CA1048336A - Preparation of french fries - Google Patents

Abstract

PREPARATION OF FRENCH FRIES

Paul E. Bates, John R. Hughes, and Nahid Zoueshtiagh Abstract of the Invention A process for preparing an edible potato dough suitable for preparing French fried potatoes which closely resemble French fried potatoes prepared directly from fresh, raw potatoes, in which the unpeeled potatoes are first baked, then peeled, riced and formed into a potato dough.

Description

Backqround of the Invention The present invention relates generally to edible potato prod~lcts prod~ced from a workable potato dough. More particularly, it relates to improved French fried potatoes formed from a potato dough.
Originally, French fried potatoes were made by peeling raw potatoes, cutting them into strips and then frying the strips in oil. However, ~rench fries produced in this conventional manner from raw potatoes are disadvantageous in several respects.
~ irst, the quality of French fries will vary with the potato used. This variance will occur both between different species of potatoes and the age of the potato within a given species. The variance is due to different chemical characteristics inherent in the potatoes, such as sugar content, 3tarch content and specific gravity. The problems caused by variations of such properties in potatoes are discussed in detail in Potato Processin~
published in 1959 by the A.V.I. Publishing Company, Inc. West Port, Conn., and edited by W. ~. Talbert and O. Smith.
~r~ Second, there is a substan,ial amount o~ was~e in the raw ~ , .

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starting material ~tributable to variations in siæ~ and the irregularities in shape of the starting veg~table. It is necessary to use essentially only the central portion of the potato in order to make strips of suitable size. Accordingly, smaller pieces in the form of slivers and the like are discarded or con-verted into less desirable food products.
Third, the cut potato strips, from which French fried potatoes are made, necessarily vary in size because of the irregu-lar shape of potatoes; therefore a batch of cut strips does not fry uniformly Finally, it is necessary to peel and cut the potatoes at the time that the French fried potatoes are to be prepared to get a final food product with a desirable flavor, texture, and con-sistency. This is very time consuming and a great delay during the food services rush periods where French fried potatoes are pre-pared in quantity. In addition, there is the well-known disadvan-tage of the loss by spoilage of fresh potatoes during storage.
- To solve the inadequacies of French fried potatoes produced from raw potatoes, attempts have been made to produce "fabricated"

French fries from a potatQ dough, such as the processes disclosed in Backinger et al., U.S. Patent 3,085,020, issued April 9, 1963;
Fritzberg, U.S. Patent 3,282,704, issued Movember 1, 1966; Willard et al., U.S. Patent 3,399,062, issued August 27, 1968; or, Keller, U.S. Patent 3,468,673, issued September 23, 1969. In this manner the composition of the French fry can be ~lore or less controlled.
The raw material can be made just prior to frying or the fabricated ~rench fry pieces can be frozen to eliminate any quality variation induced by time. Moreover, the size of the pieces can be carefully controlled to assure uniformity of frying.

