Potato Express is a simple envelope that you put uncooked potatoes in and then place into your microwave so that they come out fully cooked and perfectly done. Or so they say. As avid potato lovers we had to look at this product more closely to see if they’ve finally cracked the baked potato code.
Overview
You’re likely well aware of the common problems of baking potatoes. Using the oven takes forever, and using the microwave provides results that are often less than satisfactory. What this product is trying to do is give you oven results but from your microwave so you’re getting them in a fraction of the time. Potatoes might make it onto the plate more often if they were easier to cook, and if you had something that provided consistent results each time.
The Claim
The makers of the Potato Express say that all that’s required is placing them in the special sleeve and popping them in the microwave. Four minutes later you’re supposed to have perfectly done potatoes with tender skins and fluffy and fully cooked potato on the inside. They say that you can make any of your favorite baked potato varieties because it comes out the same as a baked potato out of the oven does. They also say you can use these cooked potatoes to make mashed potatoes or potato salad, taking away the need to boil potatoes.
The Hype
The hype comes from the discord of seeing so many microwave products flop. The microwave is just such an attractive piece of equipment because it gets things heated up so fast, but it has the inherent problem of cooking from the outside in, which usually means lousy potatoes that are cooked about half an inch on the outside and not at all in the middle. By claiming that this product solves that problem by providing a pocket within which the potato cooks all throughout there is a certain leap of faith you have to make in order to fully buy in to its viability.
The Cost
The Potato Express is $24 all together and will come with two pockets and two recipes guides as well as 2 cheese graters. They offer a 30 day money back guarantee on it, but stop to consider that you’d only be getting back $10 if you choose to return it, and you’d have to cover return shipping costs as well. That makes it a risky purchase if it doesn’t work out for you, and doesn’t provide the results you’re looking for, which is why most people are wondering if it works the way it says it does.
The Commitment
The main pitch here is that they’re drastically reducing the time it takes you to make potatoes, either baking them or boiling them. When you consider that baking a potato in the oven can take 40 minutes to an hour and it’s possible to both overcook and undercook them, it can be a real pain. Plus if you are tired of having to boil your potatoes to make things like potato salad or mashed potatoes you’d have a way to get the same results without waiting for the water to boil, and then waiting for the potatoes to be tender and fully cooked.
Evaluation
If you love the taste of potatoes but find that you don’t cook them as often as you’d like to, Potato Express seems like it would be the answer. Let’s take the summer time for example. It’s often too hot to want to turn the oven on, or even have a big pot of boiling water on the stove to boil potatoes. You might find yourself opting for a different side, or substituting potato chips as a side because you want the potato taste without the hassle of making potatoes.
The feedback on this unit is quite limited, so it’s still a bit of a gamble to make a determination on how it works. The concept is solid enough, since putting the potato directly in the microwave does get you some results, i.e. the potato gets cooked, just not very well. By placing it in the pouch you’re creating an environment that is like a steam room for it, so it likely provides the results it says but by steaming the potato, not by baking it. So if you’re looking for the classic baked potato taste, you’re not going to get it. This would have the consistency of a boiled potato that was kept whole, so the skin is going to be very soft, not the way it is when it’s properly baked. This makes it a good candidate for any recipe that calls for boiled potatoes.
Final Potato Express Review
The Potato Express is getting our Risky Try rating because there aren’t enough users that have said how it works, and the pricing structure puts a lot of the risk on your part. In all probability it will cook your potatoes, but the results you get will be somewhat like a boiled potato, and not exactly like a baked potato, the way they claim. It might get you a similar experience to a baked potato in a short amount of time, but if you’re expecting an entire replication of the experience it will fall short.
Our Recommendation
This is still a great addition to your kitchen if you want a fast and painless way to get the same results as you would from boiling potatoes, like for potato salads and mashed potatoes without having to boil a big pot of water.
I use my Potato Express all the time and love it. It’s true that 4 minutes is rarely enough time, so I just add an extra minute or 2 until they yield to a squeeze. For those who say they don’t cookwell enough, if you have a small microwave with lower wattage, or if you have very large potatoes, of course, you have to add extra time. I like to cook my red potatoes, cut them apart and fry them in a little olive oil until the meaty part is crispy. Ummm
This product is worthless. Have tried it about 4 times and no luck all 4 times. Got it on sale so it didn’t bother me to cut it up and throw it away.
We have been using this for quite a while now and like it just fine. HOWEVER the claim that it will cook four potatoes in 4 minutes is far fetched. It may be true with four new baby red potatoes but not four bakers!
Four standard medium sized russets take twice that. We cook them (1100 what oven) for four minutes and then turn them over for another four and they come out beautiful.
Nice and steamy, not all dried out at all as can be done in a oven.
We also do yams or sweet potatoes and they work out swell also.
I do recommend this item.
I love my potato express. It does a surprisingly well job. The hardest part is getting potatoes of a similar size together to put in the pocket. Otherwise, I have no problem. If they aren’t quite done due to large size, I throw them back in a bit. I even use it for my yams. I look for a nice round yam or sweet potato, microwave it, leave it on the counter until it is cool enough to handle, and I have my work treat ready to go. Fantastic
I bought one for $10 and I find it works fine! I usually cook the smaller red potatoes and have put as many as four in the envelope. It might take a little more than 4 minutes for 4 of them, but I played around adding minutes, and they all came out fine. I usually chop them up for skilliet meals. I’m very happy with my purchase, which I made on the recommendation of someone else who bought and liked oe.
What power do you use?????????
We had seen the commercial several times on TV and my husband loves potatoes so we were excited to see it at Walmart at the As Seen on TV section he wanted to buy two but I was skeptical I wanted to try it out first glad I did cost was $9.88. We got a bag of potatoes put them in the red pouch and set the time for 4 mins in the microwave on High anxiously waiting for the 4 minutes to be done we opened the pouch and to our dismay hard potatoes I had to cook them for an additional 5 minutes and still not what the product advertised. Don’t waste your money or time
It says don’t put it on High…what did you cook the potatos at Medium?
We love ours!!
Hubby said make sure it’s sealed properly, and folded side down. We’ve cooked potatoes, sweet potatoes and most recently plaintains, which came out delicious! We’ve fit several potatoes in the bag at a time, whatever can fit.
Again, it’s based on steam, so make sure the bag is sealed good!
I have tried the Potato Express four times on four different size potatoes. I never got a potato that was steamy and fluffy. I get hard uncooked spots and not fully cooked areas.
What power level are you to use? The directions say not to cook on Hi.
Rayene
Just tried the Potato Express last night. It was a disaster. I cooked 2 medium potatoes for 4 minutes as directed and you could barely cut them with a knife. The were still hard after cooking 4 more minutes. The rest of our dinner was getting cold so we ate the potato partially cooked. What a waste of money.
my potato were raw and ruined my dinner
same here my potato were raw my dinner was ruined i would like my money back
I just read a bunch of reviews on Amazon.com and plan to try again. There were many suggestions. I used mine for the first time today and it didn’t cook in the 4 minutes. I took a large russet potato out of the frig., rinsed it off, put it in the bag and put the bag in the microwave with the flap facing up. In 4 minutes it was not cooked and I gave up, BUT, I am going to try again. First of all the instructions say to put the bag in with the flap facing DOWN. Also make sure the potato is at room temperature. Some suggested poking holes in the potato with a fork as you would if you cooked it in an oven. Rinsing the potato helps. I’ll use a medium sized potato instead of large next time. I will microwave a few minutes longer if needed. I believe our microwave is 1200 watt. I was really looking forward to this product and now have renewed hope. I will update my review. 🙂
I thought they tasted fine, better than using other methods for baking potatoes in the microwave. It’s a quick way to add a side dish. I got one for $10 at Walgreen’s. It’s best for 2 med. potatoes or sweet potatoes, baked for 4 min. or so. The skins were good, too.
This product is a scam! I used it following the directions and the potatoes were still mostly hard. I will be asking for a refund.
