Why do Russians eat potatoes without the skin?

[Francoise Rosset]

It isn't just Russians though.

I know many people who won't eat potato skins. I had a Thai roommate 
who not only would not try my pan-roasted new potatoes with skins (we 
cooked separately, so I wasn't _imposing_ anything!), but would get 
very angry that I ate them, and I would get lectured about it no 
matter how new the potatoes were or how well I cleaned them. Some of 
my Russian and European friends -- ditto.

Personally I always thought it depended on the potato and the skin.
But some of my French family peel anything and everything.
Not just potatoes and apples, but peaches, grapes, tomatoes, etc.
-FR

Francoise Rosset, Associate Professor
Chair, Russian and Russian Studies
Coordinator, German and Russian
Wheaton College
Norton, Massachusetts 02766
Office: (508) 285-3696
FAX:   (508) 286-3640

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