Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
Backqround of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to edible potato
prod~lcts prod~ced from a workable potato dough. More particularly,
it relates to improved French fried potatoes formed from a potato
dough.
Originally, French fried potatoes were made by peeling raw
potatoes, cutting them into strips and then frying the strips in
oil. However, ~rench fries produced in this conventional manner
from raw potatoes are disadvantageous in several respects.
~ irst, the quality of French fries will vary with the
potato used. This variance will occur both between different
species of potatoes and the age of the potato within a given
species. The variance is due to different chemical characteristics
inherent in the potatoes, such as sugar content, 3tarch content
and specific gravity. The problems caused by variations of such
properties in potatoes are discussed in detail in Potato Processin~
published in 1959 by the A.V.I. Publishing Company, Inc. West Port,
Conn., and edited by W. ~. Talbert and O. Smith.
~r~ Second, there is a substan,ial amount o~ was~e in the raw
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starting material ~tributable to variations in siæ~ and the
irregularities in shape of the starting veg~table. It is necessary
to use essentially only the central portion of the potato in
order to make strips of suitable size. Accordingly, smaller
pieces in the form of slivers and the like are discarded or con-
verted into less desirable food products.
Third, the cut potato strips, from which French fried
potatoes are made, necessarily vary in size because of the irregu-
lar shape of potatoes; therefore a batch of cut strips does not
fry uniformly
Finally, it is necessary to peel and cut the potatoes at
the time that the French fried potatoes are to be prepared to get
a final food product with a desirable flavor, texture, and con-
sistency. This is very time consuming and a great delay during
the food services rush periods where French fried potatoes are pre-
pared in quantity. In addition, there is the well-known disadvan-
tage of the loss by spoilage of fresh potatoes during storage.
- To solve the inadequacies of French fried potatoes produced
from raw potatoes, attempts have been made to produce "fabricated"
French fries from a potatQ dough, such as the processes disclosed
in Backinger et al., U.S. Patent 3,085,020, issued April 9, 1963;
Fritzberg, U.S. Patent 3,282,704, issued Movember 1, 1966; Willard
et al., U.S. Patent 3,399,062, issued August 27, 1968; or, Keller,
U.S. Patent 3,468,673, issued September 23, 1969. In this manner
the composition of the French fry can be ~lore or less controlled.
The raw material can be made just prior to frying or the fabricated
~rench fry pieces can be frozen to eliminate any quality variation
induced by time. Moreover, the size of the pieces can be carefully
controlled to assure uniformity of frying.
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Although palatable -~abricated French frles have
been produced by pr;or techniques, the quallty attained has
never equalled -the quali~y of a high quality French fry
produced in the conventional manner ~rom raw po-tatoes. Two
problems have been encountered; namely -the flavor of a high
qllality na-tural French fry has never been duplicated, and,
secondly, the same internal texture surrounded by a crisp
yet tender outer surface, or "crust", has never been
achieved. This desirable internal texture has been des~
cribed in Vahling, U.S. Patent No. 3,175,914 as being mealy
and having the consistency of a baked potato. However, no
one has yet attempted to u-tili~e a baked potato startlng
material in the forma-tion of a French fry potato product.
This may be due to any number of reasons; for example, the
desirable mealy internal texture of a baked potato may pos
sibly have been thought to be lost on the course of sub-
sequent processing steps necessary to fabricate the final
French fry product. But it has been surprisingly discovered
that the mealy internal texture of baked potatoes is retained
during further processing steps to yive an ideal French fried
po-tato product with the same desirable internal consistency,
flavor and crisp yet tender exterior crust charac-teristic ~`
of high-quality French fries made from raw potatoes.
