General, Cooking Hints for Baked Potatoes

Baked Varieties

All the baked variations stem from the Baked Jacket potato ie. Pommes au Four-“four is the French for oven.

·        For best results, always use Canadian, Russet, baking potatoes if available.

·        Heat oven to 425 F. Pierce potato in several places to allow steam to escape and to make a fluffier potato (also, if this is not done, potatoes have been known to explode).Place potato on oven rack or baking sheet. Bake 40 to 55 minutes.

·        To test the potatoes, do not pierce them with a fork, but squeeze them with the hand wrapped in a towel. If a soft skin is desired, potatoes may be wiped with fat and sprinkled with salt, do not wrap in foil. The skin on baked potatoes should be broken immediately after cooking, in order to prevent their steaming and becoming soggy. Note: Restaurants now steam potatoes days ahead of time, wrap them in foil; and then simply reheat at time of service; which is why they are usually either very soggy, or yellow and dried.

·        To serve, use small knife to cut a cross on top Push sides and ends gently to fluff. Mix potato with milk, sour cream, or butter, if desired. For more variety, add crumbled bacon , or diced ham, and snipped chives (or green onion ) to potato filling

Do Not- I repeat again- Do Not wrap potatoes in aluminium foil which will trap steam and give them a soggy, steamed texture, and an entirely different flavour.Potatoes wrapped in any material are not baked- they are steamed or braised

Many restaurants now use this practice (claiming the potato keeps better    

Truthfully, only establishments that are, placing the potato in a steam table, or reheating precooked potatoes for later service should have this concern.

The number of potatoes being baked does not change baking time in a conventional oven.©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved