Subject: Baked potatoes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Steve YATES (syates at asi.fr)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 20:52:33 +0100
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Kendall F. Stratton III wrote:
> the skins and then cut them down the center and place a pad of butter in
> them (re-wrapping them with the foil to keep 'em moist)...
Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as being a delicacy ?
I am always disapointed here in France when offerd a "pomme au four" or in the USA when offered "a baked potato" , because all that one is expected to eat is the contents. As a child/brat I remember potatoes (aka Spuds) being simply placed in the ash pan under the open fire and when cooked, everything was eaten, skins 'an all !
We try to repeat it here , albeit wrapping the spuds in tinfoil to avoid whatever nasties exist in hot ashes, but restaurants don't offer the same taste
From: Nancy Young (qwerty at mail.monmouth.com)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 15:11:18 -0500
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Steve YATES wrote:
> Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as being a
> delicacy ?
I guess I had the idea that a delicacy was something relatively rare.
> I am always disapointed here in France when offerd a "pomme au four" or
> in the USA when offered "a baked potato" , because all that one is
> expected to eat is the contents.
Who told you that? Many menus even offer potato skins as an appetizer, usually covered with cheese and bacon, like that. Years ago I was offered a potato skin appetizer by a tuxedoed waiter at a fancy schmancy wedding.
At any rate, no, I know of no restaurant law that says 'do not eat the potato skin.'
From: sf at pipeline.com (sf)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 20:44:43 GMT
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Steve YATES wrote:
> Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as being a
> delicacy ?
I don't think so. We have elevated them to an appetiser in the US.
> We try to repeat it here , albeit wrapping the spuds in tinfoil to avoid
> whatever nasties exist in hot ashes, but restaurants don't offer the
> same taste
Don't expect a restaurant to duplicate home cooking for you. Memories are still made at home, not in restaurants.... I hope. So, do it yourself if you are looking for a certain way of cooking your spuds.
From: Goomba (goomba38 at comcast.net)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 15:08:12 -0600
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Steve YATES wrote:
> Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as being a
> delicacy ?
No way... I grew up eating baked potatoes with crispy wonderfully dry skin. In fact my mum would let us kids scoop out the innards onto our plates and enjoy the skin with butter and salt and pepper, while the rest of the meal was being served. She hated to see a good crisp potato skin go to waste. :)
Goomba
From: Gabby (Lavolanges at msn.com)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 17:58:09 -0400
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Goomba wrote:
> No way... I grew up eating baked potatoes with crispy wonderfully dry
> skin. In fact my mum would let us kids scoop out the innards onto our
> plates and enjoy the skin with butter and salt and pepper, while the
> rest of the meal was being served. She hated to see a good crisp potato
> skin go to waste. :)
I grew up with a mom who did the same and I follow the tradition.
From: Jack Curry (jackcurry at nos.cfl.rr.com)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 22:36:34 GMT
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Steve YATES wrote:
> Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as
> being a delicacy ?
I think it's not a problem of "expectations," rather a problem of preparation. Seems to me that most US restaurants cook baked potatoes in advance and then keep them warm, rather than cooking them to order, which obviously takes much longer. Hence the poor quality skins (if you like them crispy, as I do). I'm always a bit disappointed to get a spud that's got a soggy skin, since I love to eat the skins too.
From: Jill McQuown
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 16:55:35 -0600
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Steve YATES wrote:
> Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as being a
> delicacy ?
Steve, you aren't the only one. And I'm sure I'm not the lone American who appreciates the skins of the spuds :-)
When I bake spuds I rub the skins with butter and then sprinkle them with salt. Prick a few holes in the skin and bake the potatoes at 425F for at least an hour. The skins are nice and crispy and ready for eating! And the insides are nice and tender and ready for butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, whatever. (I prefer simply butter and salt & pepper, unless it's the *only* thing I'm eating. Then I'll add some grated cheese.)
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 12:59:37 -0500
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Steve YATES wrote:
> Is it only us Brits that apreciate the skin of a baked potato as being a
> delicacy ?
Nope, it's my favorite part of the baked potato. I usually just eat the whole thing with the skin left on (which I have rubbed with butter before baking), but when I was young we used to cut the potato in half and scoop out the insides which we mashed up with our forks and then put lots of butter and salt and pepper on them. Then we would take the two skin halved and put butter in them and add salt and pepper and then eat them. That was the best part. In fact I would save my skins until after I had eaten everything else and have them for "dessert". ;-)
> I am always disapointed here in France when offerd a "pomme au four" or
> in the USA when offered "a baked potato" , because all that one is
> expected to eat is the contents.
Here, in restaurants baked potatoes are often served wrapped in foil, presumably having been baked that way, and the intention is only to eat the insides. In those cases I don't eat the skins mainly because I don't know how carefully they may have been cleaned before baking and also because they don't get nice and crispy because of the foil. For that reason I rarely order a baked potato in a restaurant. I usually get mashed or french fries instead.
> As a child/brat I remember potatoes
> (aka Spuds) being simply placed in the ash pan under the open fire and
> when cooked, everything was eaten, skins 'an all !
>
> We try to repeat it here , albeit wrapping the spuds in tinfoil to avoid
> whatever nasties exist in hot ashes, but restaurants don't offer the
> same taste
We always baked ours in the oven just laying them on the baking racks. Always rubbed them with butter for good taste and to crisp them.
The only time we would wrap potatoes in foil was if we were camping and wanted to bake them in the campfire.
How old are you anyway, that you cooked potatoes on an open fire at home? ;-)