Effects of Processing Conditions on Quality of Refrigerated Potato Strips

Abstract

The effects of processing conditions on color and textural quality of refrigerated potato strips were investigated. To determine effect of blanching time, potato strips were blanched at low temperature (60C) in 0.25% ascorbic acid (AA) and 0.5% CaCl2 solution for 10, 20, or 30 min and then blanched at high temperature (~98C) in boiling water for 5, 10, or 15 min. The highest after-frying peak force was determined in potato fries blanched at low temperature for 30 min and then blanched at high temperature for 5 min. Changes in blanching times did not significantly affect the lightness. To determine effect of AA and CaCl2, potato strips were blanched at low temperature for 20 min in 0.125% or 0.25% AA and 0%, 0.25%, or 0.5% CaCl2 solution and then blanched at high temperature in boiling water for 10 min. Before-frying peak force of potato strips was significantly increased by increasing CaCl2 concentration. Ascorbic acid did not affect the color quality. To determine the effect of potato variety, Russet Burbank, Keuka Gold, Reba, and Norwis varieties of potato strips were blanched at low temperature in 0.5% CaCl2 solution for 20 min and then at high temperature in boiling water for 10 min. The highest after-frying peak force was obtained for the Russet Burbank variety. Less color difference was determined in potato fries prepared from Reba compared to Russet Burbank, Keuka Gold, and Norwis. The results indicate that blanching Russet Burbank potato strips at 60C in 0.5% CaCl2 solution for 20 or 30 min followed by blanching in boiling water for 5 or 10 min can be an effective process to produce high-quality potato strips.