Food - Drink
Why You Should Never Bake a Potato In Aluminum Foil
By LAUREN ROTHMAN
As one of the world’s most convenient side dishes, potatoes have been utilized in everyone’s kitchens for their great taste, crispy texture, and variety of purposes. Unfortunately, there are some common mistakes with baked potatoes, like keeping them in the oven too long, choosing the wrong potato, and baking them in aluminum foil.
While wrapping your potato in foil is often advised to trap the moisture inside and make the dish smoother, it leaves far too much moisture inside and will create a soggier texture instead of a lighter, fluffier one. The foil will also make it more unlikely to achieve the crispy texture on the skin that we all find so delicious.
The Idaho Potato Commission actually recommends baking it in the oven for over an hour at 425 degrees, until it gives the skin a crispy texture and the inside a soft and fluffy one. This is a common practice in England, referred to as “jacket potatoes,” and Brits will even cut the potato open in the middle and bake it on the rack to release more steam and moisture.