Monday, December 26, 2022

Waste not, want not

I came across a recipe the other day for how to make a nifty snack: roasted potato peels. In the spirit of "waste not, want not," I decided to give them a try the next time I used some potatoes.

Rather than peeling the potatoes directly into the sink, I first scrubbed them...

...then peeled them onto a cutting board.

I drizzled the peels with a bit of oil, then tossed them with salt and pepper.

I laid them out on a pan...

...and slid them into the wood cookstove oven (may as well use the heat!).

I baked them until they were crunchy.

Then I tossed them with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

The result was kinda "meh." These aren't the first snacks I'd reach for. That said, they weren't bad.

It's more what they represent: An edible solution to what had previously been a wasted resource. Should the day ever come when every calorie will count, you can bet we'll be using all our potato peels. Waste not, want not!

8 comments:

  1. Probably more nutritious than the insides.
    Good on you, this is a great post highlighting how much food this nation wastes. Every calorie doesn’t always have to please our brain, “tasting” great and pleasing us has not worked out real well over the last 40 years.

    Great post!

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  2. i don't peel my potatoes. Even when making mashed potatoes. "Problem" solved.

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  3. If it is a potato I grew, I do not peel them, just make what I call Dirty Mashed potatoes. That said, if I ever have to buy potatoes again, they will be peeled since I do not know what is on them.

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  4. Suggest you search DuckDuckGo for potato Skins Recipes, click on pictures. My wife and I used to enjoy these gussied up versions, but haven't had any for years. Don't have that problem myself as I don't peel potatoes. Just scrub them up - cut off objectionable spots and either bake them or cut them up for soup/stew or mashed. I wish for you an enjoyable Christmas when YD gets home. Was surprised to hear that it has been three years.
    Duane

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  5. Maybe some tasty olive oil and garlic and herbs would make them more palatable to you. I love potato skins. Tommy won't eat new potatoes unless they are peeled. So, he gets to peel his! And, mine are cooked with the peels on. I cannot imagine peeling 1" potatoes, but he does it. I love sweet potato skins when I bake them.

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  6. I saw a story recently of someone going with her grandma to plant all the potato peeling, possibly in compost, then returning later to a harvest. I'll bet the eyes had some potato around them. I may experiment with this.

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  7. A thick peel with an eye and rich soil does often become a potato plant. I've done it with a cut off end with an eye but needs TLC and rich soil.

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  8. I never waste my peelings because I always boil them and then feed them to the chickens after they have cooled. The chickens love this for a treat.

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