Summary of -the Invention
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Briefly, in accordance with the inven-tion, the novel
process for the preparation of a workable potato dough
adapted to the formation of French fried po-tato pieces
involves baking whole unpeeled potatoes until -they are
completely cooked; peeling said baked po-tatoes; comminutiny
said peeled baked potatoes using a minimum amount o~ ~ork
-to obtain and maintain a mealy te~tured comminuted baked
potato material; and forming a mealy textured coherent
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workable douyh from sald mealy textured baked po-tato material
using a minimum amount of work on sa;d baked potato material
to avoid a ]ar~e amount oE breakup of indivldual potato
cells and a corresponding increase in free starch. ~rhis dough
can subsequently be formed lnto French fry potato pieces.
Des r _tion of he Preferred Emb _iments
As has been stated, the production of French fries
from a pota-to dough is known in the ar-t. Ilowever, the
process of the present invention offers a significant improve- ;
ment in the texture and flavor of these formed French fries.
In accordance with the present invention raw, un- ;
peeled whit~ potatoes are obtained for baking. Any variety ~;
of potatoes is acceptable, for instance Garnet Chile, Early
Rose, Russet Rural, Peach Blow, Early Ohio, Triumph, Kennebec,
Merrimack, Delus, Saco, Katahdin, Bounty, Cherokee, Chippewa,
Early Gem, Haig, Irish Cobbler, La Rouge, Norgold Russet, ~
- Norland, Onaway, Pungo, Red LaSoda, Red McClure, Red Pontiac, ~ ;
Russet Burbank, Russet Sebago, S~bago, Superior, Viking, or
White Rose are all acceptable varieties. However, it is
preferred to use Russet Burbank or Katahdin potatoes in the
practice o this lnvention to obtain the best combinati~n of
internal texture and ~lavor in the final French fry potato
product.
The potatoes are then washed to remove dirt and
surface irregularities. This scrubbing operation is not ;
essential; however, it is desirable since it removes soil and
other foreign materials and prevents them from becoming in-ter-
mixed with the potato ma-terial at later steps in the process.
The whole po-tatoes are then cooked by baking until
they are completely cooked. For the purposes of this inven-tion,
"baking" is hereby defined as dry or low humidity cooking
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without the use of added moislure or the use of any ex-
ternal mean~ which wou~d cause .retentlon of the natural
internal moisture of the pota-toes, as would a boiling or
steaming operation. Also, for purposes of this invention,
"comple-te" cooking is hereby defined as -that stage in
cooking
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when the internal tenlperature of the ccn~er of thc potato has
reached a temperature of at least about 190F. ThiS temperature may
be measured by use of a "meat thermometer" inserted into the potato
or by any other c~nvenient means, many of which are well known in
the art.
Although the above definition of "complete cooking" gives
a method of definitely ascertaining when the potato is completely
cooked, there are many other ways well known in the art to
measure the "completeness" of cooking other than by a direct
measurement of the internal temperature. For example, a com-
pletely baked potato is characterized by a soft, uniform, mealy
internal texture as compared to the firm~ hard internal texture
- of a raw potato. If the potato is pierced with a sharp instru-
ment~ such as a fork, the degree of change in the firmness of the
body of the potato may be measured.
~ nother convenient means of measurement of complete bak-
ing is based on the ~a~t-t~at potatoes have a uniform rate of bak-
ing. Thus, baking potatoes at a given temperature for a lenyth
of time which has previously been determined to produce fully
baked potatoes will give yood results. These baking times and
temperatures are well known in the art and are readily available
to any novice by reference to a basic cookbook. For example, at
page 414 of BettY Crocker's New Picture Cookbook, the stated baking
parameters are either at 375F for 1 hour or at 350F for 1-1/2
hours. of course, the above-stated times and temperatures are
merely suggestive of the inter-relationship between time of baking
and the temperature needed to insure complete baking. One skilled
in the art will appreciate that the suitable range of baking times
variss widely depending upon the baking temperature; or, simp]y
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stated, the higher the baking temperatur~, the shorter the time
required for complete baking. This method of measuring the com-
pleteness of baking is preferred for ase in connection with the
present invention due to the ease and simplicity in measurement and
control of a number of potatoes baked at a time.
The potatoes may be baked by any convenient means. Possible
methods of baking include using forced air convective ovens, free
air convective ovens, microwave ovens, infrared ovens, or by use of
the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,455,232. The preferred
method of baking is by use of a *orced air convective oven w~ich
allows all surfaces of the potato to be treated at one temperature
which promotes ~niformity in baking.
In the practice of the present invention, it is preferred
that the potatoes be b~ked with their skin intact. An acceptable
baked potato will be produced if the potatoes are first peeled;
however, a better and more preferred baked potato is obtained by
leaving the skin intact during baking. By leaving the skin
intact, the rate of moisture loss from the potato is slowed
since the skin serves as a natural barrier to moisture loss from
the potato. However, during the baking operation, sufficient
moisture escapes to give the potato, and ultimately, the final
French fried potato product, the desirable mealy internal texture~
Also, there are many flavor chemicals in and immediately beneath the
potato skin. If the skin is retained during baking, these flavors
are imparted to the potato to give the potato, and ultimately the
~rench fried potato product, a more desirable, full-bodied potato
flavorO Conversely, if the skin is removed, not only are these
flavor chemicals lost, but other flavors Erom the internal body
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can be lost, being carried off with the escaping internal moisture.
In addition, if the natural skin is removed prior to baking, a
hard crust, or "secondary skin" forms on the potato d~ring baking.
This must subsequently be removed before the xemainder of the
potato is suitable for final dough formation causing a significant
yield loss.
The process of the present invention can also be
employed with excellent results with the use of potatoes which are
subjected to a multiple-stage cooking, i.e~, a pre-cooking step and
then baked until fully cooked. This pre-cooking step may be either
a boiling or steaming operation with the only limitation being that
any pre-cook operation should not cause a rupture of a significant
amount of the potato cells which would destroy the dry, mealy con-
sistency of the potato after baking.
After the potatoes are comp]etely baked, they are peeled,
or the hard external crust is removed. This is accomplished by
any convenient means known in the art. However, it should be
noted that the standard methods of abrasion or lye peeling commonly
used on raw potatoes are unacceptable for the practice of the
present invention. This is due to the fact that both of the
above peeling methods are ~ependent on a hard, firm potato body
with a comparatively soft skin. This situation is reversed with
a baked potato, which is characterized by a soft internal consistency
with a relatively hard external skin. Baked potatoes are conven-
iently peeled by cuttiny the potatoes in half and scraping outthe internal portion with any convenient instrument, for instance,
a fork or a spoon. Baked potatoes can also be peeled by cutting
them in half and placing the halves on a screen grating and apply-
3~i
ing pressure on the skins from the top, thus causing the internalportion to f~ll through the grating to be collected beiow. If
this latter method is used, it is preferred that in the practice
of the present invention a grating with a screen opening of no
S smaller than 35 mesh be used. If a smaller grate opening is used,
a significantly increased amount of cell disruption occurs and
tends to reduce the desirable mealy internal texture of the final
French fried potato product.
After the potatoes are peeled, the potato material may
be comminuted to remove any large lumps appearing therein. Of
course this step may be omitted if the potatoes are peeled by use
of a screen grating which effectively peels and comminutes the
potatoes in one step. The means used for comminuting may be any
convenient means which effectively reduces the particle size so
that a coherent workable dough may be formed from the baked potato
material. However, it is preferred that the means used for com-
- minuting impart a minimum amount o work to the baked potatoes.
This is to keep the degree of individual potato cell rupture to
a minimum.
The potato material is then formed into French fry potato
shapes. This can be accomplished either with or without the addi-
tion of other non-potato ingredients. If the baked potatoes have
been comminuted using a screen grate opening of not greater than
about 16 mesh, French fry potato-shaped pieces can be formed, and
the final French fry product will have a desirable mealy texture,
without the addition of any non-potato ingredients. Of course,
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the potato materlal must be comminuted to a degree sufficient
to remove large lumps of potato which would otherwise interfere
with the formation o~ the proper French fry po~ato shape,
pre~erably through a grating with an opening of at least 2
mesh. The addition of optional non-potato ingredients is,
of course, not excluded when a grate opening of not more
than 16 mesh is used, but is not necessary for the formation
of a coherent, workable dough. These optional ingredients
may be desirable to give the final product certain desired
characteristics; the only limitation placed on the use of
lU any non-potato ingredients in the dough is that the added ~-~
ingredients should not destroy the desirably mealy internal
consistency and the superior flavor that is obtained by
~aking the potatoes.
