Potatoes

It seems every time I attempt to make baked or jacket potatoes it is an absolute failure. I usually make twice baked ones, and the last attempt ended with tears and potato bits all over the kitchen.

Am I buying the wrong thing? It seems the 'jacket potatoes' the veg shops sell have paper thin skins and the 'baking potatoes' that the grocery stores sell are tiny.

My husband says it's just where we live and that the potatoes in Wales when he grew up were proper ones, but I'm not so sure.

All I want is a good old russett. I'm willing to wait and grow my own if I have to, but where would I get seed potatoes from?

I'm nearly to the point of asking my sister to bring me a couple when she comes in december!

Thanks.

How are you doing your jacket potatoes? I'm just wondering because I've never had any problems with mine. They turn out exactly as they did in the US. I've lived in Wales and England and have found no difference in jacket potatoes - I do agree that you can't beat Welsh new potatoes, though! 

If you want to grow your own, all garden centres will have seed potatoes in February or March (I think), and I have a feeling some supermarkets will even have them.

Yes, what exactly is going wrong with them?  Are they cooking unevenly?  Burning?  Drying out?

I poke them with a fork, cover in salt, and wrap in foil. The last ones, papery skin, were in the oven at about 200 for nearly an hour and half and the outside was all nice and done, but the inside was hard.

Since I like twice baked ones, I scoop out the inside to mash it and no matter how much buffer I leave it seems I end up with holes and no skin.

I've tried just sticking them in the oven following the instructions on the packet and the same thing happens. Skin disappears.

I'm sure the potatoes in Wales are exactly the same, it's more fond memories and longing for Wales I think (much like me being convinced the potatoes in the states are that much better)

do you think I'd be able to get a thick skinned potato for growing?

Don't put them in foil.  It steams them rather than bakes them.  It's sort of like lidding something when you're trying to fry or grill it.  I've not made twice baked (not a big baked potato person), but when I do make regular baked potatoes, I notice a huge difference in ones just cleaned, poked and stuck in the oven to those where they were wrapped in foil.

Agreed, don't use foil!  And a shortcut is microwave them first (takes about 30 minutes this way as opposed to 1hr by all-baking method).  Once they start to feel softish, put them in the oven at 200 - no foil, directly on the rack.  You will get a lovely fluffy inside and crispy skin.  

I agree. Why use foil??

I don't think there's really any difference in the thickness of the skin between British and American potatoes. At least, there's no difference that I've noticed.

I just poke mine and cook them. My MIL likes to brush hers with a bit of olive oil, but I like my skins to be really hard and crunchy, so I never do that.

I find the large baking potatoes in ASDA or Co-Op/Somerfield, wash them, prick them twice on each side with a fork and then rub in salt. Place in oven at 200 for an hour and they're lovely. The potato size that we have is about 250-300 g each...I weigh them before I cook them on our kitchen scale because DH & I are watching what we eat.

Agreed, don't use foil!  And a shortcut is microwave them first (takes about 30 minutes this way as opposed to 1hr by all-baking method).  Once they start to feel softish, put them in the oven at 200 - no foil, directly on the rack.  You will get a lovely fluffy inside and crispy skin.  

I do this as well, microwave first, then oven. I always get a great baked potato/sweet potato this way. 

I don't care for the microwaving option, but I know it works for some.

I leave mine in for a good hour and a half, and I generally crank up the heat a bit more at the end (200 in a fan oven) for the last half hour or so. I like the skin to be really hard.

When we do baked potatoes we wash them & poke them several times an then we put ours in foil into a fan assisted oven at 200 for around around an hour half -2 hours depending on the size of the potato an they come perfect everytime. we don't have baked potatoes all that often these days they aren't good for you if you are doing the LO GI diet Dh will have them more often than than I do. but I do eat alot of sweet potato's an I do them the same way except I bake them for about an hour at 200 in a fan assisted oven an they come out perfect everytime as well.   

I don't use foil, or poke with a fork. I just toss them in the oven at 200C for about an hour, maybe more if they are really big ones and poke with a fork or knife to see if they are done. They turn out fine every time. Though, the skin on a russet potato is much thicker than any potatoes here in the UK, so doing twice baked potatoes would be pretty hard, I would think. 

I do twice-baked potatoes pretty often. It's exactly the same as doing it in the US.

Is it just me? Because I don't quite understand the whole potato difficulty! 

I do twice-baked potatoes pretty often. It's exactly the same as doing it in the US.

Is it just me? Because I don't quite understand the whole potato difficulty! 

It's not just you. I've not had any problems between cooking them in the US or the UK. I will say that I often used the microwave when cooking them in the US because it was how my mum taught me and much quicker. However, when I moved here and didn't have a microwave, I managed without one just fine.

If I'm making twice-baked potatoes, I generally pick up the potatoes that are pre-selected for baking. I don't use foil. I have heard both pros and cons of using foil and tried it once, but wasn't as satisfied with the result.

ok, I'll try no foil next time. I'm not sure why I use foil to be honest, I think it's because I thinK it will cook faster. Do you place them on a tray or directly on the oven rack?

I've managed to get the twice baked to work a couple of times but they are still really flimsy because of the thinner skin. 

Thanks!