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If your passion for perfect potatoes is leaving you tight on time, the Potato Express could be a real problem solver.
The company behind the product claims it can cook baked potatoes fast. Steve Noviello and Lone Star Park Chef Saleh Nasser put it to the test in Deal or Dud.
In the ad, the product is advertised to lock in steam and cook up to four full sized potatoes in four minutes. The potato express sells for about $10.
But a look at the instructions shows even at the highest wattage that it would take at least 6 minutes.
FOX4 asked the manufacturer why there was conflicting information, but we haven't heard back.
Chef Nasser knows baking a potato can take almost an hour.
“You wash them, wrap them in foil, put them in the oven about 45 minutes,” Nasser said.
The Potato Express test started with a single spud and a high-powered 1,250-watt microwave. It should cook one potato in two minutes.
The potato gets washed, put in the bag opening face down and two minutes later – it was still hard. The instructions suggest flipping it and cooking some more, so we do and add another two minutes.
Four minutes total and our potato is not cooked. So we tried another smaller potato and doubled the time.
“Still very hard,” Nasser said. “You can see the color it didn't cook.”
Based on how much it cooked, Nasser said it would take about 15 to 20 minutes.
The ad also shows corn can cook quick too. Once you boil water it usually takes 30 or 35 minutes.
But in the pouch, the instructions say two to four minutes.
We give it four and out it comes piping hot with great color, but not quite cooked.
“Definitely more time,” Nasser said. “I will say another 2 minutes, instead of 4 will be 6.”
So does it cook quicker? Sure. But as fast as advertised?
Chef Nasser said the Potato Express is a dud.
The folks at Ontel Products did not answer FOX4’s offer to comment on the results.
Nasser showed it is possible to cook a potato in about five minutes in the microwave. watch the video below for how: