A baked potato, or jacket potato,[1] is the edible result of baking a potato. When well cooked, a baked potato has a fluffy interior and a crisp skin. It may be served with fillings and condiments such as butter, cheese or ham. Potatoes can be baked in a conventional gas or electric oven, a convection oven, a microwave oven, on a barbecue grill, or on/in an open fire. Some restaurants use special ovens designed specifically to cook large numbers of potatoes then keep them warm and ready for service.
Prior to cooking, the potato should be scrubbed clean, washed and dried with eyes and surface blemishes removed, and possibly basted with oil or butter and/or salt. Pricking the potato with a fork or knife allows steam to escape during the cooking process. Potatoes cooked in a microwave without pricking the skin might explode due to built up internal pressure from unvented steam. It takes between one and two hours to bake a potato in a conventional oven. Microwaving takes from six to twelve minutes depending on oven power and potato size, but does not generally produce a crisp skin.
Some varieties of potato such as Russet and King Edward potato are more suitable for baking than others, due to both their size and consistency.
Wrapping the potato in aluminium foil before cooking in a standard oven will help to retain moisture, while leaving it unwrapped will create a crisp skin. When cooking over an open fire or in the coals of a barbecue it may require wrapping in foil to prevent burning of the skin. A potato buried directly in coals of a fire cooks very nicely, with a mostly burned and inedible skin. A baked potato is fully cooked when its internal temperature reaches 99 °C (210 °F).
Once a potato has been baked, some people discard the skin and eat only the softer and moister interior, while others enjoy the taste and texture of the crisp skin. Potatoes baked in their skins may lose between 20 to 40% of their Vitamin C content because heating in air is slow and vitamin inactivation can continue for a long time. Small potatoes bake more quickly than large ones and therefore retain more of their Vitamin C.[2] Despite the popular misconception that potatoes are fattening, baked potatoes can be used as part of a healthy diet.[3]
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Some people bake their potatoes and then scoop out the interior, leaving the skin as a shell. The white interior flesh can then be mixed with various other food items such as cheese, butter, cream or bacon bits. This mixture is then spooned back into the skin shells and they are replaced in the oven to warm through. In America these are known variously as loaded potato skins, filled potatoes and twice baked potatoes. In Great Britain, toppings or fillings tend to be more varied than they are in America: baked beans, curried chicken, tuna, and prawn fillings are popular, and in Scotland even haggis is used as a filling for jacket potatoes.
Many restaurants serve baked potatoes with sides (US English) such as butter, chives, shredded cheese, and bacon bits. These potatoes can be a side item to a steak dinner, or some similar entree. Sides are usually optional and customers can order as many or as few as they wish.
Putting oil and then coarse salt on a potato before baking will help to make the skin crisp.
One famous baked potato was that served by the Northern Pacific Railroad.[4] The song "Great Big Baked Potato" (words by N.R. Streeter and H. Caldwell ; Music by Oliver George) was written about this potato.[5]
Baked potato is sometimes called a jacket potato in the United Kingdom. The baked potato has been popular in the UK for many years. In the mid-19th century, jacket potatoes were sold on the streets by hawkers during the autumn and winter months. In London, it was estimated that some 10 tons of baked potatoes were sold each day by this method.[6] Common jacket potato fillings (or "toppings") in the United Kingdom include cheese and beans, tuna mayonnaise, chili con carne and chicken and bacon.
Guy Fawkes Night was a traditional time to eat baked potatoes, often baked in the glowing embers of a bonfire,[7] however this is no longer common and they are eaten at any time of the year.
As part of the upsurge for more healthy fast food, the baked potato has again taken to the streets of the UK both in mobile units and restaurants. The fast-food chain Spudulike specialises in baked potatoes.
A baked potato is called "pomme de terre au four" in French. It may be served as an accompaniment to a meat dish, or, in a fast-food restaurant called a "pataterie", be the centre of a meal.
Kumpir, a baked potato with various fillings, is a popular fast food in Turkey.[8] In its basic form, it is made with potatoes that are wrapped with foil and baked in special ovens. The potatoes are cut straight down the middle and the insides are mixed with unsalted butter and puréed with kaşar cheese.[9] However, all sorts of foods can be added to the potato: mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, sweetcorn, sausage slices, carrots, mushrooms and Russian salad. The cafés in Ortaköy, Istanbul make kumpir that are especially popular with the tourists and offer even more ingredients.
Although baked potato with various fillings is not considered a traditional Russian dish, it has recently been gaining popularity as a fast food.
The baked potato is very popular in Sweden. In restaurants, one can usually order baked potato with a seafood mix called Skagenröra.
The baked potato is reasonably popular in Brazil. They are sold via the chain "Batata Inglesa" (literally translated as English Potato, it is likely they are referred to as this due to the use of the English variety of potato, the King Edward).