Tested on instant mashed potatoes. The essence of things: potato flakes

How much does instant mashed potatoes cost (average price for 1 package)?

Moscow and Moscow region.

Due to constant employment, which is caused by the eternal pursuit of material wealth, modern man tries in every possible way to make his life easier by using instant food products. Such food is considered quite controversial from the point of view of nutritionists, since it brings practically nothing useful to the human body except a feeling of satiety.

Take instant mashed potatoes, for example. It does not require storage at low temperatures at all and may not spoil even on regular store shelves along with cereals and seasonings. However, the biggest enemy of instant mashed potatoes is moisture.

If the product was stored incorrectly and the integrity of the packaging was damaged, the powder becomes damp. At the same time, dangerous microorganisms and molds begin to multiply in instant mashed potatoes. However, despite the fact that this product is sold in dry form, as a rule, the shelf life of such purees does not exceed one year, so be sure to check the manufacturing date on the packaging.

In addition, its color can tell about the quality of instant mashed potatoes. At home, after opening the package, pour a small amount of potato flakes onto a plate. If you find an unpleasant gray product, it means that the manufacturer used raw materials of dubious quality, so it is better not to eat this product and avoid purchasing it in the future.

Amazing taste of potatoes or just an illusion of taste? This doubt arises if instant mashed potatoes contain monosodium glutamate, which is a food additive or flavor enhancer. It has been proven that its addition to food forces a person to consume even more of it, creating an addiction that is often compared to a drug addiction.

High-quality potatoes do not need the presence of flavoring additives, but they cannot do without milk or cream (and of animal origin). That is why you need to look for safe milk powder in instant mashed potatoes.

Making instant mashed potatoes is quite simple - just pour hot water over it, mix thoroughly and in a few minutes the dish is ready. However, when brewing with hot water, the carcinogens found in plastic glasses are transferred to the puree and can poison the body. That’s why don’t be lazy and pour instant mashed potatoes into a glass container before brewing.

Drawing a conclusion from all of the above, I would like to note that instant mashed potatoes, along with other products from this series, have undergone very powerful heat treatment. In this regard, there can be no talk of any beneficial properties of the product. If you have time and desire, it is better to peel the potatoes yourself and make mashed potatoes - a tasty, satisfying, and most importantly natural dish.

Calorie content of instant mashed potatoes 337 kcal

Energy value of instant mashed potatoes (Ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates - bju):

: 10.5 g (~42 kcal)
: 3.8 g (~34 kcal)
: 75.3 g (~301 kcal)

Energy ratio (b|w|y): 12%|10%|89%

Years have passed and our ancestors figured out this overseas vegetable; today we have dozens of options for what can be prepared from potatoes. We know how to cook potatoes in a rustic way, how to cook potatoes in French, how to prepare potatoes in sour cream, baked and fried potatoes. Potato recipes make up half of the menu in some families. Potato recipes can be found in almost all national cuisines of the world, because potato dishes, recipes with potatoes, are very nutritious and can be combined with a wide variety of products. There are few people who don't like dishes with potatoes. Almost everyone quickly knows what to cook from potatoes: fry or boil in their skins. Usually, cooking potatoes is a no-brainer. We know very well what can be cooked from potatoes. But many people are interested in how to cook potatoes deliciously.

Many people love potatoes, but traditional potato dishes often get boring, so housewives sooner or later wonder what to cook from potatoes that is nontrivial and tasty. For example, it could be homemade crumbled potatoes, stuffed potatoes, or potato pancakes. But of course, this is not all that can be prepared from potatoes. Boiled potatoes in their jackets or simply boiled potatoes are recipes that even a child can prepare. There are other simple potato dishes: mashed potatoes and casseroles, potatoes in the oven and potatoes in a steamer. Steamer potatoes, like baked potatoes, are considered the healthiest ways to cook potatoes. There are also such simple potato dishes as fried potatoes, fries, which are very tasty, but not very healthy. There are also quite unusual potato dishes, the following recipes can be cited: potato pears, gratin, hunter's potatoes. But these are more complex potato recipes, even holiday potato dishes. Also worth mentioning are various potato salads, side dishes, appetizers and other delicious potato dishes. This means, for example, the following potato dishes, like potatoes with cheese, potatoes in bacon, potatoes with lard, puff potatoes, potatoes in cream, potatoes in sour cream. Success is guaranteed if you cook potatoes wrapped in bacon, potatoes with cheese. Another option for deliciously preparing potatoes is to boil the potatoes in milk. It produces a very delicate taste. Potatoes in milk are also cooked in the oven, baked with cheese and spices. Potatoes are delicious if you cook them with spices. For example, these are potatoes with rosemary.

