I found that skewering a potato on an icepick adds a handle to the spud making it easier to hold onto when peeling. This speeds up the peeling, keeps the spud off the floor and saves the knuckles on my bad paw. DJ finds this way easier for his small hands also.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001

Answers

Where DOES one find an icepick these days. I don't have one, but I'd like to. I never see them for sale, not even in antique or second- hand stores. :-(

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), February 02, 2001.

Could make one out of a nail and a handle. Tap the nail into the handle and clip off the head... Alternately you could try a hardware store...

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 02, 2001.

And did you know that if you push a metal shihkabab spike through a potato and bake, it bakes up in half the time?

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), February 02, 2001.

A regular 16d nail will also work as well as a shihkabab spike, only cheaper.

-- Lynn Goltz (lynngoltz@aol.com), February 02, 2001.

I just picked up an Ice pick recently at Wally world in the kitchen gadget section - it was made by Echo I think...

-- Willy Allen (willyallen2@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

I scrub well with a brush under running water, but I don't peel potatoes for ANY recipe!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

Well, if you are in unredeemable yuppie land, and can't find an icepick, you can easily make one from a screwdriver, as the punks in the city make them. Phillips type grinds down most easily. But secondly, I am in Rogo's camp! Tell me WHY you would want to peel a potato! I love them baked, and especially the skins with a dab of butter, and salt and pepper. If you are dieting, a small slosh (I'm not sure what that is in volume!) of olive oil instead of the butter. For stews and chowders, I wouldn't think of peeling them. And if you prefer mashed, the skins add a little visual interest. So again I ask, why on God's green earth would you PEEL potatoes! GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), February 08, 2001.

Unless, of course, they're greenies!

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@seedlaw.com), February 08, 2001.