Fried potatoes blanching

A Turkish study examined the effect of freeze-storing peeled, blanched then fried potatoes and found a 10% loss of vitamin C after 6 months of storage at — 18°C (Tosun and Yiicecan, 2008). However, a 51% loss was caused by the pre-freezing operations, which sounds a cautionary note about the importance of how potatoes are handled during processing. Some of our own... 

Processing raw food reduced disulfoton levels in some potato products (Kleinschmidt 1971). Total residues were reduced by 35% with lye peeling. Lye peeling plus the first water blanching reduced the total disulfoton residue on a dry weight basis by 58, 74 and 61 % for french fries, dehydrated potato cubes and dehydrated mashed potatoes, respectively. 

Nonaka, M., Sayre, R. N., and Weaver, M. L. (1977). Oil content of French fries as affected by blanch temperatures, fry temperatures and melting point of frying oils. Am. Potato ]. 54,151-159. 

Alvarez, M. D., Morillo, M. J., Canet, W. (2000). Characterization of frying process of fresh and blanched potato strips using surface response methodology. Fur. Food Res. Techrwl, 211,326-335. 

Jaswal, A. S. (1970). Effects of various chemical blanchings on texture of French fries. Am. Potato J., 47,13-18. 

Figure 11.7 (a) Glucose content of potato strips blanched in hot water at different temperature-time combinations before frying, (b) Asparagine content of potato strips blanched in hot water at different temperature-time combinations before frying. First numbers inside parenthesis indicate the blanching temperature (°C) second numbers indicate the blanching time (min). Control corresponds to unblanched potato strips (reprinted with permission from J. Food Eng., 2007, 19, 1287-1294). 

The researchers prepared a French-fry-type product from Jewel and Centennial sweet potatoes. The sweet potato roots were washed, lye peeled, slieed into strips, and blanched in hot water eontaining 1% sodium acid pyrophosphate. The blanched strips were partially dried at 121°C. The dehydrated strips were frozen until fried at 175°C. Panelists evaluated the color, flavor, and texture of the products on a five-point scale. The flavor and texture results indicated that a good product could be prepared from both cv. of sweet potato. 

In the production of frozen French fries, the surface moisture of blanched potato strips is usually removed before frying by blowing warm air over them. This is done to reduce the load on the fryer and to minimize the rate of hydrolytic breakdown of the fat. 

Preparation Blanche the washed and sliced celery roots in the vegetable stock. Choose your favorite cookie cutter, like heart or star, and cut them out of the blanched celery. Whisk the egg and stir in the essential oil variation of your choice. Marinate the celery stars and hearts, then coat them with coconut akes or sesame seeds and fry them until they have a delicious golden brown color. To serve, top them with a small amount of the essential oil seasoning. They are great to accompany salads, baked potatoes with sour cream, and other vegetarian dishes or, if you prefer, beef creations. 

---