Despite the fact that potatoes are difficult to spoil, if you have chosen some original potato recipe, we recommend that you cook it with our photo tips. Choose potato dishes with photos, potato recipes with photos, potato recipes with photos, potato recipes with photos, and cook potatoes for health.

This article is an abstract presentation of the main work. The full text of the scientific work, applications, illustrations and other additional materials are available on the website of the II International Competition of Scientific Research and Creative Works of Students “Start in Science” at the link: https://www.school-science.ru/2017/19/26801 .

Recently, we often hear discussions about the dangers of fast food products. This information is heard on television, found in newspapers, adults discuss it, and schoolchildren also discuss healthy eating issues in life safety lessons. At the same time, these products are widely represented on store shelves; many people use them while traveling, when preparing regular food is difficult or even impossible, and for some, this is their usual everyday food. So maybe fears about the dangers of fast food products are exaggerated? Or is there really nothing natural about them? I decided to look into this issue by becoming more familiar with the production technology of one of the instant products, namely mashed potatoes.

After studying the labels of instant mashed potatoes sold in stores, I found out that the product is made from natural potatoes. However, I have doubts about the naturalness of industrially produced potato flakes. The dry powder from the bag did not look very much like a potato tuber. I assumed the cereal wasn't natural.

The purpose of this study was to find out whether instant mashed potatoes sold in stores are natural. To achieve this goal it was necessary to solve the following tasks:

1. Study information about the composition of instant puree on the packaging, analyze literary and other sources on the topic of research;

2. Learn about the technology of growing and harvesting potatoes;

3. Go on an excursion to the National Land Company and get acquainted with modern technology for the production of potato flakes;

4. Draw up your own conclusions and conclusions.

When going camping or on a long train ride, we are used to taking with us a small plastic cup of dry mashed potatoes... Add boiling water, and in 3 minutes a delicious and nutritious lunch is ready! What could be simpler?! But is it really that simple? There was a lot to think about...

To find answers to these questions, you need to get acquainted with all stages of production.

From specialized literature I learned that potato production technology is very complex. Potatoes, in general, are considered one of the most labor-intensive crops. The study of modern potato growing technologies can be the topic of a separate project, and this research begins with the final technological operation - harvesting.

I found out that the National Land Company, where I planned to conduct my research, uses equipment from the German company Grimme, so I first studied some technical points on the website of this company.

This is the beginning of all beginnings: a potato field. From here, the potato tuber begins its long journey before ending up on our table in the form of a tasty and aromatic lunch.

When producing potatoes, you cannot do without modern technology. Potato digger. She is the first to come to the rescue; it is with her work that the movement of the tuber to our table begins.

Then comes the time for the potato harvester: it collects the dug up potatoes and removes unnecessary tops. Already at the combine, quality control begins: diseased, cut tubers, clods of earth are mercilessly removed. Only healthy potatoes should end up on our table.

After the combine bunker is filled, the tubers are transferred to the back of a truck using a special conveyor, which delivers them to the warehouse. The conveyor is specially designed so that the tubers are less injured: many of its parts are rubberized, it can change the angle of inclination, thereby reducing the height of the tuber fall.

Unloading potatoes from the combine is an important final stage. Now no bad weather can interfere with the movement of potatoes to the consumer. Some of the potatoes will be stored all winter, and some will be washed, packaged in small bags for stores or processed into flakes. Let's follow the potatoes along this route...

I have always been interested in learning about how this or that production works. Therefore, before the trip, I once again looked through the Encyclopedia of Young Technicians. Many technologies are described there, but nothing was said about potato processing. Moreover, I was curious to see how everything actually happens.

An optical installation is the heart of a modern potato sorting workshop. Gone are the days when people did this work. Now the computer does it. Yes, at what speed!!! 25 tons will be sorted in an hour with precision beyond human control

Each tuber passing through the conveyor will be photographed from different angles. The information will go to the computer, which will “develop” a route for each potato, depending on its quality. You can select about 30 sorting characteristics: size, shape, color, purity, damage, etc. Sitting at the computer screen, one person monitors the operation of this smart machine.

