From trash to treasure: Crafting culinary delights with potato peels
Did you just peel some potatoes and throw the skins in the trash again? Unnecessarily so because these scraps can easily be reused for further processing. You've probably heard of the famous chips made from this part of the potatoes, but you can go a step further and make jam from them.
I first saw the recipe for potato peel jam at a culinary workshop where chef Julian Karewicz demonstrated the value of experimenting in the kitchen. The whole event was in the spirit of zero waste, sparking my immense enthusiasm. After all, something that I usually throw away can be transformed into delicious new creations. As it happens, I didn't return to this dish immediately. However, the topic resurfaced when I remembered the taste and had some high-quality potatoes from a friendly farmer at home. I tweaked the recipe in my own way and am sharing the result below.
How to prepare potato peels?
It's worth emphasizing that it's best to use peels from potatoes that haven't been treated with chemical agents and have been thoroughly cleaned before peeling. You can also blanch the peels and then dry them. This is an ideal base, especially for potato peel chips. Simply fry the prepared potato slices in hot oil until they become golden. After drying them on a paper towel, you can season them to taste, for example, with herbal salt and sweet paprika, and you'll have a healthy and delicious snack.
Recipe for potato peel jam
Making jam is a bit more time-consuming, but it's worth indulging in such preserves at least once. For a jar of jam with a capacity of 500 mL, prepare peels from about 2 kg of potatoes, half a cup of sugar, one cup of water, one teaspoon of spice mix, and grated zest from two oranges.
Preparation:
- Take a pot with a thicker bottom and place the peels, sugar, and water in it.
- Start heating the ingredients until they boil.
- Then, reduce the heat and caramelize the mixture, remembering to stir regularly.
- During cooking, add the spice mix and orange zest, which should be scalded with boiling water beforehand.
- When the liquid has completely evaporated, and the peels have a glossy appearance with a slightly golden colour at the edges, it means the peel jam is almost ready.
- Transfer the mixture to sterilized and thoroughly dried jars.
- If you plan to consume the jam within a few days, you can skip the pasteurization step. It's worth placing the excess jam in jars and putting them in an oven preheated to 120 degrees Celsius for half an hour.
