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Journalism of Courage
Potatoes for a yummy, fluffy cake? Sounds weird, but scientists at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, say the starchy tuber is one of the best bets to pep up your Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Using potato flour, made of dried, mashed and sieved potato powder, a team from the University’s Department of Food Technology and Bio-Chemical Engineering has come out with a cheaper and tastier alternative to wheat and rice flours for a range of bakery products.
Besides cake, the powder could be used to make a variety of other culinary delights, they said.
India ranks fifth in the world’s potato production, with an annual yield of over 28 million tonnes. Because of limited availability of cold storage, a substantial quantum of this production is wasted or fetches inferior prices. Since less than 0.5 per cent of the potato yield of the country is processed at present, according to the scientists, there was considerable scope for expansion of the potato processing industry.
Dehydration could provide a major means of preserving potatoes with the flour finding use as a base material for various food products, the scientists said. Their study, which was funded by the food processing industries and horticulture department of the West Bengal government, also revealed that the potato flour retained over 91 per cent material when rehydrated.
Potato flour also has the potential to supplement wheat, most of which is globally consumed either as a staple food or in the baked goods category, leaving a very insignificant part for the processing industry.
