How Using Refrigerated Toppings On Baked Potatoes Can Be A Crucial Mistake

When you're looking for something warm and filling, it's hard to go wrong with a baked potato. They're affordable, delicious, and pretty easy to make. Since they start as a blank canvas, you can top them with endless ingredients so you'll never get bored. If you want to make the most of your baked potato and ensure it's as delicious as possible, there's one simple preparation step you may be overlooking. It may be tempting, but you have to stop putting toppings right out of the refrigerator onto your hot potato.

Contrast is one of the most underrated elements of a delicious dish. Salty and sweet, crunchy and soft, hot and cold. So there's reason to love a big dollop of sour cream on your steamy baked potato, but you need a buffer zone. One of the most important tips for ensuring the best baked potato is to watch where you put cold toppings because the ingredients can cool the potato down before you finish enjoying it. 

While it may still be delicious, it could be better with very little effort. If you're using butter or cheese, leave them on the counter for a little while before your potatoes are finished baking. Room temperature butter and cheese will still melt beautifully on your potato and add all that flavor, but they won't cool it down as much.

There is no wrong way to top a baked potato, but there are strategies you can use. Ideally, you want to match your temperatures as you stack toppings. The potato, fresh from the oven, is going to be the hottest part. On top of that, add any other hot ingredients like caramelized onions, chili, or baked beans, then room temperature cheese or maybe some bacon bits. Finally, add your cold ingredients from the refrigerator last. Sour cream, chives or green onion, salsa, barbecue sauce, you name it, they all go on last.

Topping your potato in layers allows it to stay hotter longer and makes the texture more enjoyable. If you let a baked potato sit out for a few minutes before eating, the starches stiffen up inside and it can go from being fluffy to a little gummy. That can happen even faster when you add a cold topping at first. It won't be bad, especially if you eat it right away, but your meal shouldn't be a race to the finish.

If you're opting for a basic potato with butter, definitely get it to room temperature first. If sour cream is your only other addition, keep it on the side until you're ready to eat. That way, the potato stays hot, the sour cream stays cold, and you don't have to worry about ruining your baked potato.