Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L19/10—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops
  • A23L19/12—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops of potatoes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L19/10—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops
  • A23L19/12—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops of potatoes
  • A23L19/18—Roasted or fried products, e.g. snacks or chips
  • A23L19/19—Roasted or fried products, e.g. snacks or chips from powdered or mashed potato products
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L19/10—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops
  • A23L19/12—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops of potatoes
  • A23L19/13—Mashed potato products
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L19/10—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops
  • A23L19/12—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof of tuberous or like starch containing root crops of potatoes
  • A23L19/15—Unshaped dry products, e.g. powders, flakes, granules or agglomerates

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a potato mash and to a method for making the same.
• the mash can be used to make food products having enhanced potato flavor and improved texture.
• U.S. Patent No. 4,698,230 issued October 6, 1987 to Willard, discloses a potato flavor enhancing composition comprising a sugar component, an acidic component, a metallic flavor component, and a bitter flavor component.
• the present invention provides a potato mash and a method for making the same.
• the mash can be used to make dehydrated potato products and food products having improved natural potato flavor intensity and improved texture.
• the method for making the potato mash of the present invention comprises:
• starch on a dry mash basis
• starch is added to the wet mash.
• the added starch is a native starch, and most preferably the native starch is wheat starch.
• emulsifier can be added to the wet mash.
• the potato mash When native starch is added to the potato mash, the potato mash has a firmness of from about 3,000 gf to about 18,000 gf, preferably from about 5,000 gf to about 16,000 gf. When native starch is not added to the potato mash, the potato mash has a firmness of from about 10,000 gf to about 20,000 gf
• the mash retains a higher level of potato flavor compounds than conventional potato mashes.
• the wet mash can be used to produce food products having improved potato flavor, such as but not limited to mashed potatoes, potato patties, potato pancakes, French fries, and snacks such as potato sticks and fabricated potato chips.
• the mash can be dried to make dehydrated potato products such as, but not limited to, potato flakes, flanules, granules, agglomerates, sheets, pieces, bits, flour, and particulates.
• dehydrated potato products can then be used to produce food products such as mashed potatoes, potato patties, potato pancakes, French fries, snacks such as potato sticks and fabricated potato chips, breads, gravies, and sauces.
• FIG 1 illustrates how glass transition temperature (Tg) is determined graphically for the finished fabricated chip.
• Tg glass transition temperature
• FIG. 2 illustrates how Glass Transition (Tg) of the Dough (30% + 1 moisture content) is determined graphically.
• Tg Glass Transition
• a Tg range of from about -15°C to about 18°C is typical of doughs of this invention, as measured as described in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• Figure 3 illustrates a typical graph obtained with the Texture Analyzer for Initial Hardness (IH) of a finished snack chip, showing force (gf) vs. time (sec), to determine initial hardness as described in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• Figure 4 illustrates CE-IA electropherograms of soluble amylopectin from potato amylopectin (A) and potato amylose, recrystaUized twice with thymol from potato starch (B). Standard concentrations 2 mg/ml.
• Figure 5 sets forth criteria for determining whole cells.
• Figure 6 sets forth criteria for determining broken cells.
• Figure 7 sets forth additional criteria for counting broken cells.
• Figure 8 sets forth other criteria for cell counting.
• Figure 9 is an image of 100% Norchip potato flakes for demonstration of the whole and broken cell counting procedure.
• reduced cooking refers to the degree of cooking required to only partially gelatinize starch and inactivate enzymes responsible for browning.
• fabricated refers to food products made from doughs that contain flour, meal, or starch derived from tubers, grains, legumes, cereals, or mixtures thereof.
• “native starch” refers to starch that has not be pre-treated or cooked in any way, and includes but is not limited to hybrid starches.
• cohesive dough is a dough capable of being placed on a smooth surface and rolled or extruded to the desired final thickness or extruded through a die orifice without tearing or forming holes.
• mashed potatoes include those potato products made by mixing dehydrated potatoes with water as well as those made by mixing cooked potatoes.
• dehydrated potato products includes, but is not limited to, potato flakes, potato flanules, potato granules, potato agglomerates, any other dehydrated potato material, and mixtures thereof.
• food product includes, but is not limited to, fabricated snack chips, mashed potatoes, French fries, and any other food comprising a dehydrated potato product.
• flanules refers to dehydrated potato products described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/175,138, Dough Compositions Made With Dehydrated Potato Flanules, filed October 19, 1998 by Villagran et al., which patent application is incorporated herein by reference. Flanules are dehydrated potato products with a functionality between flakes and granules (as defined by a WAI of from about 5.5 to about 7 and % free amylose of from about 9 to about 19 for flanules).
• sheetable dough is a dough capable of being placed on a smooth surface and rolled to the desired final thickness without tearing or forming holes.
• Sheetable dough can also include dough that is capable of being formed into a sheet through an extrusion process.
• starch refers to a native or an unmodified carbohydrate polymer having repeating anhydroglucose units derived from materials such as, but not limited to, wheat, corn, tapioca, sago, rice, potato, oat, barley, and amaranth, and to modified starches including but not limited to hydrolyzed starches such as maltodextrins, high amylose corn maize, high amylopectin corn maize, pure amylose, chemically substituted starches, crosslinked starches, and mixtures thereof.
• Starch also includes dried potato products which are added into or back into the mash.
• starch-based flour refers to high polymeric carbohydrates composed of glucopyranose units, in either natural, dehydrated (e.g., flakes, granules, meal) or flour form.
• Starch-based flour can include, but is not limited to, potato flour, potato granules, potato flanules, potato flakes, corn flour, masa corn flour, corn grits, corn meal, rice flour, buckwheat flour, oat flour, bean flour, barley flour, tapioca, and mixtures thereof.
• the starch-based flour can be derived from tubers, legumes, grain, or mixtures thereof.
• modified starch refers to starch that has been physically or chemically altered to improve its functional characteristics.
• suitable modified starches include, but are not limited to, pregelatinized starches, low viscosity starches (e.g., dextrins, acid-modified starches, oxidized starches, enzyme modified starches), stabilized starches (e.g., starch esters, starch ethers), cross-linked starches, starch sugars (e.g. glucose syrup, dextrose, isoglucose) and starches that have received a combination of treatments (e.g., cross-linking and gelatinization) and mixtures thereof.
• pregelatinized starches e.g., dextrins, acid-modified starches, oxidized starches, enzyme modified starches
• stabilized starches e.g., starch esters, starch ethers
• cross-linked starches e.g. glucose syrup, dextrose, isoglucose
• starch sugars
• modified starch e.g., gelatinized starch
• modified starch that is inherent in dehydrated potato products and other starch- containing ingredients is not included; only the level of modified starch added over and above that contained in other dough ingredients is included in the term "modified starch.
• the term "added water” refers to water which has been added to the dry dough ingredients. Water which is inherently present in the dry dough ingredients, such as in the case of the sources of flour and starches, is not included in the added water.
• emulsifier refers to an emulsifier which has been added to the dough ingredients. Emulsifiers which are inherently present in the dough ingredients, such as in the- case of the potato flakes, are not included in the term emulsifier.
• RVU rapid viscosity unit
• Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) for doughs of this invention is defined as the peak of tan delta, which is defined in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) for fabricated chips is the inflection point of the drop of the storage modulus (E 1 ) when plotted as a function of temperature, as defined in the Analytical Methods Section herein.
• Tan ⁇ is the ratio of the energy lost (E") to the energy stored (E 1 ) during the transition from a glassy state to a rubbery state, as described in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• “Initial hardness” is the maximum force required to compress the snack as measured within the first six seconds of compression, as described in the Analytical Methods Section herein.
• Optimum “Doneness” can be expressed as the optimum end point of cooking achieved by the desired initial hardness and Aw of the fabricated chips of the present invention.
• Optimum “Crispiness” is defined as the optimum texture achieved by the desired initial hardness and color of the fabricated chips of the present invention.
• Water activity is the ratio from the vapor pressure of the material divided by the vapor pressure of the air at the same temperature.
• Amylose/ Amylopectin Ratio is the soluble amylose (Am) concentration in milligrams per 100 mg of flakes divided by the soluble amylopection (Ap) concentration in milligrams per 100 mg of flakes, as described in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• fat and oil are used interchangeably herein unless otherwise specified.
• the terms “fat” or “oil” refer to edible fatty substances in a general sense, including natural or synthetic fats and oils consisting essentially of triglycerides, such as, for example soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, coconut oil, canola oil, fish oil, lard and tallow, which may have been partially or completely hydrogenated or modified otherwise, as well as non-toxic fatty materials having properties ⁇ similar to triglycerides, herein referred to as non-digestible fats, which materials may be partially or fully indigestible.
• non-digestible fat refers to those edible fatty materials that are partially or totally indigestible, e.g., polyol fatty acid polyesters, such as OLEAN .
• polyol is meant a polyhydric alcohol containing at least 4, preferably from 4 to 11 hydroxyl groups.
• Polyols include sugars (i.e., monosaccharides, disaccharides, and trisaccharides), sugar alcohols, other sugar derivatives (i.e., alkyl glucosides), polyglycerols such as diglycerol and triglycerol, pentaerythritol, sugar ethers such as sorbitan and polyvinyl alcohols.
• suitable sugars, sugar alcohols and sugar derivatives include xylose, arabinose, ribose, xylitol, erythritol, glucose, methyl glucoside, mannose, galactose, fructose, sorbitol, maltose, lactose, sucrose, raffinose, and maltotriose.
• polyol fatty acid polyester is meant a polyol having at least 4 fatty acid ester groups.
• Polyol fatty acid esters that contain 3 or less fatty acid ester groups are generally digested in, and the products of digestion are absorbed from, the intestinal tract much in the manner of ordinary triglyceride fats or oils, whereas those polyol fatty acid esters containing 4 or more fatty acid ester groups are substantially non-digestible and consequently non-absorbable by the human body. It is not necessary that all of the hydroxyl groups of the polyol be esterified, but it is preferable that disacchari.de molecules contain no more than 3 unesterified hydroxyl groups for the purpose of being non- digestible.
• substantially all, e.g., at least about 85%, of the hydroxyl groups of the polyol are esterified.
• sucrose polyesters typically from about 7 to 8 of the hydroxyl groups of the polyol are esterified.
• the polyol fatty acid esters typically contain fatty acid radicals typically having at least 4 carbon atoms and up to 26 carbon atoms. These fatty acid radicals can be derived from naturally occurring or synthetic fatty acids.
• the fatty acid radicals can be saturated or unsaturated, including positional or geometric isomers, e.g., cis- or trans- isomers, and can be the same for all ester groups, or can be mixtures of different fatty acids.
• Liquid non-digestible oils can also be used in the practice of the present invention.
• Liquid non-digestible oils have a complete melting point below about 37°C include liquid polyol fatty acid polyesters (see Jandacek; U.S. Patent 4,005,195; issued January 25, 1977); liquid esters of tricarballylic acids (see Hamm; U.S. Patent 4,508,746; issued April 2, 1985); liquid diesters of dicarboxylic acids such as derivatives of malonic and succinic acid (see Fulcher; U.S. Patent 4,582,927; issued April 15, 1986); liquid triglycerides of alpha-branched chain carboxylic acids (see Whyte; U.S.
• Patent 5,077,073 liquid esterified ethoxylated alkyl glycosides (see Ennis et al; U.S. Patent 5,059,443, issued October 22, 1991); liquid esterified alkoxylated polysaccharides (see Cooper; U.S. Patent 5,273,772; issued December 28, 1993); liquid linked esterified alkoxylated polyols (see Ferenz; U.S. Patent 5,427,815; issued June 27, 1995 and Ferenz et al; U.S. Patent 5,374,446; issued December 20, 1994); liquid esterfied polyoxyalkylene block copolymers (see Cooper; U.S.
• Patent 5,308,634 issued May 3, 1994
• liquid esterified polyethers containing ring-opened oxolane units see Cooper; U.S. Patent 5,389,392; issued February 14, 1995
• liquid alkoxylated polyglycerol polyesters see Harris; U.S. Patent 5,399,371; issued March 21, 1995
• liquid partially esterified polysaccharides see White; U.S. Patent 4,959,466; issued September 25, 1990
• liquid polydimethyl siloxanes e.g., Fluid Silicones available from Dow Corning
• Solid non-digestible fats or other solid materials can be added to the liquid non-digestible oils to prevent passive oil loss.
• Particularly preferred non-digestible fat compositions include those described in U.S. 5,490,995 issued to Corrigan, 1996, U.S. 5,480,667 issued to Corrigan et al, 1996, U.S. 5,451,416 issued to Johnston et al, 1995 and U.S. 5,422,131 issued to Elsen et al, 1995.
• U.S. 5,419,925 issued to Seiden et al, 1995 describes mixtures of reduced calorie triglycerides and polyol polyesters that can be used herein but provides more digestible fat than is typically preferred.
• the preferred non-digestible fats are fatty materials having properties similar to triglycerides such as sucrose polyesters.
• OLEAN a preferred non-digestible fat, is made by The Procter and Gamble Company. These preferred non-digestible fat are described in Young; et al., U.S. Patent 5,085,884, issued February 4, 1992, and U. S. Pat. 5,422,131, issued June 6, 1995 to Elsen et al.
• any commercially available potatoes such as those used to prepare conventional potato flakes, flanules, or granules, can be used to prepare the dehydrated potato products of the present invention.
• the dehydrated potato products are prepared from potatoes such as, but not limited, to Norchip, Norgold, Russet Burbank, Lady Russeta, Norkota, Sebago, Bentgie, Aurora, Saturna, Kinnebec, Idaho Russet, and Mentor.
• Potatoes having less than about 5% reducing sugars (calculated on a dehydrated potato basis), preferably less than about 3%, and more preferably less than about 2%, are preferred.
• potatoes having low levels of reducing sugars i.e. ⁇ 1.5%) are especially preferred for fried potato snacks because these potatoes effect lower browning rates during frying.
• the potatoes are subjected to a reduced cooking procedure to soften them for mashing.
• the potatoes are cooked for an amount of time sufficient to achieve partial starch gelatinization and partial inactivation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning enzymes, yet maintain the hardness of the potatoes at significantly higher levels as compared to conventional cooking processes.
• the potatoes may be peeled, partially peeled, or unpeeled.
• the potatoes may be whole or may be sliced into pieces of any size before cooking.
• the reduced cooking procedure can be any thermal or other type of cooking process that softens the potatoes for mashing.
• the potatoes may be cooked by submersion in water or steam.
• the potatoes are cooked until the hardness of the center of the potatoes drops from about 1000 grams force (gf) to about 40gf According to the present invention, however, the potatoes are cooked only long enough to achieve a center hardness of from about 65 gf to about 500 gf, preferably from about 80 gf to about 350, more preferably from about 90gf to about 200 gf, and still more preferably from about 130 gf to about 150 gf.
• the actual temperature and length of time the potatoes and/or potato pieces are cooked depends upon the size of the potatoes and/or potato pieces that are being cooked and the cooking method employed (i.e., steam pressure, boiling temperature).
• the cooking time is determined by measuring the hardness of the potatoes at the center with a Texture Analyzer (TA Instruments, Corp., New Castle, DE), as described in the Analytical Methods Section herein.
• potato slices having an average thickness of about 3/8 inch to about 1/2 inch are typically cooked with steam having a temperature of from about 200°F (93°C) to about 250°F (121°C) from about 12 to about 30 minutes, more particularly from about 14 to about 18 minutes, to achieve the desired hardness.
• Shoestring cut potatoes pieces are typically cooked with steam having a temperature of from about 200°F (93 °C) to about 250°F (121°C) for about 7 to about 18 minutes, more particularly from about 9 to about 12 minutes, to achieve the desired hardness.
• the cooked potatoes are comminuted to produce a wet mash.
• Comminution of the cooked potatoes may be accomplished by any suitable means, such as but not limited to ricing, mashing, shredding, or a combination thereof.
• starch can be added to the wet mash in order to impart improved characteristics to the mash itself and/or to the products made therefrom.
• starch Preferably from about 0.5% to about 50%, more preferably from about 2% to about 30%, and still more preferably from about 4% to about 15% starch (on a dry mash basis) is mixed with the wet mash and uniformly distributed throughout.
• starch refers to a native or an unmodified carbohydrate polymer having repeating anhydroglucose units derived from materials such as, but not limited to, wheat, corn, tapioca, sago, rice, potato, oat, barley, and amaranth, and to modified starches including but not limited to hydrolyzed starches such as maltodextrins, high amylose corn maize, high amylopectin corn maize, pure amylose, chemically substituted starches, crosslinked starches, and mixtures thereof.
• Starch also includes dried potato products which are added into or back into the mash.
• the benefits of starch addition to the mash include: (1) improved water distribution in the mash, (2) decreased adhesiveness of the mash to the drum, (3) increased productivity rate by increasing the surface porosity and solids content of the mash, thereby reducing the residence time for drying to achieve the desired moisture content of the dehydrated potato products, (4) increased cohesiveness of the freshly mashed potatoes, and (5) increased crispiness of fabricated chips, due to a decreased level of soluble Amylopectin (Ap).
• the preferred starch is native (uncooked) starch having: (1) a smaller starch granule size than potato starch, (2) a water absorption index (WAI) lower than that of potato starch, such that the starch swells to a lesser degree than the potato starch during cooking, and/or (3) a percent of free amylose greater than that of potato starch at the same level of cook.
• Table 1 below compares potato starch to wheat, rice, and corn starch.
• Especially preferred for use herein is native (uncooked, unmodified) wheat starch.
• native wheat starch indirectly prevents rupture of the potato cells by providing additional free amylose to the mash over and above that provided by the potato starch cooked under similar conditions.
• the wheat starch provides free amylose that would otherwise have to be provided by prolonged cooking of the potato starch.
• the increased free amylose content of the resulting dehydrated potato products produces cohesive doughs particularly suitable for use in the manufacture of fabricated potato snacks.
• the disintegration is preceded by the collapse or cavitation of the swollen granule, causing nodes or weak points in the granular walls.
• the difference between wheat starch and potato starch is the amylose distribution in the starch granule.
• the wheat starch has the amylose located in the outer part of the granule, which enables the amylose to leach out after swelling, while the potato starch has the amylose located relatively closer to the inner portion of the granule.
• starch can be added to potato mashes other than the mash of the present invention to produce mashes having properties superior to those of conventional potato mashes.
• the mash of the present invention is preferred.
• emulsifier can optionally be added to the mash as a processing aid. Typically, from about 0.01% to about 3%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 0.5% emulsifier is added to the wet mash.
• the preferred emulsifier is a distilled monoglyceride and diglyceride of partially-hydrogenated soybean oil.
• Other emulsifiers suitable as processing aids such as but not limited to lactylate esters, sorbitan esters, polyglycerol esters, and lecithins, can also be used.
• Emulsifiers can provide various benefits. For example, emulsifiers can coat free starch, thus reducing stickiness and adhesiveness of the mash on the drier. Emulsifiers can also provide lubrication and thus reduce potato cell damage caused by excessive shear during processing.
• sulfite can be added as dry sodium sulfite and/or sodium bisulfite to the wet mash to produce dehydrated products comprising from about 150 to about 200 parts per million (ppm) of sulfite. The sulfite protects the resulting dehydrated potato products from darkening during processing and subsequent storage.
• Antioxidants such as propyl gallate, BHA (2 and 3-tert-butyl-4- hydroxy-anisole), BHT (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene), and natural antioxidants such as rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and sage, can be added in an amount to produce dehydrated potato products comprising up to about 10 ppm antioxidants to prevent oxidative deterioration.
• Citric acid can be added in a quantity sufficient to give about 200 ppm in the dehydrated potato product to prevent discoloration caused by the presence of iron ions. Ascorbic acid can also be added to compensate for the Vitamin C losses during processing.
• the firmness of the potato mash is an indirect measurement of the viscosity of the cooked and mashed potatoes.
• the firmness of the potato mash is affected not only by the potato variety, age, and storage conditions, but also by processing conditions and the materials added into the mash.
• potatoes subjected to reduced cooking in accordance with the present invention are relatively firm.
• the addition of starch to the relatively firm potatoes decreases the firmness of the potato mash.
• the addition of 10% native wheat starch to the potato mash can provide a reduction in firmness of the potato mash of about 50%. Accordingly, reduced potato mash firmness can be obtained without overcooking or unevenly cooking the potatoes.
• the reduced cooking process of the present invention provides a potato mash having a firmness of from about 10,000 gf to about 20,000 gf (measured using a 35 mm compression disk).
• This mash can be used to produce products having improved characteristics. For instance, fabricated chips made from flakes made from this mash have an improved crispiness and a potato flavor more closely resembling that of chips made from sliced potatoes.
• the combination of the reduced cooking of the present invention and the addition of starch, preferably native wheat starch, to the resultant mash provides a potato mash preferably having a firmness of from about 3,000 gf to about 18,000 gf, more preferably from about 5,000 gf to about 16,000 gf. This produces a final fabricated chip having an improved texture, as defined by the desired initial hardness and the desired crispiness value.
• the mash After the mash is formed, it can be further dried and processed as described below to form dehydrated potato products.
• the wet mash can be used to produce products such as, but not limited to, mashed potatoes, potato patties, potato pancakes, and potato snacks such as extruded French fries, potato sticks, and snack chips.
• the wet potato mash can be used to produce extruded French fried potato products such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 3,085,020, issued April 9, 1963 to Backinger et al, which is herein incorporated by reference.
• Use of a mash rather than raw potatoes to produce such snacks provides fried potato products with essentially no color or texture variations.
• the mash can be formed into a product of any desired shape and size, the final product is not dependent upon the shape and size of the raw potatoes. Such control and uniformity are not possible when raw potatoes are employed.
• dehydrated potato products After forming the mash, the mash is dried to form dehydrated potato products.
• dehydrated potato products can be in any form, such as but not limited to flakes, flanules, granules, agglomerates, sheets, pieces, bits, flour, or particulates.
• any suitable procedure, such as those known in the art, for producing such dehydrated potato products from a mash may be employed, and any suitable equipment may be used.
• the mash can be dried to produce flakes according to known processes such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 6,066,353, issued May 23, 2000 to Villagran, et al., as well as those processes described in U.S. Patent Nos. 2,759,832 issued August 19, 1956 to Cording et al., and 2,780,552 issued February 5, 1957 to Willard et al, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
• the mash can be dried to make flanules according to the process set forth in U.S. Application Serial No.
• Granules can be produced by processing the mash according to the process described in U.S. Patent No. 3,917,866, issued November 4, 1975 to Purves et al., or by other known processes such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 2,490,431 issued December 6, 1949 to Greene et al., all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
• Suitable dryers can be selected from those well known drying devices including but not limited to fluidized bed dryers, scraped wall heat exchangers, drum dryers, freeze-dryers, air lift dryers, and the like.
• Preferred drying methods include those that reduce the amount of total thermal input. For example, freeze drying, drum drying, resonant or pulse flow drying, infrared drying, or a combination thereof is preferred when producing flakes; and air lift drying, fluidized bed drying, or a combination thereof is preferred when producing granules.
• the dehydrated potato products herein will be primarily described in terms of flakes, it should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that the potato mash of the present invention can be dehydrated to produce any desired dehydrated potato product that can be derived from a mash.
• Drum drying such as with drum dryers commonly used in the potato product industry, is the preferred method for drying the potato mash to form flakes.
• the preferred process utilizes a single drum drier wherein the wet potato mash is spread onto the drum in a thin sheet having a thickness of from about 0.005" to about 0.1 ", preferably from about 0.005" to about 0.05", more preferably about 0.01 ".
• the mash is fed to the top surface of the drum by a conveying means. Small diameter unheated rolls progressively apply fresh potato mash to portions already on the drum, thus building up a sheet, or layer, having a predetermined thickness. The peripheral speed of the small rolls is the same as that of the drum.
• a doctor knife removes the dried sheet by peeling the dried sheet away from the drum.
• the drum dryer itself is heated to temperatures in a range of from about 250°F (121°C) to about 375°F (191°C), preferably from about 310°F (154°C) to about 350°F (177°C), and more preferably from about 320°F (160°C) to about 333°F (167°C) by pressurized steam contained within the drum at pressures of from about 70 psig to about 140 psig.
• the rotational speed of the dryer drum and the internal temperature thereof are suitably controlled so as to give a final product having a moisture content of from about 5% to about 14%, preferably from about 5% to about 12%.
• a rotational speed of from about 9 sec/rev to about 25 sec/rev., preferably about 11 sec/rev to about 20 sec/rev is sufficient.
• the resulting dried sheet of flakes can then be broken into smaller sections if desired. These smaller sections can be of any desired size. Any method of breaking the sheet that minimizes starch and potato cell damage, such as fracturing, grinding, breaking, cutting, or pulverizing, can be used.
• the sheet can be comminuted with an Urschel Comitrol, manufactured by Urschel Laboratories, Inc. of Valparaiso, Indiana, to break up the sheet.
• the sheet of flakes can be left intact. As used herein, both the intact sheet of flakes and smaller sheet sections are included in the term "potato flakes.”
• the potato cells are defined as the individual pockets, surrounded by cellulosic material, which contain not only amylopectin and amylose but also water soluble flavor precursors, nutrients, minerals, lipids, and proteins.
• the percentage of broken cells is an indication of the degree of cook and starch damage that has occurred during processing. A large number of broken cells indicate improper processing conditions such as overcooking, overheating during drying, or use of too much shear to reduce the particle size of the dried potato products, among other things. Because the potato flakes of the present invention are produced using a reduced cooking products, the potato flakes have fewer broken cells than conventionally produced flakes.
• the potato flakes of the present invention have less than about 70% broken cells, preferably less than about 40% broken cells, more preferably less than about 30% broken cells, even more preferably less than about 25% broken cells, and still more preferably less than about 20% broken cells.
• the level of broken cells is surprisingly reduced when starch is incorporated into the mash, and results in potato flakes having less than about 50% broken cells, more preferably less than about 40% broken cells, and still more preferably less than about 20% broken cells.
• the potato flakes comprise from about 5% to about 14%), preferably from about 5% to about 12%, more preferably about 6% to about 9%, and still more preferably from about 7% to about 8% moisture.
• the potato flakes of the present invention have a ratio of amylose to amylopectin of from about 0.4 to about 4, preferably from about 1.2 to about 3, and more preferably from about 1.6 to about 2.5.
• the cooking and drying steps of potato processing generally result in significant thermal and mechanical stress to which the potatoes are subjected.
• One way to indirectly determine the level of quality deterioration is by measuring changes in composition.
• Potato tubers contain many volatile compounds.
• the potato flakes produced by the practice of the present invention have substantially fewer heat generated volatile compounds than conventional flakes.
• Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry can be used to compare conventionally produced flakes and flakes produced by the methods of the present invention.
• the flakes of the present invention exhibit lower levels of browning flavor compounds (e.g., 2-methyl butanal, 3 -methyl butanal, methional, phenylacetaldehyde) compounds and lipid oxidation compounds (ethyl furan, pentyl furan, and hexanal).
• browning flavor compounds e.g., 2-methyl butanal, 3 -methyl butanal, methional, phenylacetaldehyde
• lipid oxidation compounds ethyl furan, pentyl furan, and hexanal
• the potato flakes of this invention have a reduction in these processed flavor compounds as compared to those in conventional flakes.
• Mashed potatoes prepared with the flakes of the present invention showed cleaner and more potato flavor than conventional flakes.
• PFF Potato Flake Flavor
• 2-Heptanone is an internal standard used in the analytical procedure, as described in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• 2-Methylbutanal and 2-Ethylfuran are key volatile flavor compounds that mark or represent specific flavor chemistries. They are measured in terms of peak area counts, as described in the Analytical Methods section herein.
• Traditional potato flakes typically have PFF values of from about 3.6 to about 6.8.
• the potato flakes of the present invention have a PFF value of from about 7 to about 10.8, preferably from about 8 to about 10.8, and more preferably from about 9 to about 10.8.
• the dehydrated potato products can be rehydrated and used to produce food products such as mashed potatoes, potato patties, potato pancakes, and other potato snacks such as extruded French fries and potato sticks.
• dehydrated potato products can be used to produce extruded French fried potato products such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 3,085,020, issued April 9, 1963 to Backinger et al, and U.S. Patent No. 3,987,210, issued October 18, 1976 to Cremer, both of which are herein incorporated by reference.
• the dehydrated potato products can also be used in breads, gravies, sauces, or any other suitable food product.
• An especially preferred use of the dehydrated potato products is in the production of fabricated chips made from a dough.
• fabricated chips include those described in U.S. Patent No. 3,998,975 issued December 21, 1976 to Liepa, U.S. Patent No. 5,464,642 issued November 7, 1995 to Villagran et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,464,643 issued November 7, 1995 to Lodge, and PCT Application No. PCT/US95/07610 published January 25, 1996 as WO 96/01572 by Dawes et al., all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
• the preferred doughs of the present invention comprise from about 35% to about 85%), preferably from about 50% to about 70%, of a starch-based flour.
• the starch-based flour comprises from about 25 to 100% potato flakes as described above, with the balance (from about 0% to about 75%) being other starch-based flour such as, but not limited to, potato flour, potato flanules, potato granules, corn flour, masa corn flour, corn grits, corn meal, rice flour, buckwheat flour, rice flour, oat flour, bean flour, amaranth flour, barley flour, or mixtures thereof.
• the doughs of the present invention comprise from about 15% to about 50% added water, preferably from about 22%) to about 40%, and more preferably from about 24% to about 35%, added water.
• the amount of added water includes any water used to dissolve or disperse ingredients and includes water present in corn syrups, etc. For example, if ingredients such as maltodextrin or corn syrup solids are added as a solution or syrup, the water in the syrup or solution is included as "added water".
• the dough can optionally include a starch such as a native, modified, or resistant starch. From about 0.1% to about 70%, more preferably from about 5% to about 60%, and most preferably from about 15% to about 40% starch may typically be added.
• the starch can be derived from tubers, legumes, or grains and can include, but is not limited to, cornstarch, wheat starch, rice starch, waxy corn starch, oat starch, cassava starch, waxy barley, waxy rice starch, glutinous rice starch, rice starch, sweet rice starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, amaranth starch, sago starch, or mixtures thereof.
• starch that is inherent in the other ingredients such as potato flakes, potato flanules, potato granules, and flours, is not included. (The level of starch is that wliich is added over and above that level inherently present in the other dough ingredients.)
• Modified starch selected from the group consisting of pregelatinized starches, cross-linked starches, acid modified starches, and mixtures thereof may optionally be included to improve the texture (i.e. increase the crispness) of the fabricated chip, although the addition of modified starch is not required, and is not as preferred for use in making the fabricated chip of the present invention. From about 0.1 % to about 20%, more preferably from about 1% to about 10%, and even more preferably from about 3% to about 7%, modified starch may typically be added.
• modified starches which are preferred are available from National Starch and Chemical Corporation, Bridgewater, NJ and are sold under the trade names of N-LiteTM (pregelatinized-crosslinked starch, Ultrasperse -ATM (pregelatinized, waxy corn), and N-CreamerTM 46 (substituted waxy maize). Also preferred is Corn PCPF400TM (partially pre-cooked corn meal), available from Bungee Lauhoff Corn Milling, St. Louis, Missouri.
• modified starch e.g., gelatinized starch
• the level of modified starch is that which is added over and above that level inherently present in the other dough ingredients.
• Hydrolyzed starch is a preferred modified starch that can be optionally included in the doughs of the present invention.
• hydrolyzed starch is typically added to the dough at a level of from about 1% to about 15%, preferably from about 3% to about 12%. This amount of hydrolyzed starch is in addition to the quantity of any other added starch.
• Suitable hydrolyzed starches for inclusion in the dough include maltodextrins and corn syrup solids.
• the hydrolyzed starches for inclusion in the dough have Dextrose Equivalent (D.E.) values of from about 5 to about 30, preferably from about 10 to about 20.
• MaltrinTM M050, M100, M150, M180, M200, and M250 are preferred maltodextrins.
• the D.E. value is a measure of the reducing equivalence of the hydrolyzed starch referenced to dextrose and is expressed as a percentage (on a dry basis). The higher the D.E. value, the higher the dextrose equivalence of the hydrolyzed starch.
• Gums may also be optionally used in the dough of the present invention.
• Gums for use in the present invention include those ingredients generally referred to as gums (e.g., cellulose derivatives, pectic substances) as well as plant gums.
• suitable gums include, but are not limited to, guar gum, xanthan gum, gellan gum, carrageenan gum, gum arabic, gum tragacanth, and pectic acids having various degrees of depolymerization and methylation.
• Particularly preferred gums are cellulose derivatives selected from methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, and mixtures thereof.
• Gums can be included in the dough at a level of up to about 10%), preferably at a level of from about 0.2%> to about 8%, and more preferably from about 2% to about 4%.
• An ingredient that can optionally be added to the dough to aid in its processability is an emulsifier.
• emulsifiers are added to the dough in an amount of from about 0.01%) to about 6%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 5%, and more preferably from about 2% to about 4%.
• An emulsifier is preferably added to the dough composition prior to sheeting the dough.
• the emulsifier can be dissolved in a fat or in a polyol fatty acid polyester such as OleanTM, available from The Procter and Gamble Company.
• Suitable emulsifiers include lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, diacetyl tartaric acid esters and propylene glycol mono- and diesters and polyglycerol.
• Polyglycerol emulsifiers such as monoesters of polyglycerols, preferably hexapolyglycerols, can be used.
• Particularly preferred monoglycerides are sold under the trade names of Dimodan® available from Danisco, New Century, Kansas and DMG 70, available from Archer Daniels Midland Company, Decatur, Illinois.
• the amount of reducing sugar in the fabricated chips can be increased by adding suitable amounts of a reducing sugar such as maltose, lactose, dextrose, or mixtures thereof to the dough. Preferably, however, no reducing sugar is added.
• a low reducing sugar content is preferred to maintain the desired light color of the fried fabricated chips, since an excessive reducing sugar content adversely increases the rate of browning of the fabricated chip.
• the fabricated chips reach the desired color too quickly because of too high a reducing sugar content, the characteristic potato flavor of the fabricated chips will not be sufficiently developed because the frying time to reach the desired color is less than would be the case if the reducing sugar content were lower. Furthermore, when reducing sugar is omitted from the formulation, the resulting fabricated chips exhibit increased aging stability and an increased resistance to breakage. In addition, the lower the level of reducing sugars the lower the initial hardness (IH) of the fabricated chip, thus reducing brittleness.
• IH initial hardness
• the doughs of the present invention can be prepared by any suitable method for forming sheetable doughs.
• a loose, dry dough is prepared by thoroughly mixing together the ingredients using conventional mixers.
• a pre-blend of the wet ingredients and a pre-blend of the dry ingredients are prepared; the wet pre-blend and the dry pre-blend are then mixed together to form the dough.
• Hobart® mixers are preferred for batch operations and Turbulizer® mixers are preferred for continuous mixing operations.
• extruders can be used to mix the dough and to form sheets or shaped pieces.
• the sheet strength of the dough correlates to the cohesiveness of the dough and to the ability of the dough to resist developing holes and/or tearing during subsequent processing steps. The higher the sheet strength, the more cohesive and elastic the dough.
• the sheet strength of the dough of the present invention increases as the amount of energy input during the dough-making step increases. Factors which can affect energy input include, but are not limited to, mixing conditions, dough sheet formation, and the amount of measurable free amylose.
• Potato flakes of the present invention produced with reduced cooking show lower sheet strength due to the lower level of free amylose, the lower level of soluble amylopection, and the higher level of intact cellular structure (as represented by less cell breakage) in comparison to traditional flakes.
• starch especially native wheat starch
• the combination of reduced cooking and wheat starch addition provides a dough that is sheetable yet does not exhibit excessive cell breakage.
• Doughs made from flakes of the present invention have a sheet strength of from about 80 gf to about 600 gf, preferably from about 110 gf to about 450 gf, and more preferably from about 140 gf to about 250 gf.
• the Tg of the dough was determined by reading the temperature at which the maximum peak for tan delta was observed ( Figure 4).
• Doughs of this invention especially those doughs made from flakes that were produced from a mash where starch, especially native wheat starch, was added, show a Tg of from about -15°C to about 15°C, preferably from about -5°C to about 10°C, and most preferably from about 0°C to about 8°C (at a dough moisture content of 30%).
• the dough is then formed into a relatively flat, thin sheet.
• Any method suitable for forming such sheets from starch-based doughs can be used.
• the sheet can be rolled out between two counter rotating cylindrical rollers to obtain a uniform, relatively thin sheet of dough material.
• Any conventional sheeting, milling and gauging equipment can be used.
• the mill rolls should preferably be heated to from about 90°F (32°C) to about 135°F (57°C). In a preferred embodiment, the mill rolls are kept at two different temperatures, with the front roller being cooler than the back roller.
• the dough can also be formed into a sheet by extrusion.
• Doughs of the present invention are usually formed into a sheet having a thickness of from about 0.015 to about 0.10 inches (from about 0.038 to about 0.25 cm), and preferably to a thickness of from about 0.05 to about 0.10 inches (from about 0.013 to about 0.025 cm), and most preferably from about 0.065 inches to about 0.080 inches (1.65 to 2.03 mm).
• the preferred thickness is about 0.75 inches (1.9 mm).
• the dough sheet is then formed into snack pieces of a predetermined size and shape.
• the snack pieces can be formed using any suitable stamping or cutting equipment.
• the snack pieces can be formed into a variety of shapes.
• the snack pieces can be in the shape of ovals, squares, circles, a bowtie, a star wheel, or a pin wheel.
• the pieces can be scored to make rippled chips as described by Dawes et al. in PCT Application No. PCT/US95/07610, published January 25, 1996 as WO 96/01572, which is herein incorporated by reference.
• the snack pieces are cooked until crisp to form fabricated chips.
• the snack pieces can be fried in a fat composition comprising digestible fat, non- digestible fat, or mixtures thereof.
• a fat composition comprising digestible fat, non- digestible fat, or mixtures thereof.
• clean frying oil should be used.
• the free fatty acid content of the oil should preferably be maintained at less than about 1%, more preferably less than about 0.3%, in order to reduce the oil oxidation rate.
• the frying oil has less than about 25% saturated fat, preferably less than about 20%.
• This type of oil improves the lubricity of the finished fabricated chips such that the finished fabricated chips have an enhanced flavor display.
• the flavor profile of these oils also enhance the flavor profile of topically seasoned products because of the oils' lower melting point. Examples of such oils include sunflower oil containing medium to high levels of oleic acid.
• the snack pieces are fried in a blend of non-digestible fat and digestible fat.
• the blend comprises from about 20%) to about 90% non-digestible fat and from about 10% to about 80% digestible fat, more preferably from about 50% to about 90% non-digestible fat and from about 10% to about 50%) digestible fat, and still more preferably from about 70% to about 85% non- digestible fat and from about 15% to about 30% digestible fat.
• antioxidants such as TBHQ, tocopherols, ascorbic acid, chelating agents such as citric acid, and anti-foaming agents such as dimethylpolysiloxane.
• the snack pieces it is preferred to fry the snack pieces at temperatures of from about 275°F (135°C) to about 420°F (215°C), preferably from about 300°F (149°C) to about 410°F (210°C), and more preferably from about 350°F (177°C) to about 400°F (204°C) for a time sufficient to form a product having about 6% or less moisture, preferably from about 0.5%> to about 4%, and more preferably from about 1% to about 2% moisture.
• the exact frying time is controlled by the temperature of the frying fat and the starting water content of the dough, which can be easily determined by one skilled in the art.
• the snack pieces are fried in oil using a continuous frying method and are constrained during frying.
• This constrained frying method and apparatus is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,626,466 issued December 7, 1971 to Liepa, which is herein incorporated by reference.
• the shaped, constrained snack pieces are passed through the frying medium until they are fried to a crisp state with a final moisture content of from about 0.5%) to about 4%, preferably from about 1% to about 2%.
• Any other method of frying such as continuous frying or batch frying of the snack pieces in a non-constrained mode, is also acceptable.
• the snack pieces can be immersed in the frying fat on a moving belt or basket.
• the fabricated chips made from this process typically have from about 20%> to about 45%, and preferably from about 25% to about 40%, total fat (i.e., combined non- digestible and digestible fat).
• an oil such as a triglyceride oil
• the triglyceride oils applied have an iodine value greater than about 75, and most preferably above about 90.
• the additionally applied oil can be used to increase the total fat content of the fabricated chips to as high as 45% total fat.
• fabricated chips having various fat contents can be made using this additional step.
• at least 10%, preferably at least about 20%, of the total fat in the finished fabricated chips is topical surface fat.
• Oils with characteristic flavor or highly unsaturated oils can be sprayed, tumbled or otherwise applied onto the fabricated chips after frying.
• triglyceride oils and non-digestible fats are used as a carrier to disperse flavors and are added topically to the fabricated chips.
• These include, but are not limited to, butter flavored oils, natural or artificial flavored oils, herb oils, and oils with potato, garlic, or onion flavors added. This allows the introduction of a variety of flavors without having the flavor undergo browning reactions during the frying. This method can be used to introduce oils which would ordinarily undergo polymerization or oxidation during the heating necessary to fry the snacks.
• the fabricated chips of the present invention have higher levels of dimethyltrisulfide (“DMTS”) and lower levels of ethylfuran (“EF”) than traditional fabricated chips. This correlates to a higher degree of potato chip flavor characteristic of traditional sliced potato chips.
• DMTS dimethyltrisulfide
• EF ethylfuran
• PCF Potato Chip Flavor
• Potato chip flavor was found to be a function of the DMTS to EF ratio, as set forth by the equation below:
• DMTS and EF are measured in terms of peak area counts, as described in the Analytical Methods Section herein.
• a higher level of whole potato cells and more of the original potato cellulosic network is intact in the fabricated chips of the present invention than in traditional fabricated chips. This leads to crispier finished fabricated chips, more closely resembling the crispiness of sliced potato chips.
• the fabricated chip of the present invention has both the desired IH value and the desired color when cooked to the desired level (the frying conditions required to achieve moisture content of from about 1% to about 2.5%) of the finished fabricated chip).
• the preferred color is from an L Hunter value of from about 58 to about 70, more preferably from about 60 to about 68, and most preferably from about 62 to about 65.
• the color of the product of the present invention is correlated to L, which is the measure of Lightness of the sample, ranging 0.0 as black and 100 as white. As measured herein, crispiness is represented by the initial hardness (IH) of the snack and by the Hunter color measurement, as defined by the equation below:
• the snack of the present invention has a crispiness value of from about 6.3 to about 7.3, preferably from about 6.5 to about 6.9.
• Products of the present invention have an initial hardness of from about 740 gf to about 2000 gf.
• an initial hardness of from about 450 gf to about 2000 gf preferably from about 600gf to about 1600 gf, and more preferably from about 850 gf to about 950 gf.
• the initial hardness is the peak force measured within the first 6 seconds of a compression test, for a specific range of thickness, as described in the Analytical Methods Section below.
• Fabricated chips of the present invention have an initial hardness of from about 740 gf to about 2000 gf.
• an initial hardness of from about 450 gf to about 2000 gf preferably from about 600gf to about 1600 gf, and more preferably from about 850 gf to about 950 gf.
• Fabricated chips of the present invention have an IH* Aw/thickness value of from about 65 to about 500, preferably from about 65 to about 500, more preferably from about 90 to about 350, and most preferably from about 100 to about 290 gf/mm.
• the fabricated chip may be overcooked because it obtained the optimal level of doneness long before the chip attained the desired color or degree of browning, thus leading to overcooking to obtain desired end point; a doneness value that is too high can lead to a chip that is glassy and brittle.
• the chip of the present invention has an optimal degree of doneness. Doneness in the fabricated chip of the present invention has been found to be a function of the water activity (Aw) of the fabricated chip in addition to the initial hardness (IH) of the fabricated chip, as defined by the following equation:
• the snack of the present invention has a doneness of from about 4.5 to about 5.6, preferably from about 4.7 to about 5.2.
• a doneness value that is too low can lead to a snack that is stale and chewy, while a doneness value that is too high can lead to a chip that is glassy and brittle.
• the fabricated chips of the present invention have an Aw of from about 0.05 to about 0.35. This allows for the production of a fabricated chip having the desired color level in addition to the desired levels of crispiness and doneness.
• the present invention also provides a fabricated chip with the benefits of increased stability and increased resistance to breakage.
• Stability relates to shelf stability, aging, and staleness.
• the oxidation rates of the fabricated chips are increased significantly. Therefore, by formulating foods such that the Tg of the fabricated chips is raised, not only the initial hardness value becomes more stable but the lipid oxidation rate is reduced.
• the fabricated chips of the present invention (equilibrated at an Aw of about 0.30 @ 30°C) preferably have a glass transition temperature (Tg) of from about 75°C to about 160°C, more preferably from about 80°C to about 140°C, and still more preferably from about 90°C to about 120°C.
• Tg glass transition temperature
• the fabricated chips of the present invention have an onset of E' (initial drop) of from about 52°C to about 100°C, preferably from about 58°C to about 80°C, most preferably from about 60°C to about 70°C.
• the fabricated chips of the present invention have a tan delta of from about 125°C to about 180°C, more preferably from about 135°C to about 175°C, and most preferably from about 150°C to about 168°C.
• the fabricated chips of the present invention also have a reduced level of breakage in comparison to traditional fabricated chips, indicating increased strength.
• the area of the curve obtained from plotting the initial hardness vs. time (at a 1mm per sec cross head speed) relates to the work needed to break the snack (measures total breakage, not just initial breakage; this parameter measures the area of all the peaks, not just the highest peak during analysis). This parameter is referred to as the Chip Integrity Value.
• the chip of the present invention has a Chip Integrity Value of from about 1050 gf*sec to about 4000 gf*sec, preferably from about 1400 gf*sec to about 3000 gf*sec, and most preferably from about 1500 gf*sec to about 2000 gf*sec for chips having a thickness of from about 48 to about 62.
• the chip of the present invention has a modulus of from about 400 gf*sec to about 4000 gf*sec.
• Soluble Amylopection In regular sliced potato chips, the level of soluble amylopectin (Ap) is low compared to fabricated chips. This is due to the intact cell structure integrity of the potatoes. In traditional fabricated chips, on the other hand, the soluble Ap is very high, because the cellular structure of the potatoes has been disrupted during processing.
• the present invention results in fabricated chips having lower levels of soluble Ap, thus more closely resembling sliced potato chips.
• Sliced potato chips typically have a soluble Ap level of about 16%.
• the fabricated chips of the present invention have from about 5% to about , 21%, preferably from about 7.5% to about 19%, and most preferably from about 10% to about 16% soluble Ap.
• the method used to measure total fat content (both digestible and non-digestible) of the fabricated chip herein is AOAC 935.39 (1997).
• Digestible lipid (NLEA) method AOAC PVM 4:1995 is used to determine the digestible fat content of the fabricated chip herein.
• Non-Digestible Fat Content Total Fat Content - Digestible Fat Content
• MOISTURE CONTENT The moisture content of a fabricated chip can be determined by a forced air oven volatiles method as follows:
• Moisture Content (%) [(gross wt - final wt.)/sample wt] x 100.
• a retronasal aroma simulator (ref. 1) that incorporates synthetic saliva-addition, regulated shearing, gas flow, and temperature is used to generate the aromas of dehydrated potato products under specific conditions.
• the aromas are purged from the RAS with helium and trapped with a polymeric adsorbent trap.
• the trapped aromas are then thermally desorbed onto a gas chromatograph that is modified to accommodate large volume injections (ref. 2) and is equipped with a mass selective detector.
• the synthetic saliva is chosen to contain the buffering system of simulated saliva (ref. 4): 20 mM NaHCO 3 , 2.75 mM K 2 HPO 4 , 12.2 mM KH 2 PO 4 , and 15 mM NaCl with a pH of 7.0.
• a retronasal aroma simulator equivalent to one described in ref. 1, consists of a 1 -liter stainless steel Waring blender with a screw-top lid and a copper coiled water jacket to control the temperature in the RAS to 37 °C.
• the RAS is connected to a variable autotransformer.
• a trap (ref. 2 and 3) consists of a 1-ml syringe barrel with a threaded glass tip packed with deactivated glass wool and Tenax GR (60/80 mesh, 250 mg).
• GC Gas Chromatograph
• HP Hewlett Packard
• the Detector is a model HP 5973 Mass Selective Detector obtained from Hewlett Packard, Santa Clarita, California, USA having a source temperature of about 230 °C, and a MS Quad temperature of about 150 °C.
• the precolumn is cooled to about -90 °C, then the trap is connected to a helium flow (flow rate about 15 ml/min) and is heated to desorb the trapped aroma compounds.
• the GC-MS analysis is as follows. The following temperature program is used: i) an initial temperature of about 50 °C which is held for 1 minute, ii) increase the initial temperature at a rate of about 4 °C/min until a temperature of about 250 °C is reached, iii) hold at about 250 °C for 1 minute.
• Flavor compounds are identified using the MS spectral libraries of John Wiley & Sons and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), purchased and licensed through Hewlett Packard.
• Chromatographic peaks are integrated using the Chemstation software obtained from Hewlett Packard, Santa Clarita, California, USA.
• Adherence of the potato mash to a drum dryer and applicator rolls depends in large part upon required product consistency and firmness.
• a mash consistency that is too thin may indicate overcooking and high moisture content and will not adhere to the rolls.
• a mash consistency that is too thick may indicate under cooking and may contain pieces of uncooked potato which will impede mash adherence to the drum and rollers.
• the mash consistency and firmness can be assessed by a back extrusion test which will give an indication of product physical attributes and viscosity.
• TA-XT2 Texture Analyzer (TA Instruments, Corp., New Castle, DE) with A/BE Back Extrusion Cell consisting of a locating base plate, sample containers (50 mm internal diameter), three compression discs (35, 40, 45 mm diameter), and a heavy duty probe adapter. The 45 mm discs are used to measure potato mash firmness. A 25 kg load cell is utilized to calibrate the instrument. The instrument is calibrated according to instrument manual instructions (See STABLE MICRO SYSTEMS LTD Guide, Version 1.00).
• the back extrusion rig consists of a perspex base plate which is used to centrally locate the sample container beneath a disc plunger.
• the sample is deposited into the sample container and a compression test extrudes the product up and around the edge of the disc, and relates to measurements of viscosity.
• Three disc diameters are provided to allow flexibility of products to test. Selection depends primarily on the type of product to be tested and whether it contains any particulates.
• Trigger Type Auto - lOg
• the tests are carried out in a standard size back extrusion container (50mm diameter) immediately after removal from the process sampling point.
• the extrusion disc is positioned centrally over the sample container.
• the probe For comparison of stickiness and "work of adhesion,” the probe must return to the same position above the samples after each test. To do this it is necessary to calibrate the probe to a distance which is a starting distance of about 30mm above the top of the pot or the sample surface.
• test temperature and container geometry should be the same (and should always be specified) when reporting results.
• the distance of extrusion to be set in the TA Settings will depend upon the depth of the sample within the container, the depth of the container, and whether the chosen container is tapered towards the base or not.
• the chosen depth should be such that the extrusion disc does not come into contact (or indeed approach very close) to either the walls or base of the container during testing, which could produce an erroneous result.
• a lOg surface trigger When a lOg surface trigger is attained (i.e. the point at which the disc lower surface is in full contact with the product) the disc proceeds to penetrate to a depth of 25mm (*or other specified distance). At this point (i.e. the maximum force), the probe returns to its original position.
• the 'peak' or maximum force is taken as a measurement of firmness - the higher the value the more firm is the sample.
• the area of the curve up to this point is taken as a measurement of consistency - the higher the value the thicker the consistency of the sample.
• the negative region of the graph, produced on probe return, is a result of the weight of sample which is lifted primarily on the upper surface of the disc on return, i.e. due to back extrusion and hence gives again an indication of consistency/resistance to flow off the disc.
• the maximum force is taken as an indication of the stickiness (or may in this case be referred to as cohesiveness) of the sample - the more negative the value the more 'sticky' or 'cohesive' is the sample.
• the area of the negative region of the curve is often referred to as the 'work of adhesion' - the higher the value the more resistant to withdrawal the sample is which is perhaps an indication again of the cohesiveness and also consistency/viscosity of the sample.
• Trigger Type Auto - 5g
• Sample Preparation lcm 3 samples are prepared from potatoes cooked for various times, including 0 minutes (i.e. raw). A minimum of 5 samples are taken from each cook time to reduce variation. Test Conditions and Set-up
• each cube is placed on a heavy duty platform, positioned centrally under the 2 mm needle probe (attached to the load cell carrier) and the penetration test commenced.
• the top surface of the cube should be flat and level with the platform (i.e. no slant).
• the probe should be carefully wiped clean to remove all adhering debris.
• granules represent dispersed material within the continuous polymeric system comprising amylopectin and amylose.
• Granular melting proceeds stepwise through swelling, crystalline melting, loss of birefringence and finally starch solubilization.
• Solubility of amylopectin is specifically a marker for changes in starch morphology and starch structural degradation. It is a marker for morphology because amylopectin resides in the crystalline region inside starch granules. Increase in amylopectin solubility indicates that morphological changes have occurred.
• Amylose is a marker for amorphous areas in a granular structure.
• amylose appears through early leaching during the granular swelling while the granule is still intact. Subsequently, amylose disappears from the solution through active complexation with emulsifiers and fast recrystallization (retrogradation). In addition, amylose can be used as a marker compound to study interactions of ingredients during processing.
• Amylose and amylopectin are analyzed using the capillary electrophoresis iodide affinity system. 1 ' 2
• Sample preparation for flakes Potato flake samples (100 mg) are immersed in 10 ml of 5 mM phosphate buffer, pH 5 and boiled for 1.5 hours in vials set on the water bath. After cooling the samples are filtered through 0.45 ⁇ m filters and injected into the capillary electrophoresis iodide affinity system (CE-IA).
• CE-IA capillary electrophoresis iodide affinity system
• Sample preparation for dough and chips About 300 mg of dough or 800 mg of a chip homogenate (same as in the volatiles analysis method, 50 grams of chip with 200 ml of artificial saliva) is dissolved in 10 ml of 5 mM phosphate buffer, pH 5, by boiling for 1.5 hours in the sealed container in the water bath. After cooling to room temperature, the samples are filtered through 0.45 ⁇ Gel an HT Tuffryn Acrodisc syringe filters and injected into the capillary electrophoresis iodide affinity system (CE-IA).
• CE-IA capillary electrophoresis iodide affinity system
• the instrument Hewlett Packard 3D Capillary Electrophoresis with detection at visible wavelength 560 nm is used. Amylose and amylopectin are separated with sulfonic acid- coated (50 ⁇ m, i.d. x 50 cm) capillary from Microsolv CE, Scientific Resources Inc.
• Separation buffer is 10 mM sodium citrate (pH 6), 4 mM potassium iodide and 1.3 mM iodine
• Figure 4 sets forth CE-IA electropherograms of amylopectin from potato amylopectin (A) and potato amylose, recrystaUized twice with thymol from potato starch (B). (Standard concentrations 2 mg/ml) Amylopectin and amylose amounts are calculated as mg per 100 mg of flakes and as mg per 200 mg of chips as dry weight basis, respectively. Amylose and amylopectin ratios are calculated by dividing amounts of amylose and amylopectin expressed in the above described units for flakes and chips.
• Scope The determination of color for finished products is based on “L”, “a”, and “b” parameters from the Hunter Colorimeter Scale. Color is a very important sensory attribute as a contributor for appearance, as an indirect indicator for texture (crispiness).
• L* is the measure of light in the sample ranging 0.0 as black and 100.0 as white. a* measures the amount of green to red in the sample, - 60.0 represents green and +
• 60.0m represents the amount of red in a sample.
• b* represents the amount of blue to yellow in a sample - 60.0 represents blue, where + 60 represent yellow.
• Samples are reduced in particle size using a screen (20 mesh) to select the desired particle size distribution to reduce variation.
• Fabricated snacks possess attributes of initial hardness (texture) and integrity (strength) that can be used to differentiate them from each other.
• Low integrity products such as weak potato crisps, can experience breakage during manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and storage. Water activity, moisture content, thickness and initial hardness affect the product integrity. To measure both initial product hardness and product integrity, a force of compression test is conducted.
• TA-XT2 Texture Analyzer with a 100mm diameter compression disc, a heavy duty platform, and a 100mm diameter sample cell with a slotted bottom. The 25-1 kg load cell is used.
• Pre-Test Speed 2.0 mm/s Test Speed: 1.0 mm/s Post-Test Speed: 10.0 mm/s Distance: 12.0 mm Trigger Type: Auto - lOOg
• Ten fabricated chips from each sample can/lot are selected, weighed, measured for thickness, analyzed for water absorption, and placed into the sample cell. The fabricated chips are placed perpendicular to the slots in the bottom of the base plate in the sample cell.
• Figure 3 shows an example of a typical graph obtained from force vs. time for low moisture products.
• the number of peaks is also identified as an indication of the initial hardness (crispness) of the crisp.
• a force threshold value is used to filter the size of the peaks. The threshold is the value on either side of the test value that is more negative than the test value. Peak analysis is conducted on the first six seconds of compressions.
• Product Integrity is a measurement of the resistance to breakage of the product. It is defined by the Chip Integrity Value, as defined by the area of the curve obtained from peak force vs. time (displacement). The measurement includes all peaks. In this case the crosshead test speed is lmm/sec, therefore the product integrity is obtained by dividing the force by the time.
• Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) measurements are performed on the Perkin Elmer Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer DMA-7e. A 3 -point bending configuration is utilized with a 10 mm bottom platform and a 5 mm round probe tip. The sample is sliced and placed on the platform. For doughs, 50 mN static force and 30 mN dynamic force at 1 Hz frequency are used. Temperature is ramped from -30°C to 30°C at 2°C/min. The glass transition temperature is determined as the sharp decrease in E' as it is shown in Figure 2.
• the A w level is therefore dimensionless; pure water has a level of 1.0, and a completely water-free substance has a level of 0.0.
• Conductivity humidity meter Rotronic Hygroskop DT (model WA-40 TH) with an operational temperature range from 0 to 100C, and 0 to 100 % RH.
• the samples to be measured are placed in small polysterene dishes in the bottom half of the measuring station.
• the fabricated chip thickness can be determined by taking successive local surface measurements where a digital caliper is used to take 10 random measurements of the total thickness. The caliper jaws contact the fabricated chip with one jaw on top of the fabricated chip and the other jaw contacting the underside of the opposite side of the fabricated chip. Between 5-10 fabricated chips should be measured for thickness in this way to provide a total of between 100-200 data points. The fabricated chip thickness can be taken as the average across all the measurements.
• Water Absorption Index and “WAI” refer to the measurement of the water-holding capacity of a carbohydrate based material as a result of a cooking process.
• WAI Water Absorption Index
• the WAI for a sample is determined by the following procedure:
• WAI ( [weight of tube and gel] - [weight of tube] ) ⁇ [weight of dry sample] )
• a 0.5%) Trypan Blue stock solution is prepared by dissolving 0.5 g Trypan Blue (Aldrich, Milwaukee, WI, USA) into 99.5g distilled deionized 25°C water.
• a 0.08% working solution of Trypan Blue is prepared by diluting 4 ml of stock solution into 21 ml distilled deionized water. Representative sub-sampling of the potato samples is critical to obtaining accurate and reproducible results.
• a potato sample is collected and from this, about 0.05g is placed in an 8 ml vial. To this, 10 drops of stain is added and allowed to stand for 6 minutes. The mixture is diluted with 2.5 ml distilled deionized 25°C water and stirred constantly with a glass stirring rod for 1 minute.
• sample mixture is placed on the center of a microscope slide and one drop of distilled deionized water is added.
• the sample mixture is gently stirred using the end of a disposable pipet until the color is even across the drop and the sample is evenly dispersed.
• a coverslip is then placed over the sample on the slide and the slide is examined under the microscope directly after being prepared. The examination of the slide must be completed within 20 minutes of being prepared.
• Light Microscopy is performed using a Nikon Eclipse El 000 microscope under brightfield illumination with a 4x objective. At this magnification, the depth of focus is such that all of the potato cells across an image are in focus. Images are collected using a Spot Camera (Diagnostic Instruments model 140 and model SP401-115) and printed to aid in counting. Variation in the photomicrographs shown are due to variations in the camera collection setting for RGB signal, not due to staining differences in the samples. For each sample, three freshly-made slides are observed under the light microscope and five images randomly selected across the slide are collected. This protocol for 3 slides and 5 images collected from each slide permits at least 300 cells to be counted. More slides can be prepared or the amount of sample dosed on each slide can be adjusted if the count is less than 300.
• Figures 5 - 8 are used to determine whole and broken cells in the acquired images.
• Figure 5 (a - g) provides examples and attributes of potato cells which are counted as whole.
• Figure 6 (a - d) provides images of typically observed broken cells.
• Figure 7 (a - c) provides additional criteria used to count broken cells due to complexity of counting broken cells.
• Figure 8 (a - b) provides additional examples of cells not included in counting.
• the number of broken and whole cells are counted directly from the microscope image or from a printed image using the established criteria. Cells to be counted must lie completely within the image. Total number of potato cells counted per sample is at least 300. If the count is less than 300, more images are collected. Percent broken cells is calculated from the total number of whole and broken cells counted throughout the images using the following equation:
• dehydrated potato products are used in limited water conditions and undergo limited mechanical and thermal energy input. Therefore, the free or soluble starch (amylose) that gets incorporated into the food product is largely the starch which has extruded from the cells during the making of the dehydrated potato product. Therefore, the morphological criteria defining broken versus whole potato cells are designed to quantitate the amount of cell damage due to the dehydration process.
• Whole cells are most often identified as a blue dyed cell with a continuous cell wall. If the cell wall is intact by at least 90%, as shown in Figure 5d, enough of the starch material is still inside the cell such that the cell behaves essentially as an intact cell. Therefore, a cell is counted as whole if at least 90% of the cell wall is observed intact. Swollen cells are considered whole, as long as the cell wall is intact by at least 90%, as illustrated in Figure 5e. Additionally, cells which may appear fractured are considered whole if the cell wall is intact, as shown in Figure 5f. A cell is considered broken if less than 90%> of the cell wall is present but with at least a cell membrane surrounding the cell (shown in Figures 6a - d). The cell is not counted if no cell wall or cell boundary is attached to the free starch material (as shown in Figure 8 a) since it is extremely difficult to match all the free material with the cell of origin.
• the potato cell is considered whole (as shown in Figure 5g) as long as the criteria for assigning whole cells is met.
• cells are not counted (as shown in Figure 8b).
• Figure 9 shows an image of 100%) Norchip potato flakes.
• the sheet strength is determined as follows: Sheet strength is the measurement of the force needed to break a dough sheet of 0.635 mm. The sheet strength is read as the maximum peak force (gf) of a graph obtained from force against distance. The test is designed to measure potato dough sheet strength. All products are tested at room temperature. Sheet strength is an average of ten repetitions of each test. The sheet strength is measured by preparing a dough comprising:
• the dough is made in a small Cuisinart® mixer at low speed for 10-20 seconds. After mixing the dough is sheeted using a conventional milling machine to a thickness of 0.635 mm (22 mils). The mill rolls are usually 1.2 meter length x 0.75 diameter meter.
• This test is conducted using a Texture Analyzer (TA-XT2) from Texture Technologies Corp. This equipment uses a software called XTRAD.
• TA-XT2 Texture Analyzer
• This test utilizes a 7/16" diameter acrylic cylinder probe (TA-108), which has a smooth edge to minimize any cutting of the dough sheet.
• the dough sheet is held between two aluminum plates (10 X 10 cm).
• the aluminum plates have a 7 cm diameter opening in the center. Through this opening the probe makes contact with the sheet and pushes it downwards until it breaks. These plates have an opening in each corner to hold the sheet dough in place.
• Each dough sheet is pre-punched with holes to fit over the alignment pins at the corners of the plate and cut to the size (10 X 10 cm) of the plate. This provides uniform tension as the probe moves down and through the sheet.
• the probe travels at 2 mm/second until the dough sheet surface is detected at 20 grams of force.
• the probe then travels at 1.0 mm/second for up to 50 mm, a distance chosen to stretch the dough sheet until it thoroughly ruptures.
• the probe withdraws at 10.0 mm/second.
• the probe is run in a "Force vs Compression" mode, which means the probe will move downward measuring the force.
• the rheological properties of the dry ingredients, flour blends, half-products and finished products are measured using the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) model RVA-4.
• the RVA was originally developed to rapidly measure ⁇ -amylase activity in sprouted wheat. This viscometer characterizes the starch quality during heating and cooling while stirring the starch sample.
• the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) is used to directly measure the viscous properties of the starches, and flours. The tool requires about 2 to 4 g of sample and about 25 grams of water.
• sample weights and the water added should be corrected for the sample moisture content, to give a constant dry weight.
• the moisture basis normally used is 14%) as is, and correction tables are available from Newport Scientific.
• the correction formulae for 14% moisture basis are:
• the water and sample mixture is measured while going through a pre-defined profile of mixing, measuring, heating and cooling, i.e.. Standard Profile 1). This test provides dough viscosity information that translates into flour quality.
• the key parameters used to characterize the present invention are pasting temperature, peak viscosity, peak viscosity time and final viscosity.
• a 50:50 mixture of whole raw Russet Burbank potatoes and Bentjie potatoes having a solids level of 20.5%> are washed, rinsed and brushed with water.
• the whole potatoes are cooked with steam (20 psi) for about 22 minutes.
• the potatoes are then mashed to produce a potato mash.
• Wheat starch is added to the potato mash at a 6.3 % level (dry basis) after cooking and mixed during the conveying of the mash to the drum dryer.
• the mash comprising the starch is applied to the top of three drying drums (#4, #5 and #6). No infrared heaters are employed.
• the drum pressures, temperatures, and speeds are listed in the table below.
• the drums have a diameter of 5 feet and a length of 16 feet.
• a thin layer of mash is formed on the drying drums.
• the sheet having a moisture content of 5.98%> is removed from the drum by a doctor knife, combined at a flaker for sorting and milling to a particle size of 30% maximum through a 40 US mesh.
• the resulting flakes comprise about 26.9% amylose, about 12.3 mg/lOOg Vitamin C, a WAI of about 9.35, and a peak RVA of 273.3 RVA units.
• the following composition is used to make fabricated potato chips.
• the dough composition comprises added 35% water (based on the total dough composition), 4% emulsifier, and 65% of the following mixture of ingredients:
• the wheat starch and corn meal are blended in a Turbulizer® mixer.
• the maltodextrin is dissolved in the water and added to the blend.
• the blend is mixed with the flakes to form a loose, dry dough.
• the dough is sheeted by continuously feeding it through a pair of sheeting rolls forming an elastic continuous sheet without pin holes. Sheet thickness is controlled to 0.02 inches (0.05 cm).
• the dough sheet is then cut into oval shaped pieces and fried in a constrained frying model at 400°F (204°C) for about 8 seconds.
• the frying fat is a blend of cottonseed oil and MOSO (mid-oleic sunflower) oil.
• the fried pieces contain about 31% base fat. Additionally, oil spray is added to the exit of the fryer to raise the total fat ofthe chips to 38%.
• flavor and texture values (initial hardness, Aw, etc.) of the finished fabricated chips are listed below.
• the following composition is used to make fabricated chips.
• the dough comprises 35%o added water (based on the total dough composition) and 65% of the following mixture of ingredients.

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