The optimal times for the extraction of potato cuticular waxes with dichloromethane were established for three classes of compounds, namely 40 sec for alcohols and fatty acids, and 60 sec for alkanes, which is sufficient to isolate at least ca. 90% of wax components. A two-step extraction using two consecutive portions of a solvent ensured better recovery (ca. 94%) than a one-step procedure (49V60ÜS).