| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Barefoot Andrew |
A question for the Master PeelerYou know who you are
(and for everyone else, we're talking Ace of Spuds, not Victorian bobbies  )
Do you peel as close to the surface as possible, removing only the skin, or does the odd slightly deeper cut creep in? A. PS Hmm, vaguely random question for a Sunday morning 
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| Jamanda |
He's busy with his ham at the minute, but I'm sure he'll give you the benefit of his experience later. | ||||||
| Marionb |
As soon as I saw your name Jamanda, I realised who the master peeler was..... should have realised sooner  
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| Simon |
I think he normally uses a rumbler anyhow. | ||||||
| sally_in_wales |
Am I the only person who avoids peeling spuds at all unless its utterly critical that something not have nice bits of tasty spud skin in it or the spuds are really getting ropey? | ||||||
| Pilsbury |
nope I prefer not to peel, might be that im lazy, might be that I like potatoe skin, either boiled roast or fried, I do peel for mash though | ||||||
| Barefoot Andrew |
Sorry
A. |
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| tahir |
Peel spuds, for chips??
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| sean |
Always. Go and stand in the potato-abusers corner with Cab. | ||||||
| cab |
No, I can't usually be doing with peeling either. Skin is the best bit. |
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| Chez |
What Cab said. | ||||||
| Barefoot Andrew |
Just sometimes you've got to ditch the skin though - I once tried making leek and potato soup without peeling and it wasn't good
A. |
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| Chez |
Ah, no, I've done that. It does give it a kind of gritty texture, doesn't it? Probably good for the bowels; but as a taste sensation a bit of a no-no. | ||||||
| cab |
The only time I've peeled spuds recently was to have potato skins to fry as a starter. Always something I look forward to, when the main crop spuds come out of the ground. | ||||||
| Barefoot Andrew |
Even worse - try making fish pie without peeling
A. |
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| Barefoot Andrew |
Ooh, that sounds a good idea. I'll be trying that... A. |
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| GENT |
we just had the very same descusion for tonights' dinner- we were mashing and they ended up peeled. | ||||||
| Chez |
Ah, well, the trick there is to slice the unpeeled spuds thinly and lay them over the top of your fish and stuff. |
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| Chez |
Is that strictly speaking 'peeling' though? Or 'scooping'? |
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| Barefoot Andrew |
This is clearly why I need to go to a food weekend and learn from the Gods
A. |
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| vegplot |
No. We don't peel either. Chips (very rare), mashed, boiled etc. All unpeeled, unless warty horrors. |
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| Jonnyboy |
You may be beyond redemption. |
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| Cathryn |
I'm getting an awful bad feeling... We were banning potatoes weren't we? 
Completely irrelevant but my lease actually states no deep fat fryer allowed on the premises. Bizarre! |
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| Jamanda |
Banning them? Who was? Why?
Sean was playing his fiddle in the pub this afternoon with an Irish couple and ending up lecturing about potatoes and how evil Walker's crisps are
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| Barefoot Andrew |
Sean, lecture? Surely not
A. |
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| hedgewitch |
I am probably going to regret this, but why are Walker's crisps evil? I mean, really, why more evil that, say, Smith's crisps?
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| Chez |
I'd like to know, too. |
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| sean |
They're exceptionally aggressive about market share and they've got some *interesting* approaches to taxation. Probably no worse than lots of other big companies though TBH. | ||||||
| Chez |
Have we got an Official Downsizer Crisp Recipe, then? | ||||||
| cab |
Official? Dunno, but I propose the following. Get your spud, wash it, drop it into the high speed shredder on a Kenwood Chef (not a Kitchen Aid, that would be stupid). Appropriate spuds include 'golden wonder' and 'desiree', but others may be acceptable. 'Highland burgundy' is entertaining. Get your fat hot... fry your crisps till good and done, take 'em out and drain, add salt and vinegar if you fancy. Also excellent with beetroot and parsnip. For prettiest crisps use beetroot 'marina di chioggia', which is red and white stripey. |
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| Chez |
I don't have a Kenwood (does that mean I'll be drummed off the forum now?) ... can I slice them thinly by hand? Or with a cheese-slice thingy or something? Hmm. Actually ... think my blender/mixer thing HAS a cheese-slice attachment. I may experiment later.
