Foil Fanatics

• Opinions run rampant when it comes to the "foil or fable" debate. Aluminum devotees swear that covering potatoes in foil helps them cook faster because the aluminum conducts heat and then traps it inside the foil, creating steam that circulates rather than escaping. Opposing opinions counter that this theory in fact means that the potato is no longer a baked one; it is by definition a steamed spud. Still others believe that foil actually reflects the heat away from the potatoes, making them cook slower rather than quicker.

The Great Bake-off

• Nothing settles a heated culinary debate like an old-fashioned bake-off. Students Jacob Morgan and Erin Reed butted spuds in a test laboratory at Brigham Young University. They not only tested the foil-or-not scenario, but added another element. Three potatoes took the limelight: One was bare with no covering at all; a second one was wrapped in foil with the shiny side facing outward; and a third foil-clad contender had the shiny side facing inward. After baking side-by-side in an oven set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the unwrapped potato won the race to fluffy doneness, passing the finish line at 42 minutes. The inward-facing foil potato came in second at 48 minutes, followed by the outward-facing foil at 49 minutes.

Bare Essentials

• Unwrapped potatoes are for those who like things with a bit of crunch. Baking potatoes with the skin exposed makes them a little crispy, though they tend to dry out more easily. Get around this issue by rubbing a bit of olive oil on the skin and adding some seasoning to taste. Prick the potatoes with the tines of a fork to release steam and keep them from bursting in the oven or on the grill.

Speedy Spuds

• A hybrid approach to baking potatoes more quickly lets you use modern technology along with the fallback foil method. Prick potatoes with a fork, then rub with olive oil and cook unwrapped in the microwave for about five minutes. Remove and wrap them with foil, then finish off the cooking process in a standard oven. This gives you perfect baked potatoes in about half the usual time.