However, if the baked potato is comminuted through
a grating with an opening greater than about 16 mesh, ad- ,:
ditional non-potato ingredients should be added to retain the
mealy texture similar to that of French fried potatoes
produced directly from raw potatoes. The necessity of adding
additional lngredients is theorized to be due to the increased
amount of potato cell breakage when a smaller mesh grating
is used. This results in an increase in the amount of
free starch in the potato material tendlng to give the ~-
final French fried potato product a gummy internal consistency.
To overcome this gumminess, various additional ingredients
may be added. For example, a wide range o~ emulsiflers
known to those skilled in the art are suitable for addition
to the riced potato material. Many of these emulsifiers
are available commercially, such as Tween 60 KP ~ composed
of polysorbate; Span ~ composed of sorbitan monostearate;
or Myverol,~ composed of glycerol monostearate. Other
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suitable con~erclal products include Monomyristinl~ and Duex.Of course, this listing is not intended to be exhaustive, as a
great variety of emulsifiers are suitable as starch control
agents for use with the baked potato material. In the
practice of the present invention, a commercial emulsifier,
Duex,~ has been found to give excellent results when added
to a dough made from finely riced potato material~ Duex~
is purported to be composed of 35~ monoglycerides with -the
balance being a mixture of di~ and tri- glycerides and
glycerine.
Animal or vegetable fats may be added to give the
final French fry a crisper external surface, a darker color
upon subsequent frying, and a different mouth feel when the
French ~ries are eaten. Alkylcellulose ethers, such as those
produced under the name of Methocel MC,~ or alkyl
hydroxyalkylcellulose ethers, such as those produced under
the name of Methocel HG,~ ranging in viscosities from 100
to 15,000 CPS, may be added to vary the final product internal
texture or to decrease fat absorption when the French fried
potato pieces are deep-fat frled. Also, commercially available
preservatives, such as sodium acid pyrophosphate, ~HA, BHT,
sodium EDTA, or sodium bisulfate may be added to reduce
enzymatic oxidation of the final product before it is fat-
fried; and, flavoring agents, such as monosodium glutamate,
salt, butter, onion, or garlic may ~e added to enhance the
natural potato flavor or modify the flavor to any desired
taste.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that
the above listing of potential non-potato ingredients is in
no way exhaustive, but is merely suggestive of the wide
range of food additives which are suitable for use in the
practice of the present invention.
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After any desired ingrcdients are added to the baked
potato material, a workable dough is formed by an admixture
of the ~otato material with these added non-potato ingredients.
It i5 preferred that the mixing operation be performed with a min-
S imum amount of work to the dough to avoid a large amount of break-
up of individual potato cells and a corresponding increase in the
free starch level.
When the dough is formed, either from the admixture of
the baked potato material and other non-potato ingredients, or
from the baked potato material alone, if it has not been com-
minuted through a grating of less than about 16 mesh, the French
fry potato shaped pieces are formed. This may be accomplished
by any of several methods, such as extrusion, molding, casting,
sheeting, or by an~ other means to achieve a three-dimensional
shape known to the art. If an extrusion process is
employed, a ram-type extruder is best employed so that a mini-
mum amount of mechanical shear and stress is imparted to the baked
potato dough. Another alternative method contempled in the
practice of the present invention is to form the potato dough
into a sheet and cut the French fry potato shaped strips therefrom.
