Ontel Microwave Cooker – Quick & Easy 4-Minute Potatoes | As Seen on TV | Compact & Efficient for Fast Meals, Healthy Cooking & Time-Saving Kitchen Gadget

I've used this product for about a year now. Despite some of the advertising being misleading, I like the product and use it instead of micowaving a potato "bare" like I used to, which often resulted in a tough outer layer. Now the potato is nice and soft throughout. But a few caveats: 1. The ads I've seen claim you can bake up to 4 potatoes in the same amount of time (about 4 minutes as you can bake one. Anybody who has increased their serving size in a micro knows that just can't be. It would violate the laws of physics, and I have personally confirmed it with this thing. About the only way you could bake 4 potatoes in the same amount of time as one is if the potatoes were 1/4th the size of the single one. And how can you expect a monster-size potato to bake as fast as a small one? For a small potato, even 3 minutes suffice.You find out the truth when you see the directions, that cooking times vary by micro power, potato size, etc. I just did two small ones ok in 4 minutes. I think a rule of thumb would be to increase your baking time 50% for a doubling of the size being baked, once you get used to how long this works well for your "average" potato. 2. If your micro is small, the corners of the bag are likely to get stuck on the sides of the micro, resulting in quitting spinning. That's not disastrous, but not optimal. Sometimes the bag manages to get loose after a while and continue spinning until it gets stuck on another corner. If it ges stuck for more that 30 seconds, I stop the micro and push the bag past the stuck position.The directions tell you that if you don't have a turntable, to turn the bag over halfway through; so getting stuck is evidently not that big a deal. 3. The directions (not the advertising!) tell you NOT to use HIGH power, and to not cook more than 4 minutes at a time. I get the sense that they are afraid of the bag scorching and catching fire, says so especially if it gets stuck from spinning. I've ignored that, without a problem. :)I was disappointed to find that the Potato Express is not big enough to hold 4 potatoes as the infomercial stated - unless they are four tiny potatoes. You can fit 2 medium sized potatoes (approx 6-7 oz. each) or 1 large potato (10+ oz). Also, the cook time varies depending on the size and number of potatoes you put in the Potato Express. I found doing one medium sized potato for 4 to 4 1/2 min. is about right. You definitely need more cooking time for 2 potatoes. Over all though it does the job in that once you figure out what size & how many potatoes you can cook for what length of time - it really does produce light fluffy potatoes. This will come in really handy in the summer when I want baked potatoes without running my oven for an hour. Along with russet potatoes I have also tried sweet potatoes - worked good - need longer cook time for sweet potatoes than russets. I have not attempted yams yet - kind of afraid the yam will ooze sweet sticky juice in my Potato Express and didn't want to deal with that.I almost didn't buy because of negative comments. Decided to take a chance. Glad I did. It took a minute to figure out how long to bake a midsize potato vs several small ones. But that was easy enough. The one thing, beyond convenience, that I like most about this potato baker is that potatoes retain their moisture. Would definitely recommend (and have). Well worth the money spent!This product works great. This is my second one to own. The only reason I had to buy a second one after many years was that my son decided he wanted his potato to be crispy so he set the microwave for 10 minutes. Lets just say there is a reason that the bag has printed in several locations 4 minutes max. Lots of smoke and a burnt hole in the bag resulted it the need to buy this second one. All is good this is typical like of a teenager. When I asked him he said I didn't know. Well he knows now. HA!This is the worst knock-off out there for the original Potato Express. The original is thick and made from a very sturdy material, both inside and out and filled with a thick batting inside. After many years of using the original I thought I would get some extras for gifts for my daughters. The listing in Amazon states that it is sold from the same company "As Seen on TV" as the original from 15 years or so ago. It is NOT! It is overpriced and very thin fabric, more of a shiny nylon than a cotton broadcloth like the original. There is no batting between the exterior and the interior gingham fabric which is also a nylon like fabric. It melts from the contact with the hot potato. Do not buy it. I doubt that Amazon will allow this seller much longer becasue they are probably getting a lot of returns. They would not even accept my return, they refunded my purchase and said not to send it back.I am pretty cynical by nature but when I saw the commercial for Potato Express I found myself nodding in agreement - "Do you love baked potatoes but hate waiting an hour for it to bake in the oven?", "Do microwaving them make them soggy and chewy?" I'm paraphrasing but you get the point. So, on a late night, I ordered the Potato Express. It arrived today and I washed and put in a GIANT Idaho potato. The booklet says 4 minutes but that it may take longer depending on the size of the potato. My giant IDAHO potato took closer to 6 minutes in a 1100 watts microwave. If after 4 minutes, it is still hard, just keep adding an extra minute at a time. The end result was Potato Perfection! My child said "This tastes just like Wendy's baked potato" which is a big compliment. I even let the potato sit for half an hour while I baked my bacon. I would "highly" recommend this product! Ingenius reallyI bought this having seen a good review of it on YouTube, but it doesn't work as claimed. It's basically just an insulated pouch a bit like an oven glove, and it's supposed to steam up inside and make a fluffy "baked" potato in the microwave in just four minutes.Tried it - four minutes and the potato was hard and barely cooked - this made no difference at all and I had to cook the potato for the standard amount of time.It keeps the potato hotter if you want to leave it for a bit, but you can wrap it in a teatowel or pop it in an oven-glove for an identical effect once cooked.As far as I'm concerned this works well with normal potatoes.Sweet potatoes is a different story. It will take more like 7 minutes which is fine but not described on the packaging.It gets a bit steamy after use but you can easily wash it in the sink and dry without any damaging affects on future use.Very disappointing. The advertisement said four minutes but the potatoes, not big ones, were still raw. As four minutes is the maximum time advised, yo have to keep putting them in for four minutes until they are cooked. Not what I expected.Arrived quickly, look as advertised have not used yet so don't know if it lives up to description. Ordered two, one for my daughter.Looking forward to trying.Its fake. Real embarrassment never cooked my patato.Don't spend your money to fake items.