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Although palatable -~abricated French frles have been produced by pr;or techniques, the quallty attained has never equalled -the quali~y of a high quality French fry produced in the conventional manner ~rom raw po-tatoes. Two problems have been encountered; namely -the flavor of a high qllality na-tural French fry has never been duplicated, and, secondly, the same internal texture surrounded by a crisp yet tender outer surface, or "crust", has never been achieved. This desirable internal texture has been des~
cribed in Vahling, U.S. Patent No. 3,175,914 as being mealy and having the consistency of a baked potato. However, no one has yet attempted to u-tili~e a baked potato startlng material in the forma-tion of a French fry potato product.
This may be due to any number of reasons; for example, the desirable mealy internal texture of a baked potato may pos sibly have been thought to be lost on the course of sub-sequent processing steps necessary to fabricate the final French fry product. But it has been surprisingly discovered that the mealy internal texture of baked potatoes is retained during further processing steps to yive an ideal French fried po-tato product with the same desirable internal consistency, flavor and crisp yet tender exterior crust charac-teristic ~`
of high-quality French fries made from raw potatoes.
Summary of -the Invention __ .
Briefly, in accordance with the inven-tion, the novel process for the preparation of a workable potato dough adapted to the formation of French fried po-tato pieces involves baking whole unpeeled potatoes until -they are completely cooked; peeling said baked po-tatoes; comminutiny said peeled baked potatoes using a minimum amount o~ ~ork -to obtain and maintain a mealy te~tured comminuted baked potato material; and forming a mealy textured coherent ~ 3 ,:: , , , ' ~4~33~i workable douyh from sald mealy textured baked po-tato material using a minimum amount of work on sa;d baked potato material to avoid a ]ar~e amount oE breakup of indivldual potato cells and a corresponding increase in free starch. ~rhis dough can subsequently be formed lnto French fry potato pieces.
Des r _tion of he Preferred Emb _iments As has been stated, the production of French fries from a pota-to dough is known in the ar-t. Ilowever, the process of the present invention offers a significant improve- ;
ment in the texture and flavor of these formed French fries.
In accordance with the present invention raw, un- ;
peeled whit~ potatoes are obtained for baking. Any variety ~;
of potatoes is acceptable, for instance Garnet Chile, Early Rose, Russet Rural, Peach Blow, Early Ohio, Triumph, Kennebec, Merrimack, Delus, Saco, Katahdin, Bounty, Cherokee, Chippewa, Early Gem, Haig, Irish Cobbler, La Rouge, Norgold Russet, ~
- Norland, Onaway, Pungo, Red LaSoda, Red McClure, Red Pontiac, ~ ;
Russet Burbank, Russet Sebago, S~bago, Superior, Viking, or White Rose are all acceptable varieties. However, it is preferred to use Russet Burbank or Katahdin potatoes in the practice o this lnvention to obtain the best combinati~n of internal texture and ~lavor in the final French fry potato product.
The potatoes are then washed to remove dirt and surface irregularities. This scrubbing operation is not ;
essential; however, it is desirable since it removes soil and other foreign materials and prevents them from becoming in-ter-mixed with the potato ma-terial at later steps in the process.
The whole po-tatoes are then cooked by baking until they are completely cooked. For the purposes of this inven-tion, "baking" is hereby defined as dry or low humidity cooking .' ~ 9~

without the use of added moislure or the use of any ex-ternal mean~ which wou~d cause .retentlon of the natural internal moisture of the pota-toes, as would a boiling or steaming operation. Also, for purposes of this invention, "comple-te" cooking is hereby defined as -that stage in cooking .

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33~i when the internal tenlperature of the ccn~er of thc potato has reached a temperature of at least about 190F. ThiS temperature may be measured by use of a "meat thermometer" inserted into the potato or by any other c~nvenient means, many of which are well known in the art.
Although the above definition of "complete cooking" gives a method of definitely ascertaining when the potato is completely cooked, there are many other ways well known in the art to measure the "completeness" of cooking other than by a direct measurement of the internal temperature. For example, a com-pletely baked potato is characterized by a soft, uniform, mealy internal texture as compared to the firm~ hard internal texture - of a raw potato. If the potato is pierced with a sharp instru-ment~ such as a fork, the degree of change in the firmness of the body of the potato may be measured.
~ nother convenient means of measurement of complete bak-ing is based on the ~a~t-t~at potatoes have a uniform rate of bak-ing. Thus, baking potatoes at a given temperature for a lenyth of time which has previously been determined to produce fully baked potatoes will give yood results. These baking times and temperatures are well known in the art and are readily available to any novice by reference to a basic cookbook. For example, at page 414 of BettY Crocker's New Picture Cookbook, the stated baking parameters are either at 375F for 1 hour or at 350F for 1-1/2 hours. of course, the above-stated times and temperatures are merely suggestive of the inter-relationship between time of baking and the temperature needed to insure complete baking. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the suitable range of baking times variss widely depending upon the baking temperature; or, simp]y .
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stated, the higher the baking temperatur~, the shorter the time required for complete baking. This method of measuring the com-pleteness of baking is preferred for ase in connection with the present invention due to the ease and simplicity in measurement and control of a number of potatoes baked at a time.
The potatoes may be baked by any convenient means. Possible methods of baking include using forced air convective ovens, free air convective ovens, microwave ovens, infrared ovens, or by use of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,455,232. The preferred method of baking is by use of a *orced air convective oven w~ich allows all surfaces of the potato to be treated at one temperature which promotes ~niformity in baking.

In the practice of the present invention, it is preferred that the potatoes be b~ked with their skin intact. An acceptable baked potato will be produced if the potatoes are first peeled;
however, a better and more preferred baked potato is obtained by leaving the skin intact during baking. By leaving the skin intact, the rate of moisture loss from the potato is slowed since the skin serves as a natural barrier to moisture loss from the potato. However, during the baking operation, sufficient moisture escapes to give the potato, and ultimately, the final French fried potato product, the desirable mealy internal texture~
Also, there are many flavor chemicals in and immediately beneath the potato skin. If the skin is retained during baking, these flavors are imparted to the potato to give the potato, and ultimately the ~rench fried potato product, a more desirable, full-bodied potato flavorO Conversely, if the skin is removed, not only are these flavor chemicals lost, but other flavors Erom the internal body , , , , ~, 3~;
can be lost, being carried off with the escaping internal moisture.
In addition, if the natural skin is removed prior to baking, a hard crust, or "secondary skin" forms on the potato d~ring baking.
This must subsequently be removed before the xemainder of the potato is suitable for final dough formation causing a significant yield loss.
The process of the present invention can also be employed with excellent results with the use of potatoes which are subjected to a multiple-stage cooking, i.e~, a pre-cooking step and then baked until fully cooked. This pre-cooking step may be either a boiling or steaming operation with the only limitation being that any pre-cook operation should not cause a rupture of a significant amount of the potato cells which would destroy the dry, mealy con-sistency of the potato after baking.

After the potatoes are comp]etely baked, they are peeled, or the hard external crust is removed. This is accomplished by any convenient means known in the art. However, it should be noted that the standard methods of abrasion or lye peeling commonly used on raw potatoes are unacceptable for the practice of the present invention. This is due to the fact that both of the above peeling methods are ~ependent on a hard, firm potato body with a comparatively soft skin. This situation is reversed with a baked potato, which is characterized by a soft internal consistency with a relatively hard external skin. Baked potatoes are conven-iently peeled by cuttiny the potatoes in half and scraping outthe internal portion with any convenient instrument, for instance, a fork or a spoon. Baked potatoes can also be peeled by cutting them in half and placing the halves on a screen grating and apply-3~i ing pressure on the skins from the top, thus causing the internalportion to f~ll through the grating to be collected beiow. If this latter method is used, it is preferred that in the practice of the present invention a grating with a screen opening of no S smaller than 35 mesh be used. If a smaller grate opening is used, a significantly increased amount of cell disruption occurs and tends to reduce the desirable mealy internal texture of the final French fried potato product.

After the potatoes are peeled, the potato material may be comminuted to remove any large lumps appearing therein. Of course this step may be omitted if the potatoes are peeled by use of a screen grating which effectively peels and comminutes the potatoes in one step. The means used for comminuting may be any convenient means which effectively reduces the particle size so that a coherent workable dough may be formed from the baked potato material. However, it is preferred that the means used for com-- minuting impart a minimum amount o work to the baked potatoes.
This is to keep the degree of individual potato cell rupture to a minimum.
The potato material is then formed into French fry potato shapes. This can be accomplished either with or without the addi-tion of other non-potato ingredients. If the baked potatoes have been comminuted using a screen grate opening of not greater than about 16 mesh, French fry potato-shaped pieces can be formed, and the final French fry product will have a desirable mealy texture, without the addition of any non-potato ingredients. Of course, '~

, 833~i the potato materlal must be comminuted to a degree sufficient to remove large lumps of potato which would otherwise interfere with the formation o~ the proper French fry po~ato shape, pre~erably through a grating with an opening of at least 2 mesh. The addition of optional non-potato ingredients is, of course, not excluded when a grate opening of not more than 16 mesh is used, but is not necessary for the formation of a coherent, workable dough. These optional ingredients may be desirable to give the final product certain desired characteristics; the only limitation placed on the use of lU any non-potato ingredients in the dough is that the added ~-~
ingredients should not destroy the desirably mealy internal consistency and the superior flavor that is obtained by ~aking the potatoes.
However, if the baked potato is comminuted through a grating with an opening greater than about 16 mesh, ad- ,:
ditional non-potato ingredients should be added to retain the mealy texture similar to that of French fried potatoes produced directly from raw potatoes. The necessity of adding additional lngredients is theorized to be due to the increased amount of potato cell breakage when a smaller mesh grating is used. This results in an increase in the amount of free starch in the potato material tendlng to give the ~-final French fried potato product a gummy internal consistency.
To overcome this gumminess, various additional ingredients may be added. For example, a wide range o~ emulsiflers known to those skilled in the art are suitable for addition to the riced potato material. Many of these emulsifiers are available commercially, such as Tween 60 KP ~ composed of polysorbate; Span ~ composed of sorbitan monostearate;
or Myverol,~ composed of glycerol monostearate. Other -, ,, , : : -' .

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suitable con~erclal products include Monomyristinl~ and Duex.Of course, this listing is not intended to be exhaustive, as a great variety of emulsifiers are suitable as starch control agents for use with the baked potato material. In the practice of the present invention, a commercial emulsifier, Duex,~ has been found to give excellent results when added to a dough made from finely riced potato material~ Duex~
is purported to be composed of 35~ monoglycerides with -the balance being a mixture of di~ and tri- glycerides and glycerine.
Animal or vegetable fats may be added to give the final French fry a crisper external surface, a darker color upon subsequent frying, and a different mouth feel when the French ~ries are eaten. Alkylcellulose ethers, such as those produced under the name of Methocel MC,~ or alkyl hydroxyalkylcellulose ethers, such as those produced under the name of Methocel HG,~ ranging in viscosities from 100 to 15,000 CPS, may be added to vary the final product internal texture or to decrease fat absorption when the French fried potato pieces are deep-fat frled. Also, commercially available preservatives, such as sodium acid pyrophosphate, ~HA, BHT, sodium EDTA, or sodium bisulfate may be added to reduce enzymatic oxidation of the final product before it is fat-fried; and, flavoring agents, such as monosodium glutamate, salt, butter, onion, or garlic may ~e added to enhance the natural potato flavor or modify the flavor to any desired taste.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the above listing of potential non-potato ingredients is in no way exhaustive, but is merely suggestive of the wide range of food additives which are suitable for use in the practice of the present invention.

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After any desired ingrcdients are added to the baked potato material, a workable dough is formed by an admixture of the ~otato material with these added non-potato ingredients.
It i5 preferred that the mixing operation be performed with a min-S imum amount of work to the dough to avoid a large amount of break-up of individual potato cells and a corresponding increase in the free starch level.
When the dough is formed, either from the admixture of the baked potato material and other non-potato ingredients, or from the baked potato material alone, if it has not been com-minuted through a grating of less than about 16 mesh, the French fry potato shaped pieces are formed. This may be accomplished by any of several methods, such as extrusion, molding, casting, sheeting, or by an~ other means to achieve a three-dimensional shape known to the art. If an extrusion process is employed, a ram-type extruder is best employed so that a mini-mum amount of mechanical shear and stress is imparted to the baked potato dough. Another alternative method contempled in the practice of the present invention is to form the potato dough into a sheet and cut the French fry potato shaped strips therefrom.
~he potato dough sheet may be formed from the dough in any conven ient manner, with the thickness of the sheet determined by the desired thickness of the French fry potato pieces. After the dough sheet is formed, the inclividual French fry potato pieces are formed by cutting the dough into strips by any convenient means. Again, the desired size of the final French fried potato product determines the width of the cut strips.

Il 8331Ei French fried potatoes made from raw potatoes have a slightly crisp outer surface surrounding the mealy internal por-tion. In order to at least d~lplicate this crisp outer surface with formed French fries, it is necessary to condition the suxface of the cut dough strips to promote the formation of a crisp outer surface, or "crust", which aids in achieving product coherency while maintaining the desirable mealy internal consistency. This surface conditioning may be performed by any method which accom-plishes the above results. For insta~ce, the baked potato dough strips may be directly par-fried, that is, deep-fat fried to form a crust; for example, par-frying at between about 300-400F for about 10 seconds to about 3 minutes forms desirable French fry ~~ potato pieces with a crisp external crust and with a soft, mealy internal consistency. The preferred method of conditioning to promote skin formation, however, is the use of an air heat treat-ment. Any convenient means may be used to effect the skin forma-tion, such as a forced air convective oven, a free air convec~ive oven, a microwave oven, or an infrared oven. This surface condi tioning can be carried out at between about 250-500F to achieve the desired skin formation. Of course, the length of time to which the French fry potato pieces is subjected to the air heat treat ment varies with the temperat~re employed. In the practice of the present invention, heating the French fry potato pieces in a forced air convective oven at 350F. for about 10 minutes or at 450F
for about 3 minutes is preferred in that it gives a very desir-able French fry potato piece with a crisp external crust sur-rounding a soft, mealy white interior. In the crust formation step, a very good French fry potato piece also results by first coating the baked potato dough strip with either a starch solution, ~ ,,a-:; ' ~4~1~36 ~ ;:
such as an amylose solution or an amylopectin solution, or with a Pilm ~orming agen~, such as a Methocel~ or Edi~le ~
and then processing the baked potato dough strip with either an air heat or oil heat treatment step.
The French fry potato pieces can then be immediately consumed or packaged and stored in an appropriate manner.
If the French fry potatoes are to be immediately consumed, the pieces may be finish deep-fat fried to achieve the desirable golden brown color characteristic of French fries made from raw potatoes. Alternately, the French fry pieces may be frozen for convenient storage and shipment for later use. When the French fry pieces are desired ~o be consumed, the frozen pieces are deep-fa~ fried or otherwise heated until the desired product characteristics are achievedv In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the riced baked potato material may be dehydrated and sub-sequently rehydrated before the coherent workable dough is formed thereby. This additional step may be advantageously used to assure a ready supply of the baked potato starting material.
After the baked potato has been peeled and riced, the baked potato material may be dehydrated by any convsnient means known in the art. The resultant dehydrated baked potato material has the advantages of a longer storage life and storage under more economic or convenient conditions than does the non-dehydrated baked potato material. This allows greater assurances of maintaining a constant and adequate availability of the baked potato material for subsequent dough formation. It has been found that dehydrat-ing and subsequently rehydrating the baked potato material 33~
aftcr stor~ge yields final Frcnch ~ry potato products which exhibit the same internal soft, mealy consistency and flavor of French fries made from raw potatoes.
The formation of French ~ry potato pieces using dehydrated baked potatoes does not vary significantly from that outlined above in connection with non-dehydrated balced potatoes. Of course, when dehydrated baked potatoes are used as the potato starting material, water sufficient to rehydrate the potato material must be added. This is conveniently added together with any desired non-potato ingredients and admixed to form a workable, coherent dough suitable for the further processing steps outlined above.
While applicant does not wish to be bound by any particular theory in the practice of the present invention, it is theorized that the desirable mealy internal consistency in baked potatoes is due to the fact that the vast majority of potato cells remain intact during baking, while a boiling or steaming method of cook-ing causes considerable breakage of the potato cells with a con-sequent liberation of the potato starch which then imparts the gummy consistency to the potato material.
The following examples are for the purposes of illustrating the p~esent invention, and are not to be interpreted as in any way limiting the same:

Example I
Twenty medium-sized Russet Burbank raw whole potatoes were washed to remove surface dirt and irregularities. The sur-faces were dried by exposure to air. These potatoes were then baked in a 3~0F forced air convective oven for 90 minutes. After removal from the oven, the baked potatoes were partially air 3~
cooled so as to avoid discom~ort during skin contact in later manual handling steps. The baked potatoes were peeled and the internal part riced through a screen with a 12 mes~
opening. ~ workable coherent dough was formed from the riced baked potato material and the dough was then cut into French fry-shaped pieces. These French fry pieces were baked in a forced air convective oven for 3.5 minutes at 475 E. After removal from the oven, the French fry pieces were air-cooled ~or 5 minutes and were then frozen at -40F. and stored in a -10 to 0F. freezer. Subsequently, the frozen French 1~ fry pieces were placed in a 350 F. commercial frying oil for 2 minutes. This produced French fried potatoes with an excellent flavor and a soft, mealy internal consistency similar to French fries made directly from raw potatoes.
Example II ~`
Baked, riced, potato material was prepared in the same manner as stated in Example I. Thereafter, 0.5%, based on the potato material weight, of melted Due ~ (the brand name for a commercial emulsifier containing 35~ monoglycerides and 65~ of a mixture of di~ and triglycerides and glycerine), and 0.5~ based on the potato material wei~ght of dry Methocel~
1500 CPS ~the brand name for a commercial methyl cellulose), were added to the riced baked potato material. This material was gently admixed for 2 minutes using a Hobar ~ mixer operating at its slowest speed. The workable coherent potato dough thus produced was rolled into a sheet and French fry shapes cut therefrom. These French fry pieces are then frozen and stored in the same manner as described in Example I.
When these frozen segments are deep-fat fried for 2 minutes at 350F., excellent French fries having the soft, mealy internal consistency and flavor surrounded by a crisp outer crust characteristlc of French fries made from raw potatoes are produced.
Example III
Baked potato starting material is formed into French fry shapes in a manner identical to that described in Example I. These French fry pieces are then coated with an amylose solution and subsequently baked in a forced air convective oven for 3.5 minutes at 475 F. These French fry pieces were then frozen in the manner described in Example I. Upon later deep-fat frying, these French fries had the same crisp outer crust surrounding a soft, mealy internal consistency of French fries made from raw potatoes.
Example IV
Baked, riced potato material was prepared in the same manner as described in Example I. This baked potato material was then drum-dried and flaked to a density of 0.25 gr./c.c. Subsequently, the following ingredients were added to one lb. of the baked, dehydrated flakes; 2 lbs. of tap water, temperature of 70-80 F; 4.5 gr. of melted Primex,~
brand name for a commercial fat; 7.5 gr. of melted Duex previously described in Example I; and 50 gr. of a 2~ Methoce 1500 CPS solution. This combination was gently admixed for

2 minutes using a Hobart~ mixer operating at its slowest speed. The dough thus formed was rolled into a sheet and French ~ry-shaped pieces cut therefrom. These French ~ry pieces were then baked at 475F. for 3 minutes in a forced air convective oven. Upon removal from the oven, the French fry pieces were air cooled for 5 minutes and then frozen at -40 F. After sustained storage at -10 to OOF., the frozen French ~ry segments were deep-fat fried in a 350F.
commercial ~rying oil for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes to yield , 333~;
excellent French fries having a crisp outer crust surrounding a soft, mealy interior texture and flavor very similar to French fries made from fresh potatoes.
While this invention has been described and exemplified in terms of its preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, applicants limit the scope of their invention only by the appended claims.

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Claims (15)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A process for the preparation of a mealy textured workable coherent potato dough adapted to the formation of French fry potato pieces which comprises:
(a) baking whole unpeeled potatoes until they are completely cooked;
(b) peeling said baked potatoes;
(c) comminuting said peeled baked potatoes using a minimum amount of work to obtain and maintain a mealy textured comminuted baked potato material; and (d) forming a mealy textured coherent workable dough from said mealy textured baked potato material using a minimum amount of work on said baked potato material to avoid a large amount of breakup of individual potato cells and a corresponding increase in free starch.

2. The process of Claim 1 wherein said mealy textured baked potato material is dehydrated and rehydrated sub-sequent to comminuting but prior to the formation of said dough.

3. A process for the preparation of French fry potato pieces which upon frying maintain a mealy internal texture which process comprises:
(a) baking whole unpeeled potatoes until they are completely cooked;
(b) peeling said baked potatoes;
(c) comminuting said peeled baked potatoes using a minimum amount of work to obtain and maintain a mealy textured comminuted baked potato material; and (d) forming a mealy textured coherent workable dough in the form of French fry pieces from said baked potato material using a minimum amount of work to avoid a large amount of breakup of individual potato cells and a cor-responding increase in free starch.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein said mealy tex-tured baked potato material is dehydrated and rehydrated subsequent to comminuting but prior to the formation of said dough.

5. The process of claim 3 wherein the external sur-face of the potato pieces is conditioned by heating said potato pieces in a convective oven.

6. The process of claim 3 wherein he external surface of said French fry potato pieces is conditioned by par-frying said potato pieces by deep-fat frying at between about 300-400°F. for about 10 seconds to about 3 minutes.

7. The process of claim 3 wherein the external surface of said French fry potato pieces is conditioned by coating said potato pieces with a starch solution, and thereafter heating them.

8. The process of claim 3 wherein subsequent to conditioning the external surface of the potato pieces, said pieces are frozen.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein subsequent to the formation of the coherent workable dough, said dough is extruded and thereafter cut to form French fry potato pieces.

10. In the process of preparing a workable coherent potato dough suitable for the formation of French fry potato pieces, said process comprising the steps of cooking raw potatoes, processing said cooked potatoes to obtain a starting potato material, and forming a coherent workable dough from said starting potato material, the improvement which comprises:
(a) baking whole, unpeeled potatoes until they are completely cooked;
(b) peeling said baked potatoes;
(c) comminuting said peeled baked potatoes to obtain a mealy textured baked potato material using a minimum amount of work;
(d) forming a mealy textured coherent workable dough from said baked potato material using a minimum amount of work to avoid a large amount of breakup of in-dividual potato cells and a corresponding increase in free starch.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein said baked unpeeled potatoes are peeled by cutting them in half and pressing the halves on a screen grating and applying pressure on the halves from the top, causing the internal portion to fall through the grating.

12. The process of claim 10 wherein said baked un-peeled potatoes are peeled by cutting them in half and pressing the halves on a screen grating and applying pressure on the halves from the top, causing the internal portion to fall through the grating.

13. A mealy textured workable coherent potato dough adapted to the formation of French fry potato pieces pre-pared by the process of claim 1 or 2 or an obvious chemical equivalent.

14. French fry potato pieces prepared by the process of claim 3 or 4 or an obvious chemical equivalent.

15. A workable coherent potato dough prepared by the process of claim 10 or an obvious chemical equivalent.