How to bake potatoes in minutes: Microwave tips and tricks

Baked potatoes are a fantastic side dish and a simple and tasty snack. However, many people are discouraged by the prospect of a long cooking time. There is, however, a way to radically shorten it.

People have been enjoying baked potatoes for a very long time. Archaeological studies conducted in the Border Cave in South Africa show that our ancestors prepared potatoes in the embers of fire as far back as 170,000 years ago!

In the countryside, potatoes were mainly baked in embers or oven ashes. In the city, ovens were used to prepare them, which remains the most popular device for cooking potatoes. However, this usually takes quite a long time, often over an hour. What can be done to reduce the baking time significantly?

Type B potatoes are best for baking. These are starchy and contain exceptionally high amounts of starch, which means they will have optimal consistency and crunchiness after cooking.

Potato starch quickly induces a feeling of fullness, digests slowly, and very little of it is converted into fat tissue because this is an inefficient process for the body. This is not the only benefit of eating potatoes, which are also a rich source of easily digestible protein and vitamins, especially C (strengthening immunity and protecting against the harmful activity of free radicals) and B vitamins, necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system.

Potatoes also contain a lot of potassium (which plays an important role in the body's ion and water balance, lowers blood pressure, and is essential for maintaining proper muscle contractility) and magnesium, which is vital for bones and teeth, positively influences metabolism, and alleviates fatigue and stress.

Instead of an oven, we can use a microwave. Just set the device to full power, place the washed, cleaned, but unpeeled potatoes on a suitable dish, which we pierce with a fork (this will help the steam escape and prevent the possible "bursting" of the tuber), and then place them in the microwave for about 10-12 minutes.

This method will ensure the potatoes acquire a "baked" taste and a pleasant consistency. Under the crispy skin, there will be moist, not dried-out flesh, which is worth seasoning with salt and herbs (thyme, rosemary) and enriching with a bit of butter before serving.

If we like very crispy skin, after taking the potatoes out of the microwave, we can place them in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for a quarter of an hour, having previously smeared them with olive oil.