26
I don't get baked potatoes (programming.dev)
submitted 3 days ago by to c/autism@lemmy.world
75 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Would you like a lump of unsalted, uunflavored starch? No? What if we slice it open and dump in a lot of heavy flavor ingredients and spices? That way you can overwhelm your taste buds in the first few forkfuls, and the remaining unflavored mass will taste even blander by comparison!

Who invented this and what did they have against dicing the potato in appropriately sized chunks to absorb and distribute the flavor?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 27 points 3 days ago (16 children)

Who invented this

The Irish, if I had to guess.

As someone who loves potatoes, I kinda hate this post and I'm surprised it's not in an Unpopular Opinion comm.

Okay so first of all, the potato has to be baked right. If it's too tough, it's ruined. It's gotta be fluffy and soft inside.

Second, and this part is divisive, I gotta have the outside crispy. I line my aluminium foil with olive oil, sea salt, crushed red pepper, garlic seasoning, and hot sauce. My potato skin marinates in awesome and gets crispy while the inside is soft. Some don't like it crispy.

Third, some people scoop the potato filling out first, then mix it with the ingredients, and put it back in. That makes more sense. I'm lazy though. I just put room temp butter over it, some pepper, and if I'm feeling fancy, I grate some cheddar over it. My wife slathers hers in sour cream. That's too much IMO, and gets it cold faster. I like mine hot. If I cooked with a heat gun, I'd use it to melt the cheese. I suppose broiling it is also an option.

I hope that someday you can enjoy a baked potato as I do. If not... I hope you enjoy something else just as much. We don't have to agree on what food is good. But we should enjoy good food while we're here.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 16 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 10 points 3 days ago (5 children)

    I've only ever had restaurant made baked potatoes. I'm positive no seasoning or salt of any kind was applied to the spud before it was done baking. Yours sound a lot more appealing. And sorry if I triggered your favorite food, that was not the intent.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 days ago

    We call it a twice baked potato where I live. If you don't like baked potatoes you might like twice baked. Usually scooping the inside out like the other commenter said, mixing it with one or more types of dairy (sour cream is my go to), and spices and topping it with cheese and/or Bacon and putting it back in the oven for a bit longer.

    That being said, I personally love regular baked potatoes too. It's funny how humans are all so different.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

    When I worked in a chain restaurant, we oiled and salted the skins.

    And potatos have a lot of nutrition. Not as much as sweet potatoes but they're a good value.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    Same. Every place I worked at least oiled and salted them. Though only one place I felt did it properly and kept the potatoes under dry heat for service. Every other place would just nuke a pre-cooked potato, which just kills any possibility of the skin being edible.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago

    Oh, I never had to deal with precooked, microwaved food! But it's been a really long time since I worked in a restaurant. I did work somewhere food was cooked, delivered, and kept in heated and cold holding stations until serving.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 2 days ago

    I line my aluminium foil with olive oil, sea salt, crushed red pepper, garlic seasoning, and hot sauce. My potato skin marinates in awesome and gets crispy while the inside is soft.

    Looks like I'm havin a baked potato today.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 7 points 3 days ago (1 child)

    Europe got potatoes from what's currently mainly Peru.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 4 points 2 days ago

    Yes, and the potatoes we have in Europe are all variations of the same potato specie which came over in 1700's (I think anyway). In Peru there are different species and hundreds of variations. When a potato variant is lost, in that the last potato of that variant perishes, then that variant is lost forever.

    The world could benefit from what Puru has, and help them retain the varieties before they are slowly lost one by one.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 7 points 3 days ago (3 children)

    Never heard of crisping the outside. That sounds divine.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    This is actually nuts to me, that the phenomenological baked potato has fallen so far that crisp skin assignment isn't ubiquitous. It should be the first several sensory impressions which are evoked by the mind potato. The smell of the baked skin, the sizzling oil on the plate, the big flakes of finishing salt, the crunch of the skin as you cut it... IDK what kind of baked potatoes they are serving kids these days, but if you cannot hear your potato then send it back.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago

    I believe that some of us in the west have done the potato a grave injustice. Turns out that things like seasoning and texture can make or break a dish.

    Growing up, I was never a fan of mashed potatoes. They were what I imagined people ate in sci fi distopias--generic nutritional paste. Then as an adult, I offered to help at a family gathering and they put me in charge of mashing the potatoes. I was given a half cup of butter and instructed not to add too much salt. I summoned my inner Gordon Ramsey and mentally said "fuck that" and I added salt, butter, cream cheese, some half-and-half, then more salt and butter until they tasted good. And I mashed those suckers like I was whipping heavy cream. And wouldn't you know it, everyone liked them, even the ones who "don't like salt in things" (yes you do, you pathological liars). And now I am responsible for mashing potatoes at family events.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

    It's really good and you can have it with minimal prep. Just wash, dry and throw it in an air fryer or convection oven. You don't even need to poke holes in it.

    I like more elaborate potatoes, though, so after that, I tear it up into bite-sized pieces. Then I add diced onions, black pepper and either salt or a seasoning mix that contains it. I put shredded cheddar on top and melt it on in the microwave. I take it out and serve with a thin coating of sour cream. It's one of my favorite meals. The crispy skin makes a big difference.

    Still, there's no need to do all that. Just the air fryer will get the skin crispy and you could eat it like an apple, if you wanted to.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 3 days ago (1 child)

    I used to microwave a potato for lunch at work. I would just bring in two whole potatoes in my bag in the morning. At lunch I'd simply microwave it until it became a dry and tough little wrinkly ball, and raw dog eat it with no salt or anything

    My nickname was mx. potato head 😂 sorry for inflicting this story on any potato lovers

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •