POTATO BASED SNACKS
An Exploration of Popular and Creative Potato Snacks
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITON:Snacks made primarily from potatoes,offering a
variety of textures and flavors.
• The white and irish potato is one of the world’s most important
food plants.
• Potatoes grow best on lighter soils in comparatively cool and
moist climate.
• Potatoes are grown in nearly every state in the united stated
with concentration in maine Newyork.
Harvesting,handling and storage of potatoes
• Freshly drug potatoes must be properly cured or suberized
(healed from digger or other mechanical damage) before low
temperature storage.
• The humidity should be high, that is 95-99% in the well
ventilated area to allow suberin formation. Formation of the
periderm is essential to prevent rot or microorganism
penetration.
• This is determined by tuber variety and expected length of the
storage period.
• Tubers can be stored for up to 10 months if storage conditon
are controlled.
Potato chip Manufacturing Recieving and Grading
• When potatoes are delivered at the chip plant, the recieving
clerk should examine the truck or rail car for the condition of
vehical and the overall condition of the load.Acceptability of
the potatoes should be ascertained by:
• Determining the pulp temperature
• Examining the condition of the load for freezing injury,off-
odors,cleanliness of the potatoes including freedom from soil
firmness of the tubers.
• Nothing if the vehicle is clean and sound.
• Sampling the load for quality evaluation by selecting,at
random,three or more 10 to 25 Ib sample.
• The samples then should be evaluated for specific gravity and
graded for size and absence of external and internal defects.
• A subsample should be fried,in the plant on the conventional
fry line or in the lab for chip color
• A reducing sugar evaluation should be made if the potatoes do
not fry satisfactorily
• If the tubers are destined for storage at the chip plant, a sucrose
evaluation must be determine if they are acceptable for storage.
• The reducing sugar level should be below 0.15% preferably at
0% and sucrose value should be less than 1.50%.if all is
satisfactory the load can be weighed in as an acceptable load
either for immediate use or for storage.
Destoning
• Potatoes are destoned to remove any stones that may be in the
load. Stones cause serious damage to the equipment and
problems in the slicing operation and typically are removed by
floating the potatoes in water, wherin the stones sink to the
bottom and the tubers float.
• This may be done with vertical screws or in riffle-type washer.
• In addition to stones,metal,wood,plastic,metal cans and so
on,must be removed.
• Usually, this is accomplished by visual inspection.
DISEASE AND DEFECTS OF POTATO
Peeling
• Tuber may be peeled in batch machines or in continuos
machines.they generally are peeled using carborundum rolls or
with brushed depending on the age of the tuber.as tuber in
storage age, the peel or periderm increases to several cells thick
and should removed.
• however fresly dug tubers and in particular need only light
brushing to remove peels.
• Excessive peel removal means lower chips yield and increased
waste to be disposed.
Washing, sorting and trimming
• These unit operations are important to for producing clean
potatoes free from defects before slicing.A 1/2 inch deep
defective area represents eight or nine slices that may be
defective.
• it is much easier or more efficient to remove the defection area
ahead of the slicer and ahead of the fryer.some manufacturer
now use electronic sorters ahead of the slicer to remove off
quality potatoes.
• by removing defects ahead of fryer,energy and oil are saved
cooking effeciency improve.
AUTOMATIC CHIPS MACHINE
Slicing
• This is the most important operation in a potato chip
plant.effecient slicing produces clean slices with no feathered
edges or torn pieces.
• Good slices absorb less oil and do not leaves potato pieces in
the oil.which hasten its breakdown.
• The potato is forced against her inner surface of the slicing
head assembly by centrifugal action.
• The slicing head consists of 8 separate slicing head shoes and
knives.
• A slice is produced as the product passes each knife in smooth
and uninterrupted manner.
• The trailing edge of each slicing casting has a hardened
stainless steel insert.
Drying or Frying
• This unit operation is in evolution because the oil content of the
finished chip is a siignificant concern to some customer.
• The market share of low fat to no fat chips is increasing
• Potato chips be fried in oil for best flavor.
• However drying by itsself or partial drying prior to frying is
being used
• Drying takes much more time and the resultant product is very
mealy with little or no flavor other than dried potato flavor.
Continue....
• Turnover of the oil is an important factor to keep in mind when
frying potato chips.
• Turn over simply means the amount of oil that is used during a
given run. ideally one should hope to turn over the oil each 8hr
shift.
