ve rubbed the skin with olive oil and salt, and cooked in the air fryer until the skin is dry and crispy. I eat all the starchy goodness with butter (salted), and then normally toss the skin with just a bit of white remaining back in the airfryer to get extra crispy, add a touch more butter and crunch it up. Also acceptable to save the skin, and fill it the next day with an ounce or two of cheese and a tablespoon of real bacon pieces, heating the mass in air fryer for a gooey, salty, smokey delight. But at a restaurant? It’s maybe 50/50. If it’s a thinner skinned russet, or a moist potato, and the skin is more rubbery than crisp? Generally not. But the places that I go that normally have baked potatoes are steakhouses (and someone else is paying, too rich for my blood these days) and most of them are offering sweet potatoes as an option, which I prefer (though I don’t eat their skins). So I voted yes for skins, since most of the time it’s home-cooked to my exact preference. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/34 "2024-10-05T22:45:44Z")
I’ll rub a wee bith of Crisco on the clean, dry skin before I bake it. That guarantees crispiness. I eat the skin with butter and salt. Yum ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/35 "2024-10-06T01:08:20Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Talking about this I realize I haven’t had a proper baked potato in a long time. I like baked potatoes. But I haven’t had one in years. ETA: I’ll eat a portion of the skin, as I’m usually getting full by the point in the meal ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/36 "2024-10-06T01:12:03Z")
Gads. I haven’t had a decent baked potato since Sizzler went tits-up. I never order one at an upscale steakhouse. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/37 "2024-10-06T01:14:02Z")
Potato skins at their best are crispy, delicious, and healthy. Potatoes that have been baked in foil (not the way I do them) may not have crispy skins but they’s still good. In fact, when I make homemade fries, I don’t peel the potatoes – I just rinse and scrub them well with a stiff brush. Skin-on potatoes make more interesting and flavourful fries. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/38 "2024-10-06T01:20:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I loved the skins when I was a kid and still do. Hollow out the potato and put butter on the skins. Heaven. As a kid, we’d have roasts with roast carrots and potatoes. We were allowed to cut our potato crosswise and scoop them out (making two cups), then put a pat of butter in them and collapse them flat. I say potato because we’d have to finish the carrots and meat to get a second potato. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/39 "2024-10-06T01:21:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The skin is the best part (though I wouldn’t waste the starchy filling, either). Correct! ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478/40 "2024-10-06T07:55:00Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The skin contains mostly fiber, along with some vitamins, but most of the nutrients are in the flesh of the potato. The fiber’s really important, especially as most people don’t get enough fiber in their diet. The only time I don’t eat (or finish) the skin is if it is crusted with salt. Then it’s just too salty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-skin-of-baked-taters/1008478.md?page=3)