Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Thu 15 Jan 2009 05:25:22p, told us...
>
>> I boiled two potatoes of the same size and from the same bag in the
>> same pan. Only one was peeled.
>>
>> I put each one thru the ricer and delivered the results in separate
>> dishes to my SO. The comment was "I can't taste the difference but
>> the texture is so much fluffier on this one" and it was the spud which
>> had been boiled with skin on. The one which had been peeled was
>> wetter and not as white.
>>
>> I guess from now on, I don't peel before boiling for mashed potatoes,
>> unless I'm in a terrific rush.
>>
>
> If you're using a ricer to "mash" the potatoes and separate the skin, I
> doubt it would take much longer, in fact perhaps take less time than it
> would to peel them first.
>
> Thanks for the comparison. That does sound logical, since the skin is
> somewhat of a barrier to the cooking liquid.
>
Right, Wayne. That's thy I never peel the potatoes for potato salad
before I cook them. I cool them and peel them after they have been
cooked (unless they are the tiny red ones. Then I leave some peel on
them) I learned long ago that potatoes cooked in their jackets are much
firmer for potato salad.

When I cooked for the family, I didn't peel the potatoes and just pushed
them through a ricer. They were the family favorite.