Re: [Phys-L] physics and potatoes

[Larry Smith <larry.smith@snow.edu>]

> On Jan 12, 2015, at 7:13 PM, John Denker <jsd@av8n.com> wrote:
>
> On 01/12/2015 06:18 PM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:
> > I saw a question in Hewitt about why potatoes are wrapped in foil for
> > baking.
>
> In this case, as is very often the case, start by asking
> "whether".  I haven't seen a foil-wrapped potato in so
> long that I literally cannot recall where or when I saw
> one.  If I wanted to find one in the wild I don't know 
> where I would look.

It is still done out here in the wild west.  My wife, who grew up on an Idaho potato farm, still wraps them prior to baking (she doesn’t like crispy skins and doesn’t eat the skin anyway, crispy or not).  I’ve about given up asking for one that isn’t wrapped.  
Last Friday I went to a community meeting where the dinner served was a baked potato bar; the potatoes were wrapped in foil.
I think I even see (fancy gold-) foil-wrapped potatoes in restaurants.

I think the foil tends to steam rather than dry-bake the potato; maybe they like that out here.

Larry