Expert: Richard Clark - 5/6/2004

Question
Hello!

I am working for the local borough on a project researching the feasibility of a small vegetable processing center in Palmer, Alaska. We are in the early stages of determining what value-added vegetable products should be produced. There is a very short window for growing and harvesting peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini. Carrots and potatoes store well and can be processed through most of the year.

Mainly, products will be frozen-processed, but we are also looking at the idea of blanched, refrigerable potato products.

We have no other processors in the state making similar products, so I am looking to tap whatever resources I can find that might help us
better understand vegetable processing.

Growing conditions (long daylight hours, cool) here result in relatively high sugar content, which makes for wonderful, sweet carrots and peas
but may not be a desirable quality for potatoes. From what I understand, the high water and sugar content of our potatoes is not ideal for making
fried potato products, although it appears that reducing sugars can be lowered by reconditioning potatoes at warmer temperatures during the
last stages of storage.

A sliced, diced, or cubed blanched ready-to-use potato product is looking like it may be promising...We need to understand whether
certain varieties work best for fresh blanched, and whether the sugar, starch content, and storage and conditioning elements are as critical to the fresh cooked potato processing process as they are to french frying.  


I appreciate your time and thank you for any information you can give
me.

Thanks much,
Melanie Trost

Answer
Melanie
I am involved in fresh pack potatoes but there are two sheds here that that pack potatoes that are shipped out for processing. From what I have heard if the potatoes are too cold the starch turns the cooked product dark. Then if they are too warm the sugar increases and makes them too dark. What I would suggest would check the internal temperature, then see which one cookes the color you would like.  There are so many types of processing potatoes to choose from, you could spend years trying them to see which one would work the best in your area. If you are good at marketing you could explain that the local grown potatoes cookup this color. Richard