We do have a forthcoming World Beetroot Mountain, too ... |
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| ariana |
When my son was little I used to make what he called Twizzles out of potato peelings. If I was going to cook potatoes for mash I'd try to peel them (with a hand peeler, not the swivel type) so that the peel came off in one long "twizzle". Then I'd put the peelings in a bowl with a bit of olive oil, some chopped garlic, salt and coarse ground black pepper. Stir it all round to coat the peelings well and then spread on a baking sheet and cook in a very hot oven for about ten minutes. Very moreish with a glass of something chilled.
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| tahir |
Smiths were bought out by Walkers a VERY long time ago. I know a Walkers henchman, err sorry employee, and am aware of lots of at least marginally dodgy stuff that they do to protect/enhance their position. They're loving the current rise in commodity costs, they can afford to absorb the extra costs, they know that a lot of their competitors can't. |
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| Jamanda |
That sounds interesting. Might have to give that a go. |
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| hedgewitch |
Had no idea about the takeover as they still sell under the Smith's brand. I should look to my favourite Seabrook's crisps then and make the most of them? 
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| tahir |
Absolutely, they make a good crisp, as do lots of other independents. |
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| Barefoot Andrew |
Ooh, me too. A. |
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| cab |
Its all about thin, really. Not that they're bad if too thick, they're just not really crisps any more. I've never managed to get them thin enough other than by using something mechanical, but maybe one of those cheffy mandolin type things would do it. |
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| Pilsbury |
mandolins are good for crisps, the really posh ones can do crinkle cut as well.
and when frying the crisps only do a few at a time, the oil needs to be hot and if you dump a handful in it will cool down to much and they will boil in oil not fry, that said if they are thin enough it should only take 30 secs to 1 min for each batch so quick enough to do. |
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| ariana |
I should have added that you need to dig any eyes or sprouty bits out first. They are not so appetising
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| Chez |
What's a mandoliny thing? Off to google, but if anyone has a link ... ? | ||||||
| Barefoot Andrew |
Something that caused mild amusement previously... well, for me at least
A. |
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| Rob R |
Interesting, the Walkers contracts were always quite a cushy number compared to, say, ASDA. We had to carry the spuds round on cushions and treat them well, ASDA couldn't even be bothered treating the farmers well, never mind the pots. |
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| vegplot |
Worth a try. Could use the last bit for chips. |
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| Slim |
"The vegetable peeler, is a vitamin stealer"
(and don't you forget it!) Russets are such a nice spud for frying, though I don't like chips (crisps) I like homefries... |
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| vegplot |
Crisps (GB)= chips (US) Homefries (US) = chips (GB) Is that right? |
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| Slim |
your crisps are our potato chips
your chips are our fries or french fries wedges are wedges the world 'round, I think... and homefries are sort of like wedges, but you do 'em in a skillet, maybe after parboiling - if you're into that sort of thing (I am). They can be as large as half of a smaller potato... |
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| Gervase |
Ah, so homefries = saute´ spuds | ||||||
| Helen_A |
Noooo ooooo oooo please can we not go there again.... | ||||||
| Rob R |
I don't (if that's possible, having never heard it before, but I never forget the underlying principle )
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| vegplot |
french fries are thin. Chips much fatter. |
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| yummersetter |
your skillet is our fryingpan (or griddle if lower sided)
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| Northern_Lad |
French Fries are also Belgian. |
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| Slim |
Disgusting McDonalds french fries are thin. Good fries are fatter. Anywhere from a quarter inch to a half inch square I'd say. If folks are tired of discussing spuds and peeling and then overall "master peeler" topic, we could move on to, oh say, basting? Who among you is a master baster? |
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| vegplot |
Enough of that. A children's cartoon series was stopped because of (incorrect) connotations like that. |
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| Jamanda |
That was all an urban myth. Pugwash is innocent! |
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| vegplot |
Indeed it was. My error was saying it was stopped because of incorrect connotations. |