Baked potatoes used as 'packed' lunch

Steve-o · 20 October 2007 at 7:40PM

Not sure if this is the right forum to ask in, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

I'm trying to come up with a variety of lunches to take with me to Uni, to save me spending on convenience foods. I'm quite partial to a baked potato while I'm there, but I'd rather cut down that £2.75 cost if possible. Is there any (convenient) way to keep a baked potato hot for about 4-5 hours, and would it affect the taste or texture in any way?

Pooky · 20 October 2007 at 7:44PM

You could try a wide necked food flask - I know my DD's keep soup/stew in theirs for lunch time and say it's still plenty hot enough from warming at 7am.....You should be able to pick one up in most supermarkets - around £4+.

Try wrapping it in foil as well before you put it in the flask.

HTH

Steve-o · 20 October 2007 at 8:08PM

Pooky wrote: »

You could try a wide necked food flask - I know my DD's keep soup/stew in theirs for lunch time and say it's still plenty hot enough from warming at 7am.....You should be able to pick one up in most supermarkets - around £4+.

Try wrapping it in foil as well before you put it in the flask.

HTH

That was my first thought Pooky. So I bought the flask, and then found that the neck was slightly too small for a baked potato! :mad:

I might have to make myself a discrete potato measuring device for when I go shopping. :rotfl:

scotgirl · 20 October 2007 at 8:13PM

Steve-o wrote: »

That was my first thought Pooky. So I bought the flask, and then found that the neck was slightly too small for a baked potato! :mad:

I might have to make myself a discrete potato measuring device for when I go shopping. :rotfl:

What about baking the potato and then cutting it in half to fit in the flask (wrapped in tin foil to stop it falling apart)?

I like baked potatoes from my work canteen. I used to pay the £2.50 or so and then realised that the canteen was actually only charging 80p for the potato and the rest was for the salad and topping so I started getting a a plain potato and bringing in cheese/tuna/salad etc. Could this be the case at the uni? Obviously not as cheap as taking the baked potato in but certainly easier and cheaper than the £2.75.

kittyscarlett · 20 October 2007 at 8:30PM

Do you have access to a microwave during the day at uni Steve ? as if you do, prebaking and maybe prestuffing the spud ( do 3-4 at once, they'll keep ok for a couple of days in the fridge )and then reheating may be a better option. Otherwise if they won't fit in a wide necked flask then wrapping in foil and then putting in a small insulated bag with maybe a teatowel for further heat retention would probably work a bit better. I imagine they would taste ok although the skin would go a bit limp and jacket spuds that have been kept warm too long develop a bit of a " chestnutty" taste.

Steve-o · 20 October 2007 at 9:10PM

I've yet to find somewhere that sells baked spuds with crisp skins, so the limp skins wouldn't be a problem! :rotfl: Very interesting about the taste changing if kept warm too long though.:think:

No access to a microwave at Uni unless I venture down into the physics section to borrow a particle accelerator, so I'll have to try cutting in half to fit in the flask and wrapping in stuff as a whole spud. The 'bare' baked potatoes at Uni still cost £2.25, which is still more than I'd like to pay.

Now a question about microwaving fresh potatoes to make 'baked' ones: what do they turn out like, are there any ways to stop them shrivelling up during microwaving, is it worth sticking them in the oven for 5 minutes afterwards to crisp the skin up (considering that I'm going to be eating them a good few hours later)?

kittyscarlett · 21 October 2007 at 12:15AM

Steve, I never used to believe this would work until I tried it but - stab the spud all over with fork or sharp knife, nuke for 3-5 mins depending on size, bung them in the oven for 20 mins, voila, crispy skin and fluffy inside just like you'd baked them for an hour ! don't think nuking then put in oven for 5 mins would do much good tho. You could try prepping them the night before - as I said, do a few at a time - take the insides out and mash up with butter/seasonings etc, cheese if you fancy it then stuff it back into the shell and store in fridge when cooled down. You could still heat up in the mic in the morning until piping hot then wrap in foil and it would perhaps stop the sometimes funny flavour from keeping it warm.

thriftmonster · 21 October 2007 at 11:13AM

I do jacket spuds in a wide necked Thermos for the kids' packed lunches at school. I preheat the flask with boiling water for a few mins. I cut the potato in half to get it in the flask and then add the topping. The kids assure me they are still hot at lunch. To save me time, I put the spuds in the oven the night before and set the timer so they will be cooked at 7.30 the next morning - I don't have a microwave. It's one of their favourite lunches.

suzy_g · 21 October 2007 at 11:42AM

Hi i have seen on ideal world and qvc a set of insulated dishes, which can keep food hot or cold for several hours at a time.
they would fit the bill, i cant do links, but the item number on qvc is 826363 i havent looked to see if idealworld have them at the moment , might be worth a look as they are cheaper. ps ideal world item number 317236 £14.99 for three

Steve-o · 21 October 2007 at 8:06PM

Thanks for the ideas all. :T

pavlovs_dog · 21 October 2007 at 8:16PM

i was looking at these food flasks the other day, but they are absolutely huge! a great idea in theory, but i can hardly get all my books and folders into my uni bag some days, a great big keg sized food flask on top just isnt going to work for me im afraid

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Baked potatoes used as 'packed' lunch

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