LOL, John!!! I like your method. Potatoes wouldn't dare to be dirty after that treatment.

Jim

I not only wash them, if I cut them up after peeling, I drain the first pot of water, and add clean water. I'm actually draining starchy water, but even that is unpatable.

What lesson does it teach them John? (snickering)

Unless you enjoy eating sand...I'd advise anyone to please scrub your potatoes...that's freakin' disgusting if you ask me. The only thing worse to get in your mouth than sand is a hair...HAHAHA! UGH!

I sometimes do, and sometimes don't. I tried to clean potatoes in an ultrasonic cleaner, it didn't come out any better.

Should you? Shouldn't you? watch this video:

washing potatoes

dcarch

Proving that monkeys are smarter than some humans...HA!

Yup! I definitely scrub!
Have always used a brush,
But think I am going to try the 'scrub cloth' Mustangs uses.

"Proving that monkeys are smarter than some humans"

I've always thought that most animals are!
They are 'dumb' only in the way that they can't speak English
(or any other language), in the manner we are accustomed to hearing.
That doesn't stop them from getting their point across.

Rusty

My cat Yoko who is surfing with me this morning would like to add that cats are also smarter then humans.

Potatoes. I scrub them well. Dirt does not frighten me one bit... do hate the crunch of sand. As Annie notes chemicals are a concern. My favorite scrubber is a green scotch pad. If I'm in a hurry I'll brush good and go. Being single I eat bags of potatoes by just washing and nuking them one by one.

Some recent ones started to turn green because I left them in the light. Those I peel... don't eat the green! Green won't harm you but it signals that other dangerous chemicals are present. The last case of potato poisoning was decades ago but with the current recession people may once again brave the greener potatoes in the root cellar. Along with the tomato it is a member of the nightshade family and has to be treated with respect.

Tater fer lunch sounds good... hmmm butter & hot sauce or vinegar & black pepper? Oooo.. almost forgot I have french onion chip dip to slather on.

: )
lyra

"Yup I do as Jo does, light scrub and rinse. Organics all the way, all the time. Every store around here sells organic produce."

Absolutely! I only buy organic if it is on the Dirty Dozen list.....

Here is a link that might be useful: The Dirty Dozen

I hate biting into potato skins so I very seldom cook potatoes with the skins on. Mostly I just peel the potatoes and then cover them with water. Occasionally, I will cook the tiny new potatoes with skin on, but they are never dirty. They get a quick rinse before being boiled, grilled or roasted.

Russet potatoes get washed, dried, buttered and salted before going into the oven.

Ann

Oh Yeah! I'm in the SCRUBBING Camp. Before I scrub them, I let them soak in a big pot of water for 30 minutes just to help loosen the dirt and soil. If I'm eating the skin (which I almost always do), I want that sucker clean!

I swear I'm not a slob, but I've never scrubbed potatoes, nor have I ever noticed any dirt or sand on them. I usually buy small red potatoes (either loose or in 5-pound bags). I think they have been sand- (or water-) blasted clean before they come to the supermarket.

OTOH, I do give them a brief wash, then peel or at least cut away all the eyes, as well as the scuffs and bruises, and then rinse again. I usually leave the skins on, as we like potatoes with a bit of "personality."

Sue

We're buy organic & still scrub. We usually eat the skin so are sorta persnickity about the cleaning. I've always thought most of the nutrition/fiber that came from a potato was either the skin or very near the skin. About the only potato dishes I can think of right now where we wouldn't eat that, hopefully clean, skin is scalloped & on rare occasion mashed but usually for mashed we use baby reds & do not peel.

Thanks for the Dirty Dozen link. I just sent it to DD #2 who's a new first-time Mom & starting to think about making baby foods. I know she's going to use organic dairy if for no other reason...the growth hormone issue.

/tricia

I'm a scrubber!!! I use a Dobbie pad to do mine! Scruba dub dub, 4 spuds in a tub!!!!
Joann

I know WAY too much about potatoes and all the chemicals that go into growing them en masse. Since I can't afford organic anymore, I peel mine. I know I'm peeling away some vitamins, but that's how strongly I feel about the pest/herb/fung an other "icides" they are treated with.

I really scrub for baking or if I will be eating the skin. But for mashed potatoes or potato salad, I peel before cooking and cut up.....so I do a quick rinse before peeling.

Well I don't scrub it if I'm peeling it...that would be quite redundant!

