Can you peel potatoes early

Your main goal, besides saving your sanity, is to slow down discoloration: When you slice a potato, the vegetable's chemical compounds called phenols are exposed to oxygen.

The resulting chemical reaction causes the potatoes to take on a pinkish-brownish hue, which might not be the look you're going for. To slow down this process, you can place the potatoes in cold water until you're ready to use them.

Here are some guidelines to make this technique work for you. Putting peeled potatoes in water works best if they're left whole or cut into large chunks; they can stay put for up to 12 hours, but after that they will start to lose their structural integrity.

You can soak littler cuts, such as diced potatoes, but you should keep it brief while you're getting the rest of the recipe ready, or around 30 minutes since their smaller shape means they can easily become waterlogged. One thing you should never do is soak shredded potatoes, since their delicate profile likely won't withstand a water bath. To that bowl of water, I add some acidity to keep the peeled potatoes from turning black. Usually just a small amount is needed, 1 tablespoon of concentrated lemon juice or white wine vinegar in about a gallon of water seems to work really well.

This is important, because you never want to place potato peels down the disposal as they will bind up the machine and are hard to get out. Usually a call to a plumber is in order.

Potato peels, onion skins, cucumber skins, celery and carrot skins really are not that great for your kitchens plumbing, so scoop up the skins and toss into the trash or start a compost pile outside if you are really enterprising. Next step is to peel each potato in one sink, then place it in a plastic strainer or colander in the second sink. I use plastic as the metal from a colander can also start the potato turning dark prematurely.

Once you have a few peeled, rinse the potatoes in the strainer and then place into the chilled bowl of water. And if you want a real treat, save the potato peels, rinse off, dry, and place in a shallow pan of hot vegetable oil degrees F for some out of this world crispy potato skins.

Drain, add a little seasoning or salt, maybe some shredded parmesan cheese. You also should avoid prepping the potatoes ahead of time if you intend to fry them, as hot oil and wet veggies don't mix well. In the same vein, if your recipe requires the finished potatoes to be extra crispy, avoid soaking them at all. The best use of this easy little hack is mashed potatoes.

Since the potatoes will be boiled when it's time to cook them anyway, the outcome of the recipe really won't really be affected at all. By Corey Williams Updated July 02, Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. Pin FB Share. Raw sliced potatoes background. Potatoes in a saucepan.

Peel potatoes using a vegetable peeler this top-rated OXO peeler glides through tough skins like a breeze.