Potato blow up?!
Answers: I no this is a weird question but, sometimes when my dad puts potatoes in the oven some of them blow up. I decided to do a class project about this and I went online but there wasn’t any info. The potatoes just blow up randomly, is it because its dry or something? My dad dose put holes in them.
It is due to the build up of steam. Even if he has poked holes in them before starting to bake them, sometimes the starch in the potato closes the holes so there's nowhere for the steam to escape. I had that happen to me with a potato a couple of months ago...what a mess to clean all that up out of the oven!
(I think I heard the starch builds up and closes the holes more quickly with fresher potatoes, rather than the ones that are starting to grow eyes. So rather than too dry, it's that they have their full complement of water.)
Strange. A baked potato should be pricked with a fork multiple times in all directions. Maybe he doesn't put enough holes or cooks them at too high heat????
my mom does taht but with sweet potatos.
lol
XD
You have to remember, potatoes are mostly water. It seems, like a microwave, your dad must be heating them too quickly. They are porous inside and bound by a tight skin, like an egg. Heat the inside too quickly, and the escaping gases have to escape, anywhere they can; taking the rest with them.
Do some research on how microwaves heat food. Basically it vibrates the water particles in the food and the friction this creates warms the food. Potatoes (and hot dogs) are very moist but they have a dry coating. the inside vibrates but the outside stays still. this creates an imbalance and boom. I hope this points you in the right direction!
There's moisture in the potato and that creates steam. If the skin isn't punctured to let the steam escape pressure builds in the potato till it has no where to go and it explodes.
The problem is that your dad is probably baking them for too long at too high of a temperature.
For future reference, he should lower the temperature and keep a more watchful eye on what he's cooking. I've never had a potato blow up and because of that, I'm sure it's not actually very common.