Do You Really Need To Scrub Potatoes Before Cooking Them?

On a busy weeknight, getting dinner on the table can feel like a Herculean feat, and if there's vegetables involved, give yourself a big ol' pat on the back. Assembling nourishing meals that will please (and feed) the whole family is no small task, which is often where the hearty, well-liked potato comes in. Although, no one should be patting anyone's back until those potatoes are thoroughly cleaned — which is not an optional step, for the record. 

Even though those root veggies do get a rough clean after harvesting, lingering dust, dirt, or sand is likely still clinging to the skin or nestling in the nooks. That's where the story ends, if you're getting your potatoes directly from a farmer's market. On the yuckier side of things, as your spuds are transported and processed from farm to truck to warehouse to grocery store, any dirt or miscellaneous industrial grime (hope you're hungry) that your taters encounter in transit is liable to stick to the skin and end up in your dish and body if you don't scrub it off.

Plus, if you're eating any dish with skin-on spuds, there's no protective layer separating the insides from bacteria or chemical pesticides, which can be absorbed into both the skin and flesh and lead to foodborne illness. Even if you peel them, the contaminants can be spread from the outside inward once you cut into the potato with the blade of the knife. 

Long story short, skipping the scrub is frankly pretty gross at best and potentially hazardous at worst. Washing, scrubbing, and drying your taters are three extra steps that can make a world of difference. Give your potatoes a preliminary soak in cold, plain water (not vinegar or detergent) in a plugged, cleaned kitchen sink, or run them under cool water individually. Then, thoroughly scrub each individual potato with a vegetable scrub brush, paper towel, or clean kitchen rag (more tips on that here). This is also the step where you'll want to remove any eyes or sprouts growing from the surface. 

Baking, roasting, frying, or sauteing still-wet potatoes can prevent them from browning to that crave-able golden crisp, or even create a deflated dish. For the best texture, allow your potatoes to dry completely before cooking or baking with them. You can leave 'em to aerate in a colander or dry them by hand with a towel. Just remember: All of these steps should all happen before peeling. You should never wash potatoes in advance either, by the way. To help your potatoes retain their optimal freshness, wait to scrub them until the last minute right before you're ready to work with them. If you're making a dish that calls for a large sum of spuds, we've got a few tips for efficiently washing a bunch of potatoes at once.