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I saw a question in Hewitt about why potatoes are wrapped in
foil for baking. I searched online and found some
interesting/conflicting answers:
1. The foil will trap the steam inside, making the potato cook faster.
2. The foil is a good conductor, making the potato cook faster.
3. The foil should be wrapped tightly around the potato to
minimize air inside, which is a poor conductor.
4. Put the shinier side of the foil toward the potato. This
will reflect more heat back to the potato, making it cook faster.
5. The foil does nothing during baking, only to create less mess.
6. The foil does nothing during baking. But after baking,
wrapping a hot potato in foil will keep it warmer because the
foil traps the heat (less energy lost via radiation).
etc...
I'm a bit puzzled with all of this. Are there multiple ideas
about heat transfer happening here? Has anyone actually tried
this cooking method, and is there a significant difference?
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