~he potato dough sheet may be formed from the dough in any conven
ient manner, with the thickness of the sheet determined by the
desired thickness of the French fry potato pieces. After the
dough sheet is formed, the inclividual French fry potato pieces
are formed by cutting the dough into strips by any convenient
means. Again, the desired size of the final French fried potato
product determines the width of the cut strips.
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French fried potatoes made from raw potatoes have a
slightly crisp outer surface surrounding the mealy internal por-
tion. In order to at least d~lplicate this crisp outer surface
with formed French fries, it is necessary to condition the suxface
of the cut dough strips to promote the formation of a crisp outer
surface, or "crust", which aids in achieving product coherency
while maintaining the desirable mealy internal consistency. This
surface conditioning may be performed by any method which accom-
plishes the above results. For insta~ce, the baked potato dough
strips may be directly par-fried, that is, deep-fat fried to form
a crust; for example, par-frying at between about 300-400F for
about 10 seconds to about 3 minutes forms desirable French fry
~~ potato pieces with a crisp external crust and with a soft, mealy
internal consistency. The preferred method of conditioning to
promote skin formation, however, is the use of an air heat treat-
ment. Any convenient means may be used to effect the skin forma-
tion, such as a forced air convective oven, a free air convec~ive
oven, a microwave oven, or an infrared oven. This surface condi
tioning can be carried out at between about 250-500F to achieve
the desired skin formation. Of course, the length of time to which
the French fry potato pieces is subjected to the air heat treat
ment varies with the temperat~re employed. In the practice of the
present invention, heating the French fry potato pieces in a forced
air convective oven at 350F. for about 10 minutes or at 450F
for about 3 minutes is preferred in that it gives a very desir-
able French fry potato piece with a crisp external crust sur-
rounding a soft, mealy white interior. In the crust formation
step, a very good French fry potato piece also results by first
coating the baked potato dough strip with either a starch solution,
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such as an amylose solution or an amylopectin solution, or
with a Pilm ~orming agen~, such as a Methocel~ or Edi~le ~
and then processing the baked potato dough strip with either
an air heat or oil heat treatment step.
The French fry potato pieces can then be immediately
consumed or packaged and stored in an appropriate manner.
If the French fry potatoes are to be immediately consumed,
the pieces may be finish deep-fat fried to achieve the
desirable golden brown color characteristic of French fries
made from raw potatoes. Alternately, the French fry pieces
may be frozen for convenient storage and shipment for later
use. When the French fry pieces are desired ~o be consumed,
the frozen pieces are deep-fa~ fried or otherwise heated
until the desired product characteristics are achievedv
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention,
the riced baked potato material may be dehydrated and sub-
sequently rehydrated before the coherent workable dough is
formed thereby. This additional step may be advantageously
used to assure a ready supply of the baked potato starting
material.
After the baked potato has been peeled and riced,
the baked potato material may be dehydrated by any convsnient
means known in the art. The resultant dehydrated baked
potato material has the advantages of a longer storage life
and storage under more economic or convenient conditions
than does the non-dehydrated baked potato material. This
allows greater assurances of maintaining a constant and
adequate availability of the baked potato material for
subsequent dough formation. It has been found that dehydrat-
ing and subsequently rehydrating the baked potato material
33~
aftcr stor~ge yields final Frcnch ~ry potato products which exhibit
the same internal soft, mealy consistency and flavor of French
fries made from raw potatoes.
The formation of French ~ry potato pieces using dehydrated
baked potatoes does not vary significantly from that outlined
above in connection with non-dehydrated balced potatoes. Of course,
when dehydrated baked potatoes are used as the potato starting
material, water sufficient to rehydrate the potato material must
be added. This is conveniently added together with any desired
non-potato ingredients and admixed to form a workable, coherent
dough suitable for the further processing steps outlined above.
While applicant does not wish to be bound by any particular
theory in the practice of the present invention, it is theorized
that the desirable mealy internal consistency in baked potatoes
is due to the fact that the vast majority of potato cells remain
intact during baking, while a boiling or steaming method of cook-
ing causes considerable breakage of the potato cells with a con-
sequent liberation of the potato starch which then imparts the
gummy consistency to the potato material.
