Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology

Jaspreet Singh, Lovedeep Kaur

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2009
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• eBook ISBN:
  9780080921914
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Developments in potato chemistry, including identification and use of the functional components of potatoes, genetic improvements and modifications that increase their suitability for food and non-food applications, the use of starch chemistry in non-food industry and methods of sensory and objective measurement have led to new and important uses for this crop. Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology presents the most current information available in one convenient resource.The expert coverage includes details on findings related to potato composition, new methods of quality determination of potato tubers, genetic and agronomic improvements, use of specific potato cultivars and their starches, flours for specific food and non-food applications, and quality measurement methods for potato products. - Covers potato chemistry in detail, providing key understanding of the role of chemical compositions on emerging uses for specific food and non-food applications - Presents coverage of developing areas, related to potato production and processing including genetic modification of potatoes, laboratory and industry scale sophistication, and modern quality measurement techniques to help producers identify appropriate varieties based on anticipated use - Explores novel application uses of potatoes and potato by-products to help producers identify potential areas for development of potato variety and structure

Chapter 1. Potato Origin and Production

John E. Bradshaw and Gavin Ramsay

SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK

Keywords

Solanum species

domestication

food crop

breeding

seed production

growing

storage

processing

starch

Abstract

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the world's fourth most important food crop with 314 million tonnes fresh-weight produced in 2006 from 19.6 million hectares in 149 countries from latitudes 65°N to 50°S. It is grown as a staple food for carbohydrate and other nutrients, as a cash crop, as a vegetable, is processed into French fries and chips, and is used for dried products, starch production and molecular farming. It was domesticated from wild tuber-bearing Solanum species in the highlands of southern Peru over 7000 years ago. It was introduced into Europe at the end of the 16th century and from there to the rest of the world from the 17th century onwards. The 18th century saw the potato accepted as a foodstuff throughout Europe and the 19th century saw production expand worldwide. Today the four largest potato producers are China, the Russian Federation, India and the USA. The 20th century saw technical advances in potato breeding, genetic modification, seed production, growing and storage, processing, starch production and molecular farming. There is a need for sustainable increases in potato production to meet increasing demands for food from human population growth during a period of environmental change.

1.1. Introduction

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the world's fourth most important food crop after wheat, maize and rice with 314 million tonnes fresh-weight produced in 2006 (FAOSTAT). Over half of this production (159 million tonnes) was in Asia, Africa and Latin America where the potato is a major carbohydrate (starch) supplier in the diets of hundreds of million of people. It also provides significant amounts of protein, with a good amino acid balance, vitamins C, B6 and B1, folate, the minerals potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium and the micronutrients iron and zinc. The potato is high in dietary fiber, especially when eaten unpeeled with its skin, and is rich in antioxidants comprising polyphenols, vitamin C, carotenoids and tocopherols (Storey, 2007). Fresh potatoes are virtually free of fat and cholesterol. A guide to potato composition is shown in Table 1.1, but it must be appreciated that values are affected by both cultivar and growing conditions.

Table 1.1 Chemical composition of potatoes on a fresh-weight basis (from figures in Li et al., 2006 and Storey, 2007)

Component	Content
Dry matter	15–28%
Starch	12.6–18.2%
Glucose	0.01–0.6%
Fructose	0.01–0.6%
Sucrose	0.13–0.68%
Dietary fiber	1–2%
Lipid (fat)	0.075–0.2%
Protein	0.6–2.1%
Asparagines (free)	110–529mg/100g
Glutamine (free)	23–409mg/100g
Proline (free)	2–209mg/100g
Other amino acids (free)	0.2–117mg/100g
Polyphenols	123–441mg/100g
Carotenoids	0.05–2mg/100g
Tocopherols	Up to 0.3mg/100g
Thiamin B1	0.02–0.2mg/100g
Riboflavin	0.01–0.07mg/100g
Vitamin B6	0.13–0.44mg/100g
Vitamin C	8–54mg/100g
Vitamin E	∼0.1mg/100g
Folic acid	0.01–0.03mg/100g
Nitrogen (total)	0.2–0.4%
Potassium	280–564mg/100g
Phosphorus	30–60mg/100g
Calcium	5–18mg/100g
Magnesium	14–18mg/100g
Iron	0.4–1.6mg/100g
Zinc	∼0.3mg/100g
Glycoalkaloids	< 20mg/100g

As a major food staple the potato is contributing to the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals of providing food security and eradicating poverty. In recognition of these important roles, the UN named 2008 as the International Year of the Potato. Food security and eradicating poverty are high on the agenda of the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru. CIP was founded in 1970 as an international agricultural research center (IACR), and is now a Future Harvest Center. Since 1971, CIP has been supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), whose aim is the eradication of human hunger and poverty through research. Eradicating poverty is helped where the potato provides not only food but also employment and income as a cash crop.

As a staple food and as a vegetable for table use, the potato needs to be cooked because of the indigestibility of its ungelatinized starch (Burton, 1989). Such cooking is frequently by baking, boiling, steaming, roasting, deep-fat frying or microwave cooking, although in the Andes a broad diversity of additional preparation methods are employed. Good appearance, texture and flavor are important to the consumer and the subject of much research (Taylor et al., 2007). When baked, boiled or mashed and eaten alone, potatoes generally have a high glycemic index (GI), like other staple starchy foods such as some types of rice and white bread (F...

Table of contents

• Cover Image
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Preface
• Introduction
• List of Contributors
• Chapter 1. Potato Origin and Production
• Chapter 2. Breeding, Genetics, and Cultivar Development
• Chapter 3. Cell-wall Polysaccharides of Potatoes
• Chapter 4. Structure of Potato Starch
• Chapter 5. Potato Proteins, Lipids, and Minerals
• Chapter 6. Analysis and Biological Activities of Potato Glycoalkaloids, Calystegine Alkaloids, Phenolic Compounds, and Anthocyanins
• Chapter 7. Thermal Processing and Quality Optimization
• Chapter 8. Advanced Analytical Techniques to Evaluate the Quality of Potato and Potato Starch
• Chapter 9. Textural and Rheological Characteristics of Raw and Cooked Potatoes
• Chapter 10. Potato Starch and its Modification
• Chapter 11. Fried and Dehydrated Potato Products
• Chapter 12. Post-harvest Storage of Potatoes
• Chapter 13. Nutritional Value of Potatoes
• Chapter 14. Nutritional Value of Potatoes
• Chapter 15. Novel Applications and Non-Food Uses of Potato
• Chapter 16. Novel Applications and Non-Food Uses of Potato
• Chapter 17. Potatoes for Human Life Support in Space
• Index