Clean, large, healthy potatoes enter the packaging workshop. From here, in convenient mesh bags, it will go to the stores.

But first, one more stage of control: only the best tubers should reach the buyer.

What about mashed potatoes? How is this product created? What “magic power” turns the tuber into dry powder? To deal with all these issues, you need to go to the processing workshop. But first, a little theoretical preparation is needed in order to competently approach what I see on the shop floor. As I learned from some Internet sources, the production of potato flakes is carried out according to a classical technological scheme, which involves the following processes:

1. Potato tubers, separated from soil and stones, are washed in washing machines, inspected, and peeled mainly by steam at a steam pressure of 0.4-0.8 MPa for 15-60 s. The peels are separated from the tubers in washing and cleaning machines. Peeled tubers are inspected on a conveyor belt, cut into plates 10-20 mm thick, washed to remove free starch and sent for blanching. Blanching is carried out in water at a temperature of 75-80 ° C for 10-20 minutes until the plates acquire an elastic, elastic consistency.

2. Blanched potatoes are cooled under running cold water and sent for cooking. Cooking is carried out with steam at a temperature of 95-100 °C for 30-40 minutes. Boiled potatoes are crushed into puree by pressing through a perforated grid. The puree is dried on single-roll dryers at a steam pressure of at least 0.24 MPa to a moisture content of 8-12%.

3. Dried mashed potatoes in the form of a thin sheet are sent by pneumatic transport to a flocculating machine, where they are crushed into flakes, sieved and sent for packaging.

Is this how things really happen? It's time to go to the workshop...

As you know, mashed potatoes should contain... only mashed potatoes. Therefore, cleanliness is above all! Special clothing and disinfection are required!

No modern production can do without a computer. And the production of potato flakes is no exception. From here, from the control center, the entire process is monitored. The computer screen shows everything that happens in the workshop. As soon as a small failure occurs, a sound signal is instantly heard and the exact location where the stop occurred is indicated.

Let's see what's happening in the workshop with our own eyes.

After treating the tubers with high pressure steam for a few seconds, the peel is easily washed off with water.

And now the peeled tubers move along the conveyor in orderly rows. They look very attractive: smooth, clean, just like in the picture. Everything that disturbs this beauty - away! A person must control the operation of the machine.

Peeled potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, in closed pipelines and tanks, and they are crushed there. Therefore, this process is hidden from our eyes. We “meet” the potatoes again when the pumps deliver the finished puree to huge drums. Here, moving from tier to tier, it is carefully rolled out.

Using steam at a temperature of 180 °C on special drying drums, the puree turns into a thin sheet, somewhat reminiscent of paper. In this form it is sent for grinding.

Here you can already take a sample. I must say that the sensation is unusual: it’s not every day that you get to try “potato paper.”

Speaking about drying mashed potatoes, the following should be noted. Often opponents of instant food products point out that the high temperature used to dry the original product completely destroys the beneficial substances. Understanding this issue turned out to be difficult. I needed the help of my parents, and we could only find information in foreign scientific journals. It turned out that even the most unstable vitamin C during the preparation of potato flakes is lost about half, and other vitamins and minerals - no more than 20%. Although the temperature is really high, the processing time is very short, and therefore the loss of nutrients does not exceed that which occurs when preparing potatoes at home - boiling or frying them. Potatoes contain many useful substances. Potato tubers contain proteins, carbohydrates (starch, fiber, pectin), vitamins and mineral salts. The main vitamin is ascorbic acid (10-54 mg%). The body's daily need for vitamin C can be completely met by potatoes if consumed in 200-300 g doses. Almost the entire vitamin B complex (B1, B2, B6), folic acid, and vitamin B5 (nicotinic acid) are found in the tubers. . Potatoes are especially rich in potassium, which is important for normal heart function. It is no coincidence that potatoes are called the second bread; they contain almost a complete set of nutrients necessary for normal human life. And dry potato flakes retain most of the beneficial properties of fresh potatoes.