I don't scrub with a brush or cloth. I rinse them under the tap and use my hands. Haven't found the potatoes to be sandy or dirty in whatever recipe I'm using. The Maine Carola is my favorite potato. It is only around for a very short time. Love the taste. NancyLouise

I scrub because we don't wash our spuds before we store them, just dust off the loose dirt. Our red potatoes had a little scab this year...I found using a homemade nylon net 'scrubbie' works really well.

Bakers get scrubbed with a green scotchbrite. Baby reds get rinsed. I don't scrub or wash if I'm peeling them. Just rinse them off after they're peeled.

I check out at all the potatoes in the grocery store today. All the different varieties and none of them were covered in dirt.

A quick rinse would be all that would be need to wash the surface, but there was no mud or dirt that needed to be scrubbed.

Ann

Most commercial potatoes have little dirt left because they are washed and then dunked in or sprayed with a chemical to retard the sprouting.

Homegrown potatoes aren't treated in that manner, so they'll store better if they are stored unwashed and cleaned before using.

Annie

Posted by ann_t -----A quick rinse would be all that would be need to wash the surface, but there was no mud or dirt that needed to be scrubbed. Ann"

It appears, as Ann said, potatoes are very clean.

Earlier I said I used an ultrasonic cleaner to clean a potato and it didn't make it any cleaner (same color).

I just look at one with a microscope and I did not see any sand or dirt even it looked kind of brownish.

Then I use a dental water jet to wash one. The water from the wash did not have any dirt in it either.

dcarch

If you have a lot of potatoes to scrub, try using a pair of those rough/"Phentexy" exfoliating gloves. Works like a charm, and fast too since you can use both hands. I also use them on carrots, daikon, etc. etc.

not only do I scrub potatoes with a special little veggie scrub brush, I wash all fruits and veggies. If nothing more than a rinse with my hands. Whether I peel them or not. You do not know whose hands have touched them and where those hands have been!

Depends how dirty they are! Well, all of them get at least rinsed, but I don't scrub unless they need it. All get into a tub of very, very lightly soaped water to soak a bit first. So far, I haven't killed anybody, nor have I ever had grit in my potatoes.

I tend to leave the skins on, since I like their flavor, unless I am cooking for people whom I know don't care for it. If I peel, I put the peels in water in the fridge and then indulge in one of my guilty pleasures...fried potato peels...at a later date. :D

As I said, most comercial poatatoes are already rinsed and sprayed. However, those chemicals remaining on the surface can't be seen, and I know how many are used to grow potatoes, so I scrub.

Am I removing any of those chemicals? Darned if I know, but it makes me feel better, so I do it. Peeling, of course, negates the purpose for scrubbing.

Annie

I don't know where you all are buying these clean and don't need washed potatoes but when I set a bag of potatoes down on my counter it's covered with sand and I have to clean off my counter....why would I want to eat dirt?

You do not know whose hands have touched them and where those hands have been!

As I said, most comercial poatatoes are already rinsed and sprayed. However, those chemicals remaining on the surface can't be seen,"

EXACTLY! ! !

Rusty

I only buy organic, and I scrub because there's always dirt. I find, in general, that organic produce tends to be dirtier. Personally, I like that as it makes me feel a little more connected to the food and it makes it feel less processed.

If I peel, then I just rinse them off after being peeled.

I wash mine under running water and use my hands to clean them. They usually are only a little dusty.

I am a firm believer in a little dirt builds the immune systems...I haven't had a cold in years.

Last time my Dad washed his hands voluntarily was, hmmm, 15 years ago? I put hand sanitizer on his hands sometimes but he managed for decades with out it. He never gets sick- though he's broken a few things.

I too, scrub them with a nylon scouring pad (has a button handle). Then, depends on what I'm making, I peel them afterward. For me, it's just easier to peel their skins off after they've cooked.

Most of the dishes, I keep the skins. They're more appetizing when their skin look clean.

i was shocked by how clean the potatoes i grew in my loose-soil square foot garden were. basically white. and i know it wasn't the species because i grew them from a potato i bought at the store! i assure you that no "bag of potatoes" potato will get that clean with any amount of scrubbing.

for my store potatoes, i peel them. if i'm baking, i scrub with a scotch bright but not obsessively.

I mostly peel mine before putting into water like Ann does for smashed/mashed potatoes. Russett's (Michigan) and Idaho potatoes are generally dirtier than the thin skinned Yukon Gold, Red potatoes and fingerlings....I just rinse with hot water through a collander. I don't have the patience to try to clean some of those dirty/sandy type potatoes and I think not only it is the type of potato but the grower and company that packages them that makes a difference as well.

