Why do we need to blanch when making potato chips and fries?
When making potato chips or French fries, it is usually necessary to blanch the potatoes in hot water. And the blanching process seems to have become a necessary process in the potato chips production line plant? So what is the effect of blanching potatoes? Is blanching necessary? How long does it take to blanch? The following will introduce the above questions for you.
What is blanching?
Blanching originally refers to the heat treatment of vegetables that need to be refrigerated. This process is an operation to prevent food from being damaged. Blanching refers to immersing food in steam or hot water and keeping it at a certain temperature for a certain period of time. The blanching process is usually related to the activity of enzymes, so the blanching process is very important for the quality of foods stored for a long time. The blanching process is not only used in the potato chips production line plant, it can also be used in the storage of fresh vegetables.
Why do I need to blanch when making fried potato chips?
When making potato chips, blanching potatoes has the following functions:
- Blanching potatoes can help remove potato skins, keep potatoes fresh, protect their color and preserve potatoes.
- Blanching can help clean up impurities and bacteria in potato noodles and keep potatoes fresh.
- In the potato chip production line, blanching potatoes can prevent the production of enzymes. Blanching can kill enzymes, thereby maintaining the flavor and color of potatoes, and it can also extend the storage life of potatoes.
- Blanching before frying, it can gelatinize the starch and form a layer of gelatinized starch on the surface of the potatoes, limiting the absorption of fat by the potatoes. Therefore, blanching can improve the flavor of fried potato chips.
- Blanching can reduce the acrylamide content in potato chips so that the potato chips can obtain uniform color.
How long does it take to blanch?
Since blanching potatoes in the potato chips production line plant has many benefits, we should blanch the potatoes. So how long should we blanch? Is the longer the blanching time the better? Although blanching looks very easy, there are also requirements for blanching. The blanching time should be just right, not too long or too short. If the blanching time is too long, it will stimulate the activity of enzymes in the potatoes, resulting in loss of flavor and color. If the blanching time is too short, the quality of the potatoes will decrease, which will affect the flavor and color of the potato chips.