The culinologists at CuliNex, a product development consultancy, recently asked the experimental questions: How well do dehydrated potato products bind water and oil in formulation? And, as a result, what potential do they show as fat and emulsifier mimics?
The team put potato granules, standard potato flakes, ground standard potato flakes, low-peel/low-leach (LP-LL) potato flakes, and fine potato flour to the test, concluding that LP-LL potato flakes exhibited the most versatility and dispersed most readily in solution, both with low- and high-shear exposure.
Further, all potato products demonstrated promise as functional replacements for emulsifiers, fats, and possibly hydrocolloids in complex food matrices—especially gluten-free and other “free-from” formulations.
The CuliNex team looks forward to investigating more formulation opportunities in further benchtop testing.
For more details on this research, please contact Potatoes USA at Ingredeint@PotatoesUSA.com.