What Are Potato Skins?

Potato skins consist of baked potatoes with most of the white part of the potato scooped out, leaving a small amount of the inside of the potato and skin. Most people go on to fill the skins with toppings such as cheese, bacon, onions, chives and sour cream. These toppings are among the most common, but a person can fill the skins with just about any food that he or she desires. Cheese is almost always included, however, and cheddar is a common choice. Potato skins are commonly consumed as an appetizer, but some people consume them as a side dish or even as a main dish.

Mashed and baked potatoes are a food staple for some people, and many people enjoy french fries and diced potatoes as well. Potato skins represent another way for a person to enjoy this plant. When a person consumes potatoes skins, however, he or she isn’t eating as much of the white part of the plant as people do when they eat mashed or even baked potatoes. Instead, most of the white part is scooped out, leaving primarily skin and the toppings that the person chooses to add.

Potato skins start out like baked potatoes. To prepare them, a person bakes the potatoes and then cuts them in half so that each potato provides two oval-like pieces with which to work. At this point, the cook usually scoops out most of the white part, rubs the skin with oil and sprinkles it with salt. He or she then returns the potatoes to the oven and allows them to cook a little longer until the leftover inside of the potato gets crispy. Some people place their potato skins in a broiler or even fry them to make them crispy instead of baking them again.

After the potato skins are crispy, the cook usually removes them from the oven and adds toppings such as cheese, bacon and onions. He or she then places the skins in a broiler or oven for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Cold toppings, such as sour cream, usually are added to the potato skins just before they are served. Along with typical toppings such as sour cream, bacon and cheese, a person might choose to add other toppings, such as diced ham, tomatoes or peppers.

A person can serve potatoes prepared this way for a wide range of occasions or as apart of an everyday meal. They are commonly consumed as appetizers, but some people serve them to complement a main dish. Other people, however, make them the main dish for a lunch or dinner, especially when they are loaded with extra toppings.