Peeling potatoes when you have arthritis
 

Learned a new trick (to me anyway) for peeling potatoes. Boil the potatoes with the skins ON. The skin comes right off. I did mashed potatoes for 70 and my hands did not hurt at all!!!!

I gave up peeling spuds. I scrub em, cook em, then mash them. Fine restaurants do that, only they call them "crushed " .

I love "smashed" potatoes with skins - with garlic! But in case you really want to peel potatoes or apples, my daughter's occupational therapist made her a small cutting board with a nail poking up on it for stabilizing the fruit or vegetable while you peel. DD has cerebral palsy with good use of one arm and hand, so they were trying to find ways for her to cook before she went off to college. You can now buy ergonomic kitchen tools such as vegetable peelers with large handles to use along with the cutting board. Of course, DD never used either because she likes to bake potatoes in the microwave if she's cooking for herself.

I worked for a catering company for years and we always boiled the spuds in their skins then slipped them off once they were cooled down.

Me, I do not like mashed spuds, so I always cook them ways that leave the skins on.

I do peel carrots, unless they are fresh from the garden.

My mil eats canned spuds. I cannot imagine buying them that way but she seems to like them. She also used instant spuds made with milk.

As a retired Chef I have used that tip for years, but the best use for it is those lovely small new potatoes. Save having to scrape them just cook them in ordinary water until cooked strain and pop into a bowl of cold water. When they are cool enough to handle, skin them and pop them back into a pan with butter, salt, ground black pepper and fresh chopped mint, ooh delicious.

The other really useful tip, especially when there is just one or two of you, do a painful of potatoes at a time, strain and put into a bowl of cold water, run the tap slowly till they are completely cold, dry and pop into the fridge and use as needed, they are delicious sliced and cooked in your mornings breakfast bacon fat, ummmm

I will have to try poping the potatos in the fridge as I had never thoght of that. Good idea..

I really love mashed potatoes. But have not had them for quite a while until I found Betty Crocker's Potato Buds- 100% potatoes- in a box that actually fit the demands of my special diet....no butter, cheese or milk in the package.
In cooking on the stove I used olive oil, water, spices, and placed caramelized onions on top before serving. They were appreciated and my hands and body did not suffer from preparing them. I find it very difficult to stand in the kitchen for any length of time so this fit the ticket. My Mother who was a mother of 7- was a firm believer in using any help available and I do agree. Wegman's grocery store carries them.

My mom would take larger size potatoes par boil them with skins on ( par boil-Not completely cooked) let them cool. store in frig. and when she wanted to make the best homemade hash browns you ever ate!

Golden Yukons (sometimes just called Goldens) are fine when mashed with the peel which is thin. The skin is too thin to peel, anyway.