# Mashed potatoes - peeled or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998 "2011-11-24T20:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/21 "2011-11-25T00:25:00Z")
I’ve accepted as a truism that it’s the skin has all the good-for-you bits in potatoes, even though as a card carrying doper I must admit I’ve never done the leg-work and have no idea if that is a fact or not. Mostly it’s just what I tell people who complain about the skins in my potatoes. I think I can best summarise why I really leave the skins on by quoting a poem about another root vegetable, the rutabaga, by James Silas Rogers; “My first mouthful tasted like something in a gunny sack; nothing like a wine from which an epicure, or would-be epicure, might claim to read the soils in which the grapes were grown. She said she loved their dug-up texture, the hint of dirt that couldn’t be baked away, how they left the tongue with a rumor of something underground and dark.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/22 "2011-11-25T00:28:52Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > I’ve accepted as a truism that it’s the skin has all the good-for-you bits in potatoes, even though as a card carrying doper I must admit I’ve never done the leg-work and have no idea if that is a fact or not. Fortunately, [an obscure researcher has done the leg-work for you](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/397/it-is-true-all-the-vitamins-in-potatoes-apples-etc-are-in-the-skin). ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/23 "2011-11-25T00:51:16Z")
Since I eat like a healthnut I never peel them. The skins are nutritious and high in fiber. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/24 "2011-11-25T00:52:18Z")
For redskins, they should be unpeeled. Regular mashed potatoes (we do Yukons around here) should be peeled. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/25 "2011-11-25T00:53:19Z")
From the link: > [@](#): > > Generally speaking it’s a good idea to keep the skins on your fruits and vegetables — but not because they’re a great source of vitamins and minerals. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/26 "2011-11-25T01:31:10Z")
I peel them if I’m mashing them for people I don’t know well, like a potluck, but for just me, or good friends, I leave the skins on. I especially hate peeling them if they are nice, thin-skinned new potatoes - just seems like such a waste to throw all that away. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/27 "2011-11-25T01:32:57Z")
Good gad, peeled! The alternative is barbaric! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/28 "2011-11-25T01:35:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Idahoan brand has fooled many people who think I made them from scratch. Heretic! Burn him/her/it! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/29 "2011-11-25T03:05:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Russet potatoes? Yes, I peel. Unless I don’t. But almost always, I peel. > > Red potatoes? No, I never peel them. This. And as I usually use red potatoes, I voted “never peal”. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/30 "2011-11-25T03:27:30Z")
Never peel. I like the skins. There is something missing if there aren’t skins in mashed potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/31 "2011-11-25T03:50:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Good gad, peeled! > The alternative is barbaric! This. Potato skins are NASTY. If I am served mashed potatoes with skins in them, I will generally just leave them on my plate. The alternative is to pick out all the bits of skin, and I’d really rather not do that. I’ll eat the skins on cucumbers and tomatoes and apples, but not potatoes. No, no, no. I don’t care how good the gravy is, either. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/32 "2011-11-25T04:06:09Z")
Yukon Gold, unpeeled, “mashed” with a hand mixer. Leaves the skin barely noticeable. White potatoes will do in a pinch but are so darned bland. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/33 "2011-11-25T04:47:18Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > In between. I “roughly” peel them - about 2/3 to 3/4 peeled. Gives me a chance to look for bad spots and also IMHO leaves me with a nice balance in terms of amount of skin in the mashed potatoes. > > Generally I prefer Yukon Golds, but Russets in a pinch. Not crazy about red-skinned potatoes mashed. As above, but I used thin-skinned russets today. Came out great. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/34 "2011-11-25T06:16:33Z")
I don’t peel any of my potatoes as I think the skins give the mashed potatoes a nice texture. Plain ones are just mushy and bland. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/35 "2011-11-25T06:35:18Z")
What no third option where we buy mashed potato mix at the supermarket? ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/36 "2011-11-25T06:38:08Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > What no third option where we buy mashed potato mix at the supermarket? We ran those people out of town already. Well, we think we got most of them, but there may be some still lurking around… ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/37 "2011-11-25T06:39:46Z")
Peeled please; the skins are rough on my tongue and fight the mashedy goodness. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/38 "2011-11-25T06:49:51Z")
Peeled. I have texture issues with foods and skins in mashed potatoes is _shudder_. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/39 "2011-11-25T07:25:55Z")
I never peel potatoes. The peel has all the flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998/40 "2011-11-25T14:41:08Z")
I use a ricer, and the ricer removes almost all the skins. What it doesn’t remove is meant to remain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mashed-potatoes-peeled-or-not/603998.md?page=3)