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AIBU?

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Original poster

Jacket potatoes used to be way bigger?

112 replies

midnights92 · 15/12/2025 21:38

DH and I both convinced the baking potatoes you can buy these days are far smaller than years ago.

Has shrinkflation spread to agriculture or are we both greedy bastards?

YABU - potatoes aren't getting smaller, that's insane.
YANBU - the conspiracy is real.

OP posts:
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Salyexley · 18/01/2026 20:49

Ffs

Serencwtch · 18/12/2025 08:16

We've just had a very dry summer & that's given poor yields of a whole range of crops.

Don't know anything about potato farming but I know a lot about other arable crops (barley, wheat, Lucerne) and it's been dreadful. Yield has been down hugely - some farmers I know it's 30% of what they normally produce.

I would have thought the dry conditions would have had same effect on potatos & affected yield - to put it simply there will be less of them & the ones they do have will be smaller & lighter

Tykarimyoureallymadeitgoodtome · 18/12/2025 07:22

midnights92 · 15/12/2025 21:44

This is DH's point. They are always huge in canteens but underwhelming at home. We need to find a better potato dealer.

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Bugger being a drug dealer..think I'll become a tattie dealer
County tattie line.😁👍

Checknotmymate · 18/12/2025 06:28

This is very true.

Corn on the cobs also more like baby sweetcorn now.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 18/12/2025 06:26

I always buy them loose and they’re fine. Buying the 4 in a pack baked potatoes will leave you very disappointed.

mellicauli · 17/12/2025 23:24

If you want a crispy skin, butter them up using the butter paper, 8 mins in the microwave then 30 mins in a high oven oven

Lavenderosemary · 17/12/2025 23:20

Egg size.... older hens lay progressively bigger egg. They also start laying less eggs as they age. So they get killed and replaced at 13 months. That's why there are rarely huge eggs for sale. :(

Ive kept chickens for years, and know this to be true. Our older ladies lay biiig eggs

LastNightMyPJsSavedMyLife · 17/12/2025 21:49

I can remember when potatoes came in three options
old- washed (expensive)
old- unwashed (cheap)
new- very expensive

for jacket spuds you just found one the size you wanted.

vicarlady · 17/12/2025 21:05

Some years ago I went to a wedding reception after a winter wedding. Groom’s family were farmers and the food was an enormous floury baked potato, a table spread with anything and everything you could ever think of putting on a baked potato and some salad. That potato set the standard for me - and no, supermarket spuds don’t meet the standard these days!

ohtowinthelottery · 17/12/2025 20:58

We buy our potatoes by the sack from the farm down the road, and I can assure you that potatoes still come in all shapes and sizes. Any change to 'jacket' potatoes sizes in the supermarket is undoubtedly down to shrinkflation and profiteering by the supermarkets themselves. Buying potatoes in a 4 pack of 'jacket' potatoes is a very expensive way of buying what is still a relatively cheap product!

Original poster
midnights92 · 17/12/2025 20:40

ChamonixMountainBum · 16/12/2025 18:54

Maybe the baked potato is just far away?

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It's possible. I've never real mastered small cow, far away cow.

OP posts:
HRTQueen · 16/12/2025 20:17

Yes they were bigger

recently had a jacket potato at a food market it was a big one as it should be 😊 so good done in the oven skin slightly crispy

ridiculous price but was so delicious I didn’t care

canuckup · 16/12/2025 20:11

You need two for a portion

BillieWiper · 16/12/2025 18:55

Yeah the ones in the supermarkets in bags aren't that big. You sometimes get loose ones that are massive but only in grocery shops or random corner shops.

ChamonixMountainBum · 16/12/2025 18:54

midnights92 · 15/12/2025 21:38

DH and I both convinced the baking potatoes you can buy these days are far smaller than years ago.

Has shrinkflation spread to agriculture or are we both greedy bastards?

YABU - potatoes aren't getting smaller, that's insane.
YANBU - the conspiracy is real.

Maybe the baked potato is just far away?

Louisetopaz21 · 16/12/2025 18:51

My dh grows potatoes and they are huge

CalmShaker · 16/12/2025 18:47

mustytrusty · 16/12/2025 16:42

They’re McCain’s jackets, like you can buy from the supermarket - 4 in a box. They’re alright.

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Thank you, I might try tomorrow. How long do they take to cook them?

Idontknowhatnametochoose · 16/12/2025 17:09

Completely agree. They aren't far off bite sized!

JohnTheRevelator · 16/12/2025 17:06

I find if you buy them from a greengrocer's stall or shop,I find you can get much bigger ones than the ones on offer in supermarkets.

JohnTheRevelator · 16/12/2025 17:05

Yes I've noticed this,with the ones you buy to make yourself and with ones in cafes. I had a jacket potato with tuna from Subway a couple of months ago,won't be bothering again. It was so small! About the size of a tennis ball,I'd say. Definitely not big enough. And the filling was stingy.

mustytrusty · 16/12/2025 16:42

CalmShaker · 15/12/2025 21:54

Has anyone tried the jackets from Subway yet? Are they any good?

They’re McCain’s jackets, like you can buy from the supermarket - 4 in a box. They’re alright.

GrandHighVitch · 16/12/2025 09:57

I had this exact thought a few weeks ago. Baking potatoes used to be huge.

awrbc81 · 16/12/2025 09:56

You just need to buy different ones probably, I think the ones you get in packs of 4 are small sometimes, but loose ones are bigger.

PigeonsandSquirrels · 16/12/2025 09:56

user86397409754 · 16/12/2025 09:51

It’ll be because thats what fits the supermarkets packaging/shelf sizes etc.
There are mountains of carrots/spuds/root veg rejected as they're the wrong size. It’s the farmer that loses out as they have to suck it up if their produce doesn’t meet their contract specifications. And the size will be mostly determined by the weather and growing conditions which they have little control over. It’s a harsh business.
The varieties of fruit/veg available in the supermarkets is determined by its storage/travelling robustness, not its flavour sadly, and everything must be a ‘perfect’ shape!

We use Oddbox for this issue! Haven’t had any large spuds though

PigeonsandSquirrels · 16/12/2025 09:55

It’s possibly to do with farming practices… plants are ending up with less vitamins and nutrients in them because the soil levels have been so depleted by mass farming and monoculture techniques. May have led to smaller spuds… I’m just theorising I have no evidence

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