Ask Dr. Potato

Q: Is there an easy way to clean a large amount of fingerling potatoes? I'm going nuts trying to get enough for a large meal!

Q: We are planning on serving baked potatoes at an upcoming wedding and I will need approximately 150 potatoes. We are going to use extra-large potatoes (like you can get at Costco). We will have access to 3 ovens, each with only 2 racks. It appears from your website that the most effective way to bake is without foil. We intend on wrapping them after baking and storing in an insulated cooler to keep warm until ready to serve. Questions: Is it okay to rub oil on them prior to baking so the skins will not be dried out? And, can we stack the potatoes 2 high on each rack in order to get 50 potatoes in? We intend baking them at 450°F - how long will we need to keep them in the oven?

Q: I am concerned about potato treatment with sprout inhibitor and other chemicals. Do you have any information on chemical use on Idaho potato or organic alternatives?

Q: My question is about how to bake a potato in an air fryer. Can you help? 

Q:  I forgot my baking potatoes in the oven! They came out wrinkly and hard. Can I do anything with them besides throwing them away?

Q: We have some organic yellow potatoes that will not brown or crisp while frying, they just turn burnt-black at the edges and get mushy (whether we've precooked them or not). The raw potatoes are firm but not hard, very few spots, and of course we only use unblemished flesh. Please help!

Q: I have a potato question! I cut into a Yukon gold potato and inside was a hollow pocket lined in the potato skin...almost like it was inside out. What could this possibly be?

Q: Hello Dr. Potato! I'm trying out new recipes and going to attempt Hasselback potatoes using Idaho’s. My question is I'd like to "meal prep" them, so can I freeze Hasselbacks that are blanched or should I cook them completely first?

Q: The potatoes that I purchased from my grocer do not state anywhere on the packaging what type of potatoes they actually are. Why does Idaho do this – or are these even the Idaho variety?

Q: I'm born and raised in Eastern Idaho and know how to bake a potato. I've moved to Wisconsin in 2015. The past two times we've baked potatoes at least one of them "blew apart." I baked at them 400°F,  the first was a Yukon Gold and the second was an Idaho russet. They were not huge bakers. Our oven is convection but it has never happened before. Please advise.