To not realise that McCains baked potatoes are nothing special.

I like them, quick, easy and convenient. I don’t eat jacket potatoes enough to buy fresh ones and I hate microwaved fresh potatoes, they taste of sadness. They are only nice if oven cooked for well over an hour.

you do know what you’re eating, it’s on the label
I rarely eat jacket potatoes but when I want one, I don’t have potatoes in. So I keep a box of those in the freezer
also handy for people with disabilities or who need carers so they can have a hot meal in 5 mins

The ingredients list
Potato
Olive oil
🙄
I only eat the Bannisters, they are nicer

Honestly the stretching to make out a bloody frozen jacket is UPF is ludicrous
Its a frozen JP
It takes 5 minutes to cook

Yes, they're fluffier than microwaved from scratch potatoes. Great freezer staple.

@RupertRipperGilesForever That depends on whether they are prepared with seed/veg oils, which are intensively and chemically refined.

Agree it’s probably ok if it’s just olive oil but I don’t get why you wouldn’t just make your own at home and freeze them. At least you know for sure what you’re eating.

I use them sometimes because you get a potato that tastes like it’s been in the oven for an hour but it only takes a few minutes in the microwave. They’re also something my teens would use rather than choosing something unhealthy and they wouldn’t always want to wait an hour with them in the oven or even transfer them from the microwave to the air fryer when being lazy or short of time which can be fairly standard for teens. Cost isn’t an issue for but I usually stock up when they’re on offer 8 for £5.

eta I buy frozen onion too. It saves time chopping and the tears and it’s great for quick stir fries, also soups, curries etc.

As with everything, if they’re not for you, don’t buy.

Time (in the pan in five seconds), accessibility (hand pain / arthritis), useful in small kitchen space with few utensils, uniform product which is a great advantage in planning, frozen veg retain nutrients well.

Stir fried peppers, stir fried onions, frozen potato etc are a quick basis for a healthy meal. I like having them to hand for rough days or busy days.

I used to buy them all the time until I tried the Bannisters ones and the difference is huge. The McCains ones are quite “floury” and sometimes look undercooked even if they’re not.
The Bannisters ones are as close to a home cooked Jacket potato and much better value at £4 for 8 in Iceland and they come in a bag which is less bulky than a box.

I’m not a potato snob but I wouldn’t have the McCains ones even if they were free.

Didn’t work for me unfortunately, still soggy. Although I do like a particularly crunchy skin so maybe my expectations were too high !

They are about 75p each. Why is something that saves time a waste of money. I am not sure that they do cost much more anyway given very little electricity to make compared with oven baked potatoes.

They save far more time than pancake mixes.

We buy them all the time. They cook much quicker in the microwave than any fresh potato I've ever tried, so we keep them in the freezer for convenience. I kind of assumed they must be part cooked already, or how are they cooking so much quicker?

We don't have an air fryer though, perhaps I wouldn't see the point as much if we did. I guess I could ore bake and freeze myself but that requires levels of organisation and pre planning I don't have headspace for at the moment, and with our freezer size would only be able to do it with a few jacket potatoes at a time.

I part microwave the potato then put it in the oven

Ah yes that's a fair point!

I can't see the point of them, exceptperhaps for taking to eat at work. It's about the same as "pancake mix, just add milk", when making your own pancake just needs milk and an egg added to flour. Consumers can be gullible!

total waste of money. baked potatoes are one of the quickest cheapest items you can do. i often buy potatos and do the usual few mins in microwave then oven bake but for about ten mins less than usual. then i cool and freeze them easy to take out and pop in microwave for quick tea. i am vegan so like my vegan cheese and beans oh likes tuna mixed with mayo and sweetcorn got to be better than those yukky McCain ones

Microwave a spud 7 mins, air fryer 7 mins for crisp skin - you don’t need these travesties!!

The whole point of them is that they have an oil coating that crisps them in the microwave.

I keep my baking potatoes in the fridge and do 10 mins in microwave turning half way and then 15-20 mins in airfryer and they are perfect.

Avoiding tears, and they soften quicker. I actually use them alot if making stir fry rice, or incorporating them into things etc. I used fresh on salads etc.

Rub fresh jacket with alittle oil and salt, prick, then 20 mins each side on airfryer shelf - amazing!

The weirdest one to me is the bags of ice cubes that supermarkets sell. I totally get if you're having a party and you need a load of them and/or you need them NOW; but I know people who will buy a bag of ice cubes from the supermarket just for their everyday freezer stock, using them gradually a few at a time

Also frozen onion. Why? Can anyone explain?

I love them 5 minutes in the northern 5 minutes in the air fryer gives me time to put shopping away, wash on or whatever and chop some salad or heat some beans

have tried other frozen jacket potatoes M&S, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and none are as good and often have that odd taste

I use a lot of frozen veg/herbs and now curry paste to cut corners with time when cooking it’s made life easier and food tastes just as good

They are usually on offer for 2.5 pounds. They taste a lot better than a microwaved fresh potato would taste

Yes, they are partly precooked so you can finish them off in a microwave and get something that tastes close to an oven baked potato.