CRISP QUALITY OF 2 POTATO VARIETIES - EFFECTS OF DEHYDRATION AND REHYDRATION

Crisps adversely made from stored whole potatoes turn brown, whereas t exture is adversely affected when crisps are made from dehydrated slic es. Rehydration as a step prior to crisp-making has been investigated in two commercially grown potato varieties in Mauritius. The raw mater ial was analysed for physical, chemical and processing characteristics including peeling losses, blanching time, drying rates and yield. Reh ydration rates and ratios were determined. The sensory characteristics of the crisps were evaluated. Potatoes of the Exodus variety were sma ller with more eyes and had higher peeling loss than those of the Spun ta variety. The former had higher specific gravity and better drying c haracteristics. There were no significant differences between the vari eties in respect of blanching time, chemical composition and crisp qua lity, and the drying curves were similar. Slight differences were obse rved in the rehydration characteristics. Crisps made from dehydrated s lices were inferior in texture and taste to those of the control. Howe ver, crisps made from rehydrated slices were comparable to control cri sps.