This Super Simple Trick Has Me Peeling Potatoes Faster Than Ever

Whether I’m making crispy fries in the air fryer or my favorite goat cheese, bacon, and sweet potato hash on the stovetop, I almost always end up leaving the potato skin on — mostly because it just takes too long to peel each potato before cooking them.

Some recipes, of course, specifically call for peeled potatoes — say, mashed potatoes or hash browns. You could take the time to hold the potato and carefully peel it over the trash can, delaying your delicious meal. Or, you could try this game-changing TikTok trick I found recently.

Apparently, the creator’s method — which has almost 50,000 likes so far — is the fastest (and easiest) way to peel a potato. Ready? Just stick a fork in the potato, peel the sides, pull the fork out, and finish peeling the top and bottom. Sounds pretty foolproof, right?

When I first tried this trick, I only had small-ish potatoes on hand, and I found that this trick wasn’t a lot faster than just holding the potato. You have to stick the fork pretty deep into the spud to keep it steady while you’re peeling it — which isn’t easy with a creamer potato.

But when I tried this TikTok tip on a medium-sized red potato and an even larger Russet, I found that the bigger the potato, the faster the hack worked. In fact, even though the Russet was three times as big as the first potato I tried, the longer strokes allowed me to peel it in half of the time. The only snag I encountered was on the bumpy parts of the potatoes. I suspect it would work just as well with sweet potatoes or yams, but just aim for the longest, non-lumpy ones you can find.

Read more: The 3 Best Vegetable Peelers to Buy in 2021

I’ll probably still leave the skins on for my go-to potato dishes, because I’ve grown to like them — but it’s good to know there’s a faster, simpler method for peeling spuds en masse. Note to self: Google all the potato recipes.