This Clever Hack Will Help You Peel Potatoes Even Faster

Peeling potatoes can take time if you use a typical method for doing so. Both vegetable peelers and even knives are useful for removing potato skins, according to MasterClass, but these tools are typically used on raw potatoes and aren't necessarily the easiest or fastest methods for par-cooked potatoes. Whether you are making mashed potatoes or any other kind of potato dish that first requires boiling the spuds, there is a much better way to remove the skins once they are cooked.

In a test-kitchen video by Amanda Haas, William-Sonoma's culinary director, she shows that the simplest way to peel potatoes begins with an ice bath after boiling them. In just a matter of seconds after the potatoes have cooled enough to touch, that's when the amazing hack happens. The best part of all is that it doesn't require any special equipment — not even a potato peeler or knife. All you need to peel potatoes at lightning speed are you hands, according to Haas.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to touch, Haas explains you can simply twist the potatoes in your hands to make the skins easily pop off. Haas describes the potato skins as already feeling "loose" after they are cooked. That's why they are so easy to slip off of the firmer interior of the potatoes, just like removing a cover or jacket from the outside of the vegetables. With that tip, you can quickly and easily remove all the necessary skins and be well on your way to actually preparing the dish.

The next time you make a dish like mashed potatoes or potato salad, leave your tools in the drawer and be prepared to simply use a little elbow grease. From peeling to milling to mashing, your potatoes will never have been ready for the table sooner. It's a tip that just might make you reconsider just how useful some of your single-use or very specific kitchen tools actually are.