Gransnet forums

Food

Where's my potato jacket?

(77 Posts)
ferry23 Fri 05-Jul-24 15:13:35

When I was a child, having a jacket potato was a real treat (I've no idea why). It was a Jacket Potato or a Potato in it's Jacket. We got really excited if they turned up on a school dinner - probably about once a term. A thick, almost layered really crispy skin with light, white, fluffy potato lurking inside. Lashings of butter at home - probably marg at school. No fancy shmancy fillings.

Now they're Baked Potatoes - ok, I can live with that. But what I can't live is the thin, slithery, slippery skins on potatoes. I've tried everything to recreate the jacket spud of my childhood - oil, salt, cooking slowly, trying different types of potatoes - but they never come out the same as I remember.

Is this a senior moment of my imagination or are potatoes really different these days?

Any tips?

Grannywaffle70 Sun 14-Jul-24 10:43:48

From what I remember,it was usually old potatoes,ie.potatoes that had been harvested and stored the skins slightly dried and toughened and so didn't burst in the oven , but slowly crisped up while keeping moisture inside to make that lovely fluffy inside.YUM

M0nica Sun 14-Jul-24 08:05:49

Just thought further, I think jacket potatos were wrapped or encased in soil/clay (now a days we would use foil), so that the fire didn't burn them up and it was the outer case of soil/clay that led to them being called 'jacket' potatoes.

M0nica Sun 14-Jul-24 08:03:51

I was brought up knowing the description jacket potatoes and baked potatoes. I hav a vague idea that jacket potatoes were baked in the bonfire, while baked potatoes went in the oven and were much inferior to the bonfire cooked jacket ptatoes.

Baggs Fri 12-Jul-24 08:54:39

Use lard instead of vegetable oil. Butter would probably work too but lard is cheaper.

I think "jacket potatoes" is still a common term in Scotland but I've always known them as baked potatoes which, after all, is what they are.

JackyB Fri 12-Jul-24 08:50:59

Oreo

Drool!
I call them baked potatoes and only see Jacket potatoes on menus, thought it was a US thing.

*#"@&

Definitely not an American thing. Inhave seen a couple of videos by Americans who had never heard the term.

youtu.be/9cKJobC_M2E?si=_oXpzSEbx2bMMduH

David49 Fri 12-Jul-24 06:46:12

I’ve never heard of potatoes called “blues” why? Which variety?

NotSpaghetti Fri 12-Jul-24 01:21:07

Which variety of blues do you use Micky?

MickyD Thu 11-Jul-24 23:06:29

We buy a huge 25kg bag of ‘blues’ from a local farmer, stick them in the aga for an hour or so and they come out with extremely crispy skins and a light fluffy potato inside. Lashings of butter is a must…

NotSpaghetti Thu 11-Jul-24 21:04:29

Maris Piper and King Edward are still good for baking if it's not been a wet year. You need them to grow big enough but not watery.

NotSpaghetti Thu 11-Jul-24 21:02:37

I would say yes potatoes are really different these days.

Mainly they are varieties which aren't grown for flavour.

One of the nicer "modern" potatoes is "Alouette". It's a red skin and blight resistant so you can sometimes find an organic one.

Witzend Thu 11-Jul-24 20:58:54

In one story I remember, Milly Molly Mandy’s mother cut the tops off a couple of jackets, scooped out all the potato, mashed it with salt, pepper ‘and a lot of butter’, and piled it back in for MMM and Little Friend Susan to eat.
Yum!

David49 Thu 11-Jul-24 20:45:43

Choose a floury variety, bake it in an oven until its crispy no shortcuts in a microwave, cook it properly.
It doesn’t whether you call it a Jacket or Baked Potato it will taste the same.

flappergirl Thu 11-Jul-24 20:41:33

I realise they are now commonly called jacket potatoes but until the late 70's I had not heard this expression. They were always called baked potatoes. I'm 67 and live in the South West if that's relevant. We only ever had them on Bonfire night when they were cooked in the bonfire, retrieved with a stick and slathered in butter. No baked potato since has tasted quite so delicious.

Harmonypuss Thu 11-Jul-24 20:38:09

The best ones I ever had were white potatoes (King Edwards or Maris Piper) baked in foil, either on top of or inside our log burner. They were always crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.
We also stood the saucepan of baked beans on top of the burner for 10mins so they'd be ready to have with the potatoes. Saved on cooking costs too.

win Thu 11-Jul-24 19:59:22

They are Jacket Potatoes to me. I stab them several times, microwave for 5 minutes then bake on 200 for an hour, I like the skin almost black and very, very crunchy, sometimes I just cut them with scissors one I have halved them. Lots of grated cheese and a side salad. My stable diet at least twice a week. Perfect.

mae13 Thu 11-Jul-24 19:18:40

Baked potatoes will ALWAYS be baked potatoes. "Jacket" potatoes are ever so twee and dainty. Yuk!

Allsorts Thu 11-Jul-24 18:38:23

I microwave washed potatoes for 6 minutes rub in salt and oil then put them in the air fryer to crisp up and cook through. I usually batch bake and freeze, they all need to be roughly same size. Eat them several times a week..

Lankyladman Thu 11-Jul-24 18:33:59

There's SO many different varieties. Some must be better at being baked than others.
Size (ahem!) does matter, too.

valdali Thu 11-Jul-24 18:29:41

My mum used to do them in the oven of a wood-fired Rayburn - they were lovely but our butter was so nice then too.

Arto1s Thu 11-Jul-24 18:22:21

I live in the States and can confirm that they are definitely called Baked Potatoes here. I still call them Jacket Potatoes and all my American friends had never heard of this expression.

Eloethan Thu 11-Jul-24 18:08:26

I was thinking exactly the same thing the other day.

I still like baked potatoes, but the skins are definitely not as thick, or tasty, as they used to be.

As for people putting them in the microwave - horrible!

Vintagegirl Thu 11-Jul-24 17:54:53

Yes it was ashes of a winter bonfire that I associate with childhood jacket potatoes.

Eirlys Thu 11-Jul-24 16:40:24

After cutting a cross in my potato (usually Red Rooster) I oil and "scrub" it with salt. Then after microwaving it using the sensor facility I pop the potato into my Mini Airfryer until the skin is crisp and crunchy.

Niucla97 Thu 11-Jul-24 16:32:32

Brings back memories of growing up. In the winter it was always Jacket potatoes for Saturday lunch. Proper large potatoes which my mother would put in the oven of the coal fire before she went off to the local market in town. She always came back with home cured bacon from a shop which has survived. She cooked the bacon and we had it with the jacket potatoes , the fat off the bacon poured over the potato

hallgreenmiss Thu 11-Jul-24 16:13:32

Whitelaw12

I do my jacket potatoes in the air fryer, great result.

So do I. Skin gets crispy and insides lovely and soft. No need to pierce them