Effect of peeling and cooking on the potato quality described by nutritional value, sensory quality and contamination level was investigated. Experiment was carried out on potatoes from the Potato Research Institute. Seven cooking methods were assessed: “wet” using tap water and “dry” using microwave, pressure cooker and acuthermal pot. Potatoes contained 19 - 27 mg/100 g vitamin C, 70 - 80 mg/kg nitrates and 0.005 - 0.0014 mg/kg lead and cadmium. Peeling decreased dry matter and vitamin C content just by 3 - 4 % and that of cadmium, lead and nitrates by 17 %, 29 % and 36 %, respectively. The best quality of potatoes was achieved while cooking them by “dry” methods where losses of vitamin C retention were 8 - 17 % with no effect on contaminants. When ”wet” methods were used, losses of vitamin C were higher (20 - 40 %) but they allowed to elute 20 - 30 % of contaminants. Sensory quality was relatively high for potatoes cooked by all methods.