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I have a very large extended family, so for years, we’d have at least 75-100 people at every holiday meal. Each smaller family unit was put in charge of a specific dish to bring, and for decades, mine has been assigned the task of making all the mashed potatoes.
Mashed or other potatoes are easily one of the best sides at Thanksgiving or Easter, but peeling more than a few spuds at a time, bent over the sink, can be really, really hard on hands, wrists and backs. My mom would rope all four of us kids into helping, and we’d form an extremely reluctant and sour-faced little potato assembly line with our vegetable peelers and go through bags and bags of potatoes — that is, when she could get us to help at all.
We all pretty much hated Thanksgiving and other big holiday mornings until I discovered the Starfit Rotato Express and bought one for my parents’ house.
The Rotato is pretty much what it sounds like: a small appliance that peels potatoes by rotating them, in this case with a small blade that’s enclosed in plastic for safety. And let me tell you, you just don’t know joy until an electric peeler saves you and your siblings from hand-peeling dozens and dozens of pounds of potatoes on a holiday morning. Now one person just plops a potato at a time on the Rotato, pushes a little button to see its peel come off in a thin, glorious ribbon, then repeats the process. We’ve gone from resisting to helping to arguing over who gets to man the Rotato, and now we’re done peeling so, so much faster.
The great thing about this little kitchen gem is that you don’t need a large family like mine to find it handy; it’s great for people who have mobility issues, arthritis, or other challenges that make peeling potatoes difficult or uncomfortable, not to mention people who just like machines doing things for them, or just really hate peeling potatoes. In the video above, a TikTok reviewer who is legally blind recommends it for others like herself. Plus, real-life chefs love it, too.
It’s just plain fun to use, and de-skins a whole list of other fruits and veg as well, like pears, lemons, limes and apples. It now also comes in an updated model called the Rotato 2.0, but my family’s been using our Rotato since 2016 and it’s held up just fine. Despite the fact that some parts are plastic, it has been truly durable. Each machine comes with six replacement blades (more can be ordered separately), and you can power it via wall outlet or with batteries. You just might wonder how you lived without it.
Promising reviews from Amazon shoppers:
“We got this for my mom who has bad arthritis in her hands but loves her potatoes. I mean daily potatoes at least once a day. She loves this machine. I am giving it five stars because she is always using it and hasn’t complained yet. Trust me if there was a complaint I would have heard about it by now. Many many times. 😂 that alone is really all the review you need. Mom hasn’t complained once and uses it daily.” — Melissa W
“This is an extremely useful product. Well made and easy to use. I purchased this peeler for my mother who always complained about peeling potatoes. Now she [is] very happy and just cannot believe what this product can do. Wish she had this years ago. My mother and I are so happy. Thanks to ‘Starfrit.’” — CharlieBooksNYC
“I love this peeler. It saves so much time when making apple pie. I always still have to peel them a little bit myself at the top and bottom but definitely worth the money.” — Jacintha Ham
“Great gadget! I’ve always hated peeling potatoes. If you’re the same BUY THIS! Of course it takes up some valuable cupboard space, but not much, and it’s so worth it. It works on anything that needs peeling. I watched a woman peel EVERYTHING imaginable with this in a YouTube video. Pretty much works on everything, but the potatoes is what sold me. There’s a little at the top & bottom it can’t reach, but I just cut it off. And sometimes the blade pops off when removing potato - easy to pop back on. LOVE THIS THING. Never peeling potatoes again by hand again.” — DesertCat
“I have looked at these potato peelers for a long time but not sure they would work. Well, yes they do! I have arthritis in both hands, so peeling anything is a chore and sometimes painful. This really helped me. I only need to snip the ends off and cut any bad spots out, and WALAH! We will be having potatoes more often now! Love this little gadget!” — Laura Outler
“Don’t let the lower price dissuade you. It’s every bit as good as the more expensive brand my friend had last year. I use mine at work and home. I set on the counter, or a potato in while I’m tending to other opening duties at the cafe... No more losing my grip on potatoes or my fingers swelling, going numb from peeling. (Carpal tunnel, joint pain). Even if I didn’t have hand issues, I would highly recommend this. It’s very fast. Occasionally, use a toothpick under the tiny blade to remove potato debris. This is my favorite and most used time saver in the home and work kitchen.” — Batznblkcatz