Brown potato croquettes low in acrylamide by coating with egg/breadcrumbs

Abstract

Potato croquettes are preparations of mashed potato or potato powder with milk powder or egg, fried in oil or baked in the oven. Product identity calls for fairly strong browning, which may cause high acrylamide contents. Prefabricates from the Swiss market resulted in products of intermediate acrylamide content (50–570 µg/kg), strongly depending on frying conditions. The potential of acrylamide formation of these products was modest, since the potato powder used was low in reducing sugars and asparagine. Defatted milk powder increased the 120 °C potential by 200–700 µg/kg (lactose), whereas egg was approximately neutral. Coating with egg/breadcrumbs resulted in stronger browning and at the same time in reduced acrylamide formation. It shields the potato from the heat by a material the browning of which is not linked with acrylamide formation. Croquettes prepared from fresh potato confirmed that coating with egg/breadcrumbs improves the product quality while strongly decreasing the acrylamide content.