The following examples are for the purposes of illustrating
the p~esent invention, and are not to be interpreted as in any
way limiting the same:
Example I
Twenty medium-sized Russet Burbank raw whole potatoes
were washed to remove surface dirt and irregularities. The sur-
faces were dried by exposure to air. These potatoes were then baked
in a 3~0F forced air convective oven for 90 minutes. After
removal from the oven, the baked potatoes were partially air
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cooled so as to avoid discom~ort during skin contact in later
manual handling steps. The baked potatoes were peeled and
the internal part riced through a screen with a 12 mes~
opening. ~ workable coherent dough was formed from the riced
baked potato material and the dough was then cut into French
fry-shaped pieces. These French fry pieces were baked in a
forced air convective oven for 3.5 minutes at 475 E. After
removal from the oven, the French fry pieces were air-cooled
~or 5 minutes and were then frozen at -40F. and stored in
a -10 to 0F. freezer. Subsequently, the frozen French
1~ fry pieces were placed in a 350 F. commercial frying oil
for 2 minutes. This produced French fried potatoes with an
excellent flavor and a soft, mealy internal consistency
similar to French fries made directly from raw potatoes.
Example II ~`
Baked, riced, potato material was prepared in the
same manner as stated in Example I. Thereafter, 0.5%, based
on the potato material weight, of melted Due ~ (the brand
name for a commercial emulsifier containing 35~ monoglycerides
and 65~ of a mixture of di~ and triglycerides and glycerine),
and 0.5~ based on the potato material wei~ght of dry Methocel~
1500 CPS ~the brand name for a commercial methyl cellulose),
were added to the riced baked potato material. This material
was gently admixed for 2 minutes using a Hobar ~ mixer
operating at its slowest speed. The workable coherent
potato dough thus produced was rolled into a sheet and French
fry shapes cut therefrom. These French fry pieces are then
frozen and stored in the same manner as described in Example I.
When these frozen segments are deep-fat fried for 2 minutes
at 350F., excellent French fries having the soft, mealy
internal consistency and flavor surrounded by a crisp outer
336
crust characteristlc of French fries made from raw potatoes
are produced.
Example III
Baked potato starting material is formed into
French fry shapes in a manner identical to that described
in Example I. These French fry pieces are then coated with
an amylose solution and subsequently baked in a forced air
convective oven for 3.5 minutes at 475 F. These French
fry pieces were then frozen in the manner described in
Example I. Upon later deep-fat frying, these French fries
had the same crisp outer crust surrounding a soft, mealy
internal consistency of French fries made from raw potatoes.
Example IV
Baked, riced potato material was prepared in the
same manner as described in Example I. This baked potato
material was then drum-dried and flaked to a density of 0.25
gr./c.c. Subsequently, the following ingredients were added
to one lb. of the baked, dehydrated flakes; 2 lbs. of tap
water, temperature of 70-80 F; 4.5 gr. of melted Primex,~
brand name for a commercial fat; 7.5 gr. of melted Duex
previously described in Example I; and 50 gr. of a 2~ Methoce
1500 CPS solution. This combination was gently admixed for
2 minutes using a Hobart~ mixer operating at its slowest
speed. The dough thus formed was rolled into a sheet and
French ~ry-shaped pieces cut therefrom. These French
~ry pieces were then baked at 475F. for 3 minutes in a
forced air convective oven. Upon removal from the oven,
the French fry pieces were air cooled for 5 minutes and then
frozen at -40 F. After sustained storage at -10 to OOF.,
the frozen French ~ry segments were deep-fat fried in a 350F.
commercial ~rying oil for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes to yield
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excellent French fries having a crisp outer crust surrounding
a soft, mealy interior texture and flavor very similar to
French fries made from fresh potatoes.
While this invention has been described and
exemplified in terms of its preferred embodiments, those
skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications can be
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention. Accordingly, applicants limit the scope of their
invention only by the appended claims.
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