Opinions differ when it comes to washing potatoes. Should they be peeled first and then cleaned or vice versa? In many cases, tubers from your own garden or from organic cultivation are quite dirty, as the remaining soil has a positive effect on their storage life.
How should you wash potatoes correctly?
When washing potatoes, they should first be soaked in cold water, then brushed thoroughly with a vegetable brush, any germs and green spots removed and then peeled or boiled. Do not wash before storing to avoid rapid spoilage.
Before you enjoy it, you have to wash it
Potatoes from the supermarket are usually pre-cleaned. You can only remove contamination after peeling. However, if the peel is very earthy, you should wash the tubers before further processing:
- Put cold water in the sink and add the potatoes.
- Soak for a short time to loosen the dirt.
- Brush the potatoes thoroughly with a special vegetable brush. You should refrain from using the dishwashing brush as detergent residues could be transferred to the tubers.
- A dishwashing sponge with a scouring side is suitable for small triplets.
- Drain the water and refill the basin with cold water.
- Clean the potatoes carefully again.
- Pick off any germs and remove the eyes.
- Green spots on the potatoes that contain toxic glycoalkaloids can be seen better under the water. Cut these out generously.
You should under no circumstances wash the potatoes before storing them, as this would cause them to spoil much more quickly.
Peel potatoes
Depending on the recipe, you can now remove the skin from the raw potatoes with a peeler or boil them first and then peel them:
- Score the skin all around with a sharp knife.
- Boil potatoes until cooked. Don't let them get too soft or they will fall apart.
- Quickly cool in ice cold.
- The shell can now be easily removed with your fingers and almost in one go.
Tip
New potatoes still have a very fine, thin skin. Thorough brushing removes most of this so you no longer have to peel the potatoes.
