Is it true that most of a potato’s vitamins are in its skin? And haven’t you heard the same thing about carrots? So what’s the REAL truth?


Food scientists have the answer. First, potatoes: They say that vitamins in potatoes and most other vegetables are not concentrated in the skin (as some health food faddists believe), but in the pulp just under the skin. However, since it is impossible to peel a potato without scraping away some of the vitamin-rich pulp, it makes sense to cook and serve it with its skin. Besides, the skin does have some nutrients and adds fiber, flavor, texture, and color contrast.

Now carrots: The same holds true for carrots, except for the part about the skin adding flavor. The fact is, carrot skin is on the bitter side, so to peel a carrot makes good sense and increases the chances of people actually eating them—raw OR cooked.


But back to potatoes: SO, if you’re going to cook and eat them with the skin ON, you want them exceptionally clean. This can be a challenge, depending on the spud size and its number of eyes (they catch and hold dirt).

When it comes to scrubbing potatoes, some folks use a tooth brush, some use a fingernail brush, and others use a dish scrubbing brush, reserved for just scrubbing spuds. And still others like the potato-scrubbing gloves from Williams-Sonoma. These make quick and easy work out of potato scrubbing, but the only drawback, as far as I’m concerned, is their price-- $14.95 a pair.


But one of the easiest (and least expensive) ways I’ve found to get potatoes really clean (almost surgically clean), is to use a cloth made out of that greenish blue scrubber stuff you find on one side of sponges. This “cleaner cloth” stuff is available in packages (sometimes called scrubbing pads). They come in varying sizes and colors. The ones I have are actually green and a little smaller than an 8x10 piece of paper.

I love how well the scruffy texture grabs anything on the skin and how well the whole thing wraps around the entire spud. Just wrap your potato, twist and rub, and rinse well. And voila, you’ve got a clean potato.


And speaking of leaving the skins on the spuds, my son, Paul, a chef in Jackson, WY, is always in charge of the spuds when he comes home for holidays. And you can bet he leaves the skins on—“Adds flavor and an interesting color contrast,” he says, repeating what food scientists are recommending. All we know is, they are out of this world. Here’s the recipe: