GB2290216A

GB2290216A - Process for producing shaped potato chips

Info

Publication number: GB2290216A
Application number: GB9416984A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tetsuo Yamashita; Masatoshi Aki
Original assignee: Calbee Foods Co Ltd
Current assignee: Calbee Foods Co Ltd
Priority date: 1994-06-14
Filing date: 1994-08-23
Publication date: 1995-12-20
Anticipated expiration: 2014-08-23
Also published as: ITMI941792A0; GB9416984D0; ITMI941792A1; GB2290216B; IT1274748B; JPH07327628A; JP3311145B2

Abstract

A process for producing shaped potato chips having increased taste and flavour of potato itself and decreased astringent and bitter taste, comprising the steps of mixing dried potatoes, heat-cooked potatoes and oils and fats, and moreover, if necessary, processed starches and seasonings, to obtain a dough, rolling the dough to form a dough sheet and baking a shaped dough obtained from the dough sheet.

Description

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SHAPED POTATO CHIPS The present invention relates to a process for producing shaped potato chips. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process for producing shaped potato chips by rolling a raw dough containing oils and fats to form a dough sheet, and baking a shaped dough obtained from the dough sheet without employing any frying step used in the conventional process.

Hitherto, potato chips have been produced by slicing raw potatoes in a proper size and frying them for sufficient time to heat them completely. However, the thus-obtained products generally have a high oil content of about 35% by weight since the water in potatoes is replaced by oils during the frying step.

Generally, the shaped potato chips which are now commercially available are those produced by forming a mixture of dried potatoes such as potato flakes and potato granules, and if necessary, additives such as starches and emulsifiers, and seasonings, and then frying this mixture. However, these products also have an oil content of about 308 by weight.

Therefore, it has been desired to develop a new process to produce potato chips having a good taste and a good texture. On the other hand, it has been known that the potato chips produced by using dried potatoes as a main component have some disadvantages in that they have a dry grass smell, and also they are inferior in terms of inherent taste and flavour of potato itself as compared with potato chips produced by using raw potatoes.

The known processes for overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages are described below.

For examples, Japanese Patent Publication (JP Kokoku) 61-13787 discloses a process for producing shaped potato chips comprising the steps of mixing potato powder with raw potato and if necessary, other ingredients, forming this mixture into chip and roasting or frying this chip. However, the thus-obtained products have a disadvantage in that they have astringent taste and bitter taste since they are produced by using raw potatoes as a component.

Moreover, as a process for overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages such as astringent taste and bitter taste of final products, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (JP Kokai) 62-61540 discloses a process for producing shaped potato chips wherein heatcooked potatoes and potato flakes are used as main components.

However, the thus-obtained products have a disadvantage in that they have a high oil content as mentioned above, since this process comprises a frying step.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Publication (JP Kokoku) 3-12869 discloses a process for producing potato snacks comprising the steps of mixing potato flakes, pregelatinized waxy starch and shortening, rolling this mixture into a sheet, and then baking the shaped small pieces obtained from the sheet. However, this process has a disadvantage in that the products are inferior in terms of inherent taste of potato itself since potato flakes, pregelatinized waxy starch and shortening are used in this process. Moreover, this process has other disadvantages in that the permeation of oil into final products is insufficient and that the oil is adhered to hands when picking up them, since the oil is sprayed thereon after baking.In addition, since pregelatinized waxy starch is very sticky, various limitations, such that it is necessary to use pregelatinized waxy starch at a low temperature and that of a low water content, are involved in order to keep certain operational efficiency.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing shaped potato chips which makes it possible to produce shaped potato chips having inherent good taste of potatoes and easily control the oil content in final products of shaped potato chips, in particular, to adjust to a low oil content.

This and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and Examples.

The present invention has been completed on the inventor's finding that -there can be produced shaped potato chips having inherent good taste of potatoes wherein the oil content of the said shaped potato chips is easily adjusted, by the employment of the steps of mixing dried potatoes, heat-cooked potatoes and oils and fats as main components to obtain a dough, rolling the thus-obtained dough to form a dough sheet, and baking a shaped dough obtained from the dough sheet, based on the finding that steamed potatoes and oils and fats such as butter are compatible very well.

The present invention provides a process for producing shaped potato chips comprising the steps of mixing dried potatoes, heatcooked potatoes and oils and fats as main components, and moreover, if necessary, processed starches and seasonings, to obtain a dough, rolling the dough to form a dough sheet and baking a shaped dough obtained from the dough sheet.

In the process for producing shaped potato chips according to the present invention, dried potatoes, heat-cooked potatoes and oils and fats are used as main components. In addition, if necessary, additives such as processed starches, seasonings and water may be added thereto.

Examples of the dried potatoes used in the present invention include potato flakes, potato granules and potato flour which can be used in the conventional process for producing shaped potato chips.

The dried potatoes are used in an amount of about 30 to about 90% by weight, preferably about 40 to about 70% by weight, based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water as mentioned below (Hereinafter, "the total weight of raw materials" is referred to as "the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water").

The heat-cooked potatoes are preferably mashed potatoes which are obtained by heat-cooking raw potatoes in order to gelatinize the starches of the potatoes and straining the resulting potatoes. More preferred are mashed potatoes obtained by heat-cooking raw potatoes to sufficiently gelatinize the starches thereof, soften the tissue of potatoes and reduce bitter components, and then, straining the resulting potatoes.

One example of the process for producing the heat-cooked potatoes used in the present invention comprises the steps of peeling raw potatoes, slicing them into the thickness of 5 to 25mm, heating them for 5 to 60 minutes with steam or hot water and the like, and straining them. The purpose of using not raw potatoes themselves but heat-cooked potatoes is to get sufficient gelatinization of the starches, to soften the tissue and to reduce astringent and bitter components. Therefore, potatoes may be cut into dice of 5mm to 30mm and heat-cooking may be carried out using other means such as a microwave device.

The heat-cooked potatoes are generally used in an amount of about 0.1 to about 60% by weight, preferably about 20 to about 50% by weight based on the total weight of raw materials.

Moreover, a ratio of dried potatoes to heat-cooked potatoes may be suitably adjusted. In this connection, it is preferable that the ratio by weight of dried potatoes/heat-cooked potatoes is generally adjusted in the range of about 99.9/0.1 to about 40/60, more preferably about 80/20 to about 40/60.

Examples of oils and fats include shortening. Though the kinds of oils and fats are not particularly limited, it is preferred to use one which is solid at room temperature, and it is more preferred to use one whose melting point is not lower than 30 C .

The oils and fats are generally used in an amount of about 0.1 to about 30% by weight, preferably about 5 to about 15% by weight based on the total weight of raw materials. When more than 30% by weight of oils and fats are added, the binding properties of the dough decreases, whereas when less than 0.1% by weight of oils and fats are added, the potato chips of final products become stiff and powdery.

In the process for producing shaped potato chips according to the present invention, if necessary, processed starches may be added in addition to the main components as mentioned above. The kind and amount of processed starches may be suitably selected depending on properties and amounts of other components and the like.

For example, as compared with the case using potato granules, the use of potato flakes results in the decrease of viscosity of dough sheet at the time of adding oils and fats thereto, which makes it difficult to form the dough sheet. Moreover, the use of heat-cooked potatoes immediately after heat-cooked treatment also results in the decrease of viscosity of sheet at the time of adding oils and fats thereto, which makes it difficult to form the dough sheet. Therefore, when the content of potato flakes and heat-cooked potatoes is high, the sheeting can be carried out by adding pregelatinized waxy starch in an amount of about 5 to about 20% by weight based on the total amount of raw materials.On the other hand, when the content of potato granules is high, the decrease of viscosity of dough sheet scarcely occurs as compared in the case of high content of potato flakes or heat-cooked potatoes. In other words, when the content of potato granules is high, if pregelatinized waxy starch is used in the same amount as mentioned above, the dough becomes too sticky. Therefore, it is preferred to use pregelatinized starch of nonwaxy type to form a suitable sheet.

As processed starches, there can be generally used pregelatinized starch and also modified starch derivatives such as acetate, ether or ester. Examples of the pregelatinized waxy starch include pregelatinized waxy-maize starch and pregelatinized waxyglutinous rice starch. The content of processed starch is suitably adjusted depending on the kinds of a selected processed starch and the amount of other mixed components and it is generally in the range of about 5 to about 50% by weight, preferably about 5 to about 20% by weight, based on the total weight of raw materials.

Moreover, if necessary, subcomponents, for example, seasonings such as salts and sugar, emulsifiers, expansion agents, spices, coloring agents, may be suitably added. The content of these subcomponents are not particularly limited, and they are generally in the range of about 0.1 to about 10% by weight based on the total amount of raw materials.

Then, these components are mixed. Preferably, before or during mixing, a sufficient amount of water is added so that the water content of the dough becomes in the range of about 30 to about 60% by weight, preferably about 45 to 55% by weight, most preferably about 50% by weight. The amount of water to be added may be suitably adjusted according to the contents of heat-cooked potatoes and dried potatoes. Therefore, as the content of heat-cooked potatoes (whose water content is generally relative high) increases, the amount of water to be added decreases (it can be zero), and as the content of dried potatoes increases, the amount of water to be added increases.

Preferably, the water to be added is cold water. Moreover, preferably, water is added only in the necessary amount since it is desirable to utilize as much water from heat-cooked potatoes as possible.

After mixing the above-mentioned components uniformly, the mixture is kneaded in a mixer for about 5 to about 60 minutes. It is preferred to use a type of mixer wherein strongly kneading can be carried out in order to increase the binding properties of the dough.

Moreover, the kneading process may be preferably carried out with cooling, since the viscosity of sheet unpreferably increases when the temperature of sheet increases to much higher than the melting point of oils and fats such as shortening or the kneading is carried out for a long period of time.

The dough obtained by the foregoing process is rolled into the sheet of the thickness of about 0.5mm to about 2.Omm, preferably about 0.8mm to 1.5mm, and then, the resulting sheet is subjected to cutting, stamping and/or punching or the like to form pieces of appropriate shape. The sheet can be formed into any shape such as a round, a triangle, a star and a stick shape by means of cutting, stamping or punching.

Then, the thus-obtained shaped products are baked generally at a temperature of about 100or to about 300"C for about 2 minutes to about 20 minutes, and preferably at a temperature of about 1800C to about 280"C for about 3 minutes to about 13 minutes.

In this baking process, the expanding and drying of the products are carried out. At the same time, the defects such as warps, cracks and large air bubbles occur in the products. However, these defects can be prevented by putting the pieces of sheet into a desired mold when the pieces are passing through a baking device. Moreover, when the products are on a flat hot plate in an oven, the abovementioned problems can be prevented in some degree by making some pin holes in the pieces of the sheet.

Seasoning after baking is not particularly necessary since oils and fats and seasonings are contained in the sheet. However, if necessary, dusting of chocolate and cheese, and spraying of seasonings and oils and fats may be carried out.

Example After washing raw potatoes and peeling the potatoes, the potatoes were sliced into the thickness of lOmm. Then, the sliced potatoes were steamed under the atmospheric pressure for 20 minutes and were strained with a masher to obtain heat-cooked mashed potatoes. To 1,750g of a mixture of powdery components which is composed of 1,375g of potato granules (corresponding to 55% by weight of the total weight of the sheet before addition of water) and 375g of pregelatinized starch (corresponding to 15% by weight of the total weight of the sheet), and 250g of shortening (corresponding to 10% by weight of the total weight of the sheet), there was added 500g of the above-obtained heat-cooked mashed potatoes (corresponding to 20% by weight of the total weight of the sheet), mixed and kneaded to obtain a dough.In this connection, during the mixing, 1,500g of cold water was added to adjust the water content of the dough to 50% by weight.

Then, the dough was rolled with a roller into the thickness of 0.9mm and the resulting sheet was stamped into a round shape. Then, the thus-obtained stamped pieces were baked in an oven to obtain shaped potato chips. The baking was carried out at first at 270 "C to expand the chips, and then at 19000.

Comparative Example 1 To 1,875g of potato granules (corresponding to 75% by weight of the total weight of the sheet before addition of water), 375g of pregelatinized starch (corresponding to 15% by weight of the total weight of the sheet) and 250g of shortening (corresponding to 10% by weight of the total weight of the sheet), there was added 2,200g of cold water, mixed, kneaded and processed in the same manner as in Example to obtain shaped potato chips.

Comparative Example 2 After washing raw potatoes and peeling the potatoes, the potatoes were cut into dice of 5mm. The same process as in Example was carried out except that this cut potatoes were used in the same amount instead of the heat-cooked mashed potatoes in Example.

In this case, the blocks of potatoes have remained in the sheet without being perfectly rolled by a roller. As a result, the cracks and holes therefrom occur in the sheet and uniformly sheet can not be obtained.

Moreover, when the thus-obtained non-uniform sheet was baked, uneven baking and cracks occur since the thickness of the sheet is not uniform, and as a result, satisfactory products cannot be obtained.

