Idle question. I’ve always heard that you need to prick the skins before baking a potato. The potential consequence for failure to do so is a catastrophic potato explosion.
Has anyone had this happen to them?
a catastrophic potato explosion
…or a bombe de terre, if you will.
French speaker here: what makes it funny for me is it kind of sounds like someone trying to say “pomme de terre” with a stuffy nose
I thought it was Germans who were humourless.
I literally said “what makes it funny for me”
That’s what they we’re going for, yea
slow clap
You deserve good things in life.
What’s “taters”, precious?
Years ago, though I’d say “burst” more than “explode.”
Interesting! That’s kind of what I was thinking as a realistic outcome.
Hotdogs, on the other hand, do sometimes explode because of all the trapped moisture becoming steam
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I was under the impression that you prick the skin to make it easier for the moisture to exit the potato so it gets drier and therefore fluffier.
But my wife just said she had a potato explode when she didn’t poke it enough.
Yep! One of the worst burns I’ve ever gotten too. The potato sticks to you like glue and doesn’t come off right away.
Really sucks.
A Rapid Unscheduled Mashing, as they say in the industry.
Saw a recent video from America’s Test Kitchen where they recommend temping baked potatoes and docking the skins: https://piped.video/watch?v=iG7wEqs9j4E
In the comments, someone said they had potatoes explode after baking, letting them cool for a bit, then re-baking.
Personally, I don’t usually bake enough potatoes to justify turning on the oven, so I microwave them; which is notorious for for getting food everywhere without adequate supervision.
I was going to reference the same video, but highlight the part where they said they did a whole bunch of experiments to try to get a potato to explode, but never managed to do it. They specifically asked for anecdotes in the comments to help them figure out what they were doing wrong (or right, if you don’t want exploded potatoes).
In other words, they still recommend docking just in case, but apparently exploding potatoes are really really rare (unless you know the trick to make it happen on purpose, I guess).
Not in a regular oven, but in a microwave, yes
Have you heard of the Tunguska Event?
*Spudguska Event
In the oven, really hot and it blew open and “baked” all over the inside. Hell to clean up. I was sure I poked it, but… couldn’t remember.
Now I go all serial killer on them before baking.Now that’s the exciting outcome from my worst fears.
Potatoes absolutely will build up enough internal pressure to pop, even if the skins have been punctured. Not every spud will blow up some just split; when they do it makes a hell of a mess in the oven. I once broke a microwave at work with a potato because it did this. To postulate a reason; some potatoes have a higher moisture content than others.
You used the microwave ? 🤨
No. I’ve got a couple in the oven right now because the weather is cold. In warmer times I’ve been using an air fryer.
I was under the impression it only really happens in the microwave. The oven heats it slower so it might get a crack to let the steam out, but a microwave is so quick it can get a small portion that seems to “explode” enough to get a bit of potato on the inside of the microwave.
Well, t.i.l., thanks 👍
No but had eggplants explode, and instantly sear onto the entire inside of the oven. Even kicked the door open a little.
I would fear an eggplant more than a potato. Higher moisture and tougher skin. Not going to take any chances.
Been practicing cooking for pretty much thirty years. Many many baked potatoes, never had one explode.
Same here! Last night I was stabbing a couple out of habit and felt like the question needed to be asked.
Never stabbed one potato in all that time.
…Perhaps they don’t explode in Australia? Or it could be a microwave thing. I don’t have a microwave.
Yes.
Potatoes have exploded in my family’s microwave numerous times.