• Assuming a fryer with 1,000 pound oil capacity and 33% oil
content in the finished chip, the oil would be totally replaced
for every 3,000 pounds of the chips produced.
• Each type of oil imparts different flavors to the chips.
• Some manufacturers always use blends to keep the flavors
more neutral.
• Dried potato chips are dried in conventional or impingement
ovens with no oil.
• The drying process takes much longer,but may enable easier
control of the color and moisture content of the chips.
• Dried chips develop off-flavors more quickly than fried chips
unless they are *blanched before drying.
DRYING MACHINE
Inspection
• Chips are inspected following the frying/drying operation to
remove discolored, burned, or defective chips. this was done by
chip pickers in the past people on the line who picked out the
bad chips.
• Now electronic equipment is available to kick out the defects
the off coloured or unsuitable chips.
• The advantage of electronic inspection is that equipment works
all the time without tiring and is as effective as management
wants it to be by appropriate adjustments
Continue....
• it should be noted that any pickout, kickout or throwout is
costly at this point in a chip plant.
• The chip may be worth 25 cents per ounce after frying,whereas
the raw potatoes were worth only 3-4 cents per pound.
• One need only compare and see the quick loss of profit by
improper operation of this unit operation.
• Defective chips are not desirable and it behooves individual
plants as well as the industry to present clean,acceptable chips
to consumers.
Salting and Seasoning
• The most important characteristic of any snack food is the taste
of finished product.
• The objective is to giv customers the consistent product they
expect everytime.
• Most snacks, including potato chips are salted.
• Salt is the least costly of all the ingredients and is used to
enhance the flavor of the chips.
• The Snack Food Association has recommended a salt level of
1.75% plus or minus 0.25%.
• Generally, chips are salted directly from the fryer to take
advantage of the hot oil for binding the salt crystals to the
chips.
• Potato chips may be seasoned with BBQ, vinegar and onion
cheese and other flavors
• At the present time about 25% of the potato chips arre flavored
with one or another type of seasoning.
• Generally, the seasoning is applied topically in rotary drums or
sprinkled on top like salt is applied.
• Many chips are consumed with given dips and salsas.usually
dip chips such as the wavy style chips are cut thicker.
• In very large operations the flow of chips may be split into two
or more lines,each with a packaging and casing machine to
produce different flavored potato chip simultaneously.
Packaging and Casing
• Most snacks are packed on form,fill and seal machines using
specific multiminated bags for given region of the world.
Metalized foil is prominent type of package.
• Selection of packaging material should be based on the
contemplated shelf life of the product
• Long shelf life (over 10 weeks) requires low moisture/vapor
proof films. All packages should be properly filled, sealed and
coded.
• The bag should be full and may be gassed packed using an inert
gas(nitrogen) to prolong the keeping quality of chips while
marketing channels.
• All packaged snacks should be properly coded with the pull
date (or last date of sale) included.
• The code is to protect the manufacturer as well as the customer
and detailed information may prove very helpful
• The last check in the operation is at the case packer to ascertain
that the bag is properly sealed and packaged
• Chips are cased to improve and facilitate handling practices
• Nevertless, they should be handled with tender,loving care to
prevent breakage and retain the product quality.
• All packged snacks should be properly coded with the pull
date (or last date of sale ) included
• The code is to protect the manufacturer as well as the
customer and detailed information may prove very helpful
• The last check in the operation is at the case packer to
ascertain the bag is properly sealed and packaged.
• Chips are cased to improve and facilitate handling
practices
Warehousing
• Packaged chips are placed in warehouses to await shipment to
distribution centers or stores.
• Warehoused chips should be handled with care and first in first
out (FIFO) practice should be followed
• Warehouses for holding the chips should be operated at or
below room temperatures to prevent shortening their shelf life.
QUALITY CONTROL OF POTATO CHIPS
• The quality potato chips is dependent on the specific gravity of
the raw potato ( peroxide value and free fatty acid content) of
the oil used in frying.proper salt and seasoning and MVTR
( moisture vapor transmission rate) of the package.
• Auditing the finished product for moisture content, oil content,
salt content,color, texture and flavor is a basic requirement.
• Evaluation of the seal integrity and gas content of the package
is required.
TYPES:
• Potato chips
• French fries
• Tater tots
• Potato wedges
• Potato skin
• Potato croquettes
• Potato salad
• Potato pancakes
