Why poke holes in potato

Bake in oven for 45 to 60 minutes until tender. Serve with butter or creme fraiche. To make them properly, simmer the potatoes in a pot of water, cut or uncut, for about minutes.

Sometimes a potato could be even moister and the water, especially in a larger size potato may be trying to escape as steam from the middle cells of the potato. It hits the outer cells , already expanding from heat and bursts open.

On the contrary, since the foil itself has to be heated before the potato begins to bake, cooking times increase slightly. While it is true that some aluminum gets into food when cooked in aluminum foil or with aluminum cookware, and that this is enhanced in acidic foods, it is not true this causes any health effects in healthy adults. The skin acts like a pressure vessel. If you don't let the steam escape, it builds up pressure—if it gets to a certain point of pressure from the water trying to become water vapor, it can pop the skin.

Smith added that an explosion is more likely to happen in a microwave than in an oven. Microwaves heat faster, giving the pressure less time to escape naturally. And it doesn't matter what kind of potato you're working with either. Spuds of all shapes and sizes should get pricked. In conclusion, will an un-pricked potato explode when you cook it? Maybe , but that's not a risk most of us are willing to take. Because of its longstanding place in our cuisine , most of us learned how to cook potatoes from our mothers and grandmothers—which results in a debate over how to prepare a simple baked potato.

Some will wrap them in aluminum foil while others roast them on a bed of salt. But among the most contested steps in the method of baking a potato, few come close to the age old pricking of a potato's skin with a fork before baking it.

Potatoes are packed with moisture. The smaller varieties of potatoes tend to have a higher water content, but regardless of size and color, all potatoes will develop significant amounts of steam in their insides as they bake. When the water molecules are heated above the boiling point, they vaporize inside the potato's flesh and encourage an even cook.