Disarming Potatoes

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Poof! With just one quick poke of my cooking fork, a mini explosion erupted from the golden baked brown Idaho to release shards of fresh and tender potato all over the bottom of my recently cleaned oven.

Why is it when I’m in a hurry I somehow end up making more work for myself?

That’s what happened recently when I was in a bit of a rush and slipped some potatoes in to bake while I put groceries away and then hustled around taking care of some other household business.

There’s a simple yet divine delight in knowing that those humble vegetables will be deliciously tender and ready-to-eat in one hour without me having to do one other thing to them. Unfortunately in my haste, I neglected to take 10 seconds and prick each potato with a sharp fork. That’s really just important for the microwave, I guess I was thinking in that rush-rush moment. Surely I can just wash, give a quick veggie oil spray (more on that later), and then set them on the shelf to bake.

Then again, I probably should have slowed down a bit. What’s that Ben Franklin maxim … something about how haste makes waste?

Potatoes are one of those foods that everyone seems to cook differently. When I was a kid, we used to wrap them in foil packages with little pats of butter. This is the perfect method for baking potatoes over a campfire too—but I don’t think the foil or butter is truly necessary when baking them at home.

No, I’ve discovered it’s perfectly fine (and quite easy) to wash them and dab dry on a tea towel. Then give them each a once-over with vegetable oil spray. Why, you may ask?

Well, several years ago I discovered that potatoes baked with a light sheen of oil are not only more attractive, but they seem to taste better too. The oil seems to seal in the moisture, and taters baked that way always seem to be the fluffiest and tastiest of all.

Of course, don’t do what I’ve done on occasion: slather them too generously. All that does is serve to have the oven giving off a thin stream of smoke—and, if you’re lucky (NOT!), set off the smoke alarm too.

No, just a quick spray is all that’s needed. And one more thing: Be sure to give those oven bakers a poke with the cooking fork before they enter the heat. Then you’ll be sure to bypass the random exploding potato. You never know just which tater may be harboring a drop or two of water, which, under oven-heated conditions, turns into steam while the pressure builds, looking for escape. Of course, potato explosions certainly make for a tad bit of kitchen excitement, if not for an interesting table topic.

We have a special affinity for the baking varieties made this way—especially Russets. Oh sure, we love the little round reds, the tender-skinned white fingerlings, and even the rich and buttery Yukon Golds. But it’s those hot and fluffy bakers that have won our heart. And don’t forget the butter, sour cream, and salt and pepper. Sometimes the best things in life are pretty darn simple, eh?