Comparative Example 3 After washing raw potatoes and peeling the potatoes, the potatoes were grinded. The same process as in Example was carried out except that these potatoes were used in the same amount instead of the heat-cooked mashed potatoes in Example to obtain shaped potato chips.

Sensory Test for taste evaluation With respect to the above-obtained products (Example, Comparative Examples 1 and 3), sensory test for taste evaluation was carried out by 10 persons.

The presence of undesirable tastes such as astringent taste or bitter taste and the presence of nasty smell were examined for the products of Example, Comparative Examples 1 and 3. The obtained result was shown in Table 1 Table 1

Example Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 3 0 7 7 The numbers in the Table 1 represent the number of persons who said that the products have'undesirable tastes or nasty smell.

In this connection, it was pointed out that there were artificial smell and dry grass smell in Comparative Example 1 and there were bitter taste or astringent taste in Comparative Example 3.

Moreover, in order to compare the product obtained by using heat-cooked potatoes with that obtained by using raw potatoes, (1) the presence of astringent taste or bitter taste, and (2) which product has a more preferred taste of potatoes, were examined for the products of Example and Comparative Example 3. The obtained result was shown in Table 2.

Table 2

Example Comparative Example 3 (1) Astringent or bitter taste 3 9 (2) More preferred taste of potatoes 8 2 The results of Tables 1 and 2 demonstrate that the potato chips obtained by the process for producing shaped potato chips according to the present invention have excellent taste properties.

According to the present invention, one can form an uniform dough sheet and produce shaped potato chips having increased taste and flavour of potato itself and decreased astringent and bitter taste and not being powdery, and furthermore, one can control the oil content in final products of shaped potato chips, in particular, to a low oil content.

Claims

CIAIMS

1. A process for producing shaped potato chips comprising the steps of mixing dried potatoes, heat-cooked potatoes and oils and fats, and moreover, if necessary, processed starches and seasonings, to obtain a dough, rolling the dough to form a dough sheet and baking a shaped dough obtained from the dough sheet.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the heat-cooked potatoes are those obtained by heat-cooking raw potatoes to gelatinize the starches of the potatoes, and then, straining the thus-obtained potatoes.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the dried potatoes are one or more selected from the group consisting of potato granules, potato flakes and potato flour.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein a sufficient amount of water is added before: or during mixing so that water content of the dough becomes in the range of about 30 to about 60% by weight.

5. The process of claim 4 wherein a content of the dried potatoes is in the range of about 30 to about 90% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

6. The process of claim 4 wherein a content of the heat-cooked potatoes is in the range of about 0.1 to about 60% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

7. The process of claim 5 wherein the content of the heat-cooked potatoes is in the range of about 0.1 to about 60% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein a ratio by weight of dried potatoes to heat-cooked potatoes is in the range of about 99.9/0.1 to about 40/60.

9. The process of claim 4 wherein a ratio by weight of dried potatoes to heat-cooked potatoes is in the range of about 99.9/0.1 to about 40/60.

10. The process of claim 7 wherein a ratio by weight of dried potatoes to cooked potatoes is in the range of about 99.9/0.1 to about 40/60.

11. The process of claim 4 wherein a content of oils and fats is in the range of about 0.1 to about 30% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

12. The process of claim 7 wherein a content of oils and fats is in the range of about O.l to about 30% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

13. The process of claim 1 wherein the processed starch is pregelatinized starch or modified starch derivatives.

14. The process of. claim 1 wherein the processed starch is pregelatinized and modified starch derivatives.

15. The process of claim 4 wherein a content of the processed starch is in the range of about 5 to about 50% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

16. The process of claim 7 wherein a content of the processed starch is in the range of about 5 to about 50% by weight based on the total weight of all raw materials before addition of water.

17. The process of claim 1 wherein the dough is rolled into the thickness of 0.5mm to 2.Omm to form a dough sheet and the sheet is shaped by cutting, stamping or punching.

18. The process of claim 1 wherein the shaped dough is put into a mold during baking step.

19. The process of claim 1 wherein the baking of a shaped dough is carried out at 100"C to 300"C for 2 to 20 minutes.

20. A process for producing shaped potato chips comprising the steps of mixing dried potatoes, heat-cooked potatoes, oils and fats and pregelatinized starch with water to obtain a dough, rolling the dough to form a dough sheet of about 0.5mm to about 2.0mm, cutting or stamping or punching the dough sheet into shaped pieces and baking the shaped pieces at 100 "C to 300"C for 2 to 20 minutues.

21. A process substantially as hereinbefore described.