Duane

I scrub my potatoes clean, too.

But I have to say, Bunnyman! I have a cat named Yoko, too! What are the odds?!

I scrub mine and peel them too. Then I rinse them off again,
because I can't help thinking of them growing in Manure and pestisides.

I don't eat the skins anymore. Don't know what has been absorbed.

My DD asked why I do this to the potatoes.

I just answered " would you eat a potatoe that was taken from a just used toilet? "

Crude !!! but it got the point across.

LOU

organic or home grown here too...I only rinse with water...maybe a quick rub with my hands...

For potato salad, I remove the skins after I cook them, so no, then I don't scrub them.

But if I intend on eating the skins, yes, they have to be clean. Depends on the potato though. Some don't necessarily need to be scrubbed. I know the Yukon Golds we buy are already very clean, and usually just need to be rinsed first.

There is nothing worse than biting into a piece of sand when you're trying to enjoy your dinner.

Depending on where I buy my potatoes. Out of a store, in a l0-lb bag, they are pretty clean, although they still get washed.

I also buy potatoes from local Mennonites. They are in burlap bags, unwashed. Unwashed store better long-term. Obviously these get a good scrubbing.

I always wash my potatoes, even if I'm peeling them. I rinse my potatoes, after peeling, and if I don't wash them first, I find they get unnecessarily dirty.

I seem to always buy potatoes with fragile skins, so I usually either just rinse them or peel them altogether, because scrubbing hard makes the skin come off in spots. They still seem a little dirty after rinsing (or at least I think they do. I'm never sure if those brown smudges are dirt or potato peel) but I'd think that since potatoes get cooked so hot for so long, the risk of getting sick would be pretty low. If I get sturdy potatoes, I scrub them harder. I get gritty spinach a lot, but I don't think I've ever gotten gritty potatoes.

I agree, Helene.

I did just have some new red potatoes from Magicland for Sunday breakfast though and I scrubbed them, they were pretty dirty although I know they are organic.

Annie

LOL I was about to post my favorite 'All your base are belong to us' but you guys caught it first

Having grit free potatoes is the most gourmet way to prepare them.

That really made me laugh. Who knew grit free was gourmet?

I don't think the post was that strange, and she did list her birthday as February 2 instead of Jan 1, and so that's a good sign. I didn't like her recipe for potato salad because she uses sweet pickle relish, and so I won't pay much attention to her other recipes.

I roasted some baby Yukon gold potatoes on the BBQ grill yesterday in the pan with a chicken that I had seasoned with a couple of Indian spice mixes, but the chicken came out a bit bland. I think I'll try a different spice mix next time. The potatoes looked very clean, and so I just rinsed them off without much scrubbing.

Lars

I don't and won't eat grits at all so not only do I have grit-free potatoes, I have a grit-free diet since grits ain't gourmet around here.

I'm with Lou on washing them when peeling. Hardly redundant. You'll still transfer dirt and otherwise while peeling, especially with some of the hokier peelers out there. I don't really scrub them hard if peeling but a wash, and then a rinse when finished peeling. Part of this is to remove some starchy slime. I often just put them into some water while I'm peeling the rest.

If I'm baking them and don't plan to eat the skin, I'll give a lighter wash but if I plan to eat the skins or have company who might eat them, I scrub them well. I like to eat the skins if they're crispy, but if they're soggy, forget it. No foil-wrapped potato skins for me.

When people come on to hype their websites, I won't even go to the sites. Even when the post is on topic, it's still spam in my book. Hmm, maybe I should call that stuff "grits" 'stead of spam! LOL

Anyone seen this? Ha! Apparently you can score the potato around the middle, boil, plunge in ice bath, and slip it out of its skin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y3BV0Awjuo&feature=player_embedded#at=69

I think it only works with thick skinned potatoes, but still I think I'll have to give it a try the next time I'm making 20 pounds of mashed potatoes.

And what about this video?

We are not the only ones to clean our potatoes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-euMlL9O1Kc

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Monkey see

Yes, I do. I soak them with or spray on veggie wash or vinegar solution an I scrub until dirt and stuff doesn't come off anymore.

I scrub with a potato brush and Dawn. Then I rinse twice in the pot. You just don't know where those potatoes have been. ;-)

Another scrubber here. It doesn't matter how the potatoes are going to be prepared.

I rinse the potatoes, sprinkle salt on them and use the scrub brush. Rise and scrub them again. clean....