I purchased the Potato Express this past weekend for $10.00 at Walgreens. Following the instructions to the letter, I added two washed baking potatoes and because my microwave is small, I added an additional minute to the cook time. The potatoes were not cooked after five minutes- they were hot but solid and did not yield even a bit, when squeezed. The instructions suggest adding one minute increments until the potatoes are cooked. It took about 12 minutes to complete the job. The potatoes were ok but not comparable to oven-baking in taste- more like a steamed potato which makes sense. I find the plastic wrapped microwave potatoes are easier to cook and taste better but who knows what kinds of chemicals are being leeched into the potato from the plastic as it’s being heated and steamed. I will continue using the Express but only when I’m in a hurry- oven baked still wins!
This product is now for sale in Bed Bath & Beyond for $10, $8 and change with a 20% off coupon. I tried a medium/large baking potato in my 1100 watt microwave. 4 minutes later, the potato was hot to the touch but fairly raw inside. I put it in for another 2 minutes which only softened it a little bit. I only ate it that way because the rest of my dinner was getting cold. I think the marketers say 4 minutes because one small red potato might be cooked in that time. The instructions say to experiment. I think that next time I’ll put the same size potato in for seven minutes and see how that works. Don’t even try more than one unless leaving them in for at least 8 – 10 minutes. And lastly DON’T EVER buy from a TV ad. Do you really need two of these things? Wait until they come to the stores and pay eight bucks like I did.
An absolute fraud. We followed the instructions to the letter. After 4 minutes the potatoes were still cold. Put it in for another 2 minutes,just barely warm on the outside hard and cold on the inside. PLEASE save your money. If i were to return them the net results would be would be that I MIGHT recieve $10. This company should be prohibited from selling this and TV stations should refuse to accept this ad.
Agree. I buy the 98cent big Idaho wrapped in plastic all the time, and they turn out pretty dang good. I try to pick out the larger ones to get my money’s worth. I modify it slightly and works good for me. It says 7 minutes, but I do it for 3 1/2 then cut it in two, leaving the wrap in place on both sections, spray some butter spray on each side and do the other 3 1/2 minutes. Comes out really soft and flavorful.
I TRIED TO ORDER A POTATOE EXPRESS ON THE CELL PHONE USING MY CREDIT CARD
HOW EVER THE CARD SECURITY CODE DIDNT WORK. I ASKED THE OPERATOR CHERREL
IF I COULD ORDER WITH A CHECK, SHE SAID YES AND GAVE ME A PRICE OF 23.98, TO
POTATOE EXPRESS ,AT21 LAW DR,FAIRFIELD,NEW JERSEY 07004, I MAILED THE CHECK
ON 10/6/13, CHECK NUMBER 6605 ON MY ACCOUNT ROBERT RITTENHOUSE/JOSEPHINE
RITTENHOUSE,WE HAVENT RECEIVED PRODUCT AS OF THIS DATE 10 17 13,COULD YOU
FOLLOW UP ON THIS MATTER ROBERT RITTENHOUSE
If you are not a cook or rarely have time to cook, then this could be your answer. You can’t beat the 4 minute cooking time but the real questions is, will it taste good? In my experience, cooking in a microwave is no substitute to cooking in an oven. But apparently I am in the minority in those feelings. The bottom line is if you don’t have the time but miss your potatoes, I think it is great. If you are, on the other hand, like me – then you probably would prefer cooking them in the oven.
I haven’t tried this product, but I have tried potatoes at the supermarket that are in plastic wrap and are for cooking in the microwave. They’re called PotatOH!They don’t come out quite like they would if they were baked in the oven, but they are pretty good substitute and very quick and easy. I don’t eat the skin, so I don’t know how that part is, really, but the inside of the potato is pretty delicious. I would imagine this product would be similar.
The convenience is really nice in something like this, but it seems like the expense isn’t worth it. That seems like a lot of money to buy something when you could get a cheaper version at the supermarket, with no commitment at all. If you don’t like this one, you only bought one potato, not $25 worth of merchandise. It might work, but it doesn’t seem worth it to me.