However, let's return to the production of potato flakes. It’s hard to imagine, but in 1 hour in this workshop you can prepare 1.5 tons of dry mashed potatoes!!! A special machine packages potato flakes into small bags or cups, and now they take on a look familiar to every customer

The most pleasant and exciting moment is the tasting! Potatoes have come a long way from the field to our table. How many people worked day and night to make this journey possible! So let's try

Yes, the work was not in vain!!!

Conclusion

After getting acquainted with the process of producing potato flakes, I realized that this product is completely natural, and therefore healthy! My hypothesis was not confirmed!

But is there really no truth at all in the words of opponents of fast food products? In fairness, it should be noted that, like any goods, they can be of high quality or low quality. You should always read the information on the packaging. The composition of dry mashed potatoes, the production of which I became familiar with, includes only potato flakes made from fresh potatoes. I was convinced of this.

On packaging from other manufacturers, which are often found in stores, the puree also contained other components, some of which are considered harmful. Therefore, by studying the label, we can make the right choice and eat a higher quality and healthier product.

Acknowledgments

My parents helped me in my research: Tatyana Nikolaevna and Vadim Georgievich, employees of the institutes of the Academy of Sciences.

Special thanks to Andrey Anatolyevich Samoshin, director of the National Land Company, for providing the opportunity to complete this project.

Bibliographic link

Lebedev A.V. THE ESSENCE OF THINGS: POTATO FLAKES. HARM OR BENEFITS? // Start in science. – 2016. – No. 6. – P. 60-62;
URL: http://science-start.ru/ru/article/view?id=491 (access date: 04/30/2019).

Most modern people suffer from a lack of time. What to do when you want to eat, but don’t have time to cook. In this case, there is the possibility of quick cooking. This product can be purchased at any supermarket at an inexpensive price. What are potato flakes? obtained from peeled potatoes using modern technology by drying, heat treatment and mixing with additives. It consists of many thin flat petals, from white to light yellow, also in the form of cereals or granules. Intended for the production of food products - purees.

Product benefits

Of course, natural mashed potatoes are beyond competition, but there are some points that make them indispensable:

Making mashed potatoes quickly.
Long shelf life of the semi-finished product.
A beautiful, consistent result in the taste of the finished puree.
Low price.
Independence from the season, the availability of natural potatoes.
Ease of connection with liquid.
Reducing waste from production.

Where is it used?

Potato flakes are used in various fields:

Add to the dough or to the filling of semi-finished products for freezing (dumplings, dumplings, poses, schnitzels, dumplings, zrazy). Preserving the quality of the product during freezing and defrosting is appreciated.
Added to meat products in an amount of no more than 5% for better water absorption and to prevent fat leakage (pates, sausages, canned meat).
Packaged in containers or packs for retail sale of mashed potatoes.
Used as a thickener in making sauces or soups.
Dry powders are made for pancakes, pancakes, and casseroles.
They make chips and snacks.
Used as breading.
As an additive in baked goods, it adds fluffiness, softness and taste.
As part of a dry ration for military personnel.

Raw materials

A universal, convenient and inexpensive product. The question arises: “What are potato flakes made from?” The answer is clear - from fresh potatoes. During the production process, antioxidants are added to it (to extend the shelf life of the product) and emulsifiers (to give a certain consistency and viscosity), as well as a natural dye - turmeric. All components are approved for use in the manufacture of food products in the Russian Federation.

Technology

The production of potato flakes is fully automated, with minimal human intervention. This determines the low cost of the product. Potatoes sequentially go through all stages along the conveyor, coming from one machine to another. The most used scheme consists of the following steps:

Fresh potatoes are sent to a washing machine, where vibration removes major contaminants.
It enters an alkaline-steam cleaning apparatus, where it is treated with a hot seven percent alkaline solution for 8 minutes, and with hot steam for 1 minute.
The processed tubers enter the washing and cleaning unit, where they are peeled using water jets under pressure.
Potatoes are checked for suitability for further processing on a conveyor belt.
Peeled tubers are washed with running water and cut into circles.
The chopped parts are blanched for 10 minutes in hot water, then cooled for half an hour in cold water.
The potatoes are removed from excess water, then steamed in a cooking unit until fully cooked for about 20 minutes. Additives are introduced to improve the properties of potato flakes: salt, milk, preservatives, turmeric.
Using a screw chopper, mashed potatoes are made from boiled potatoes and sent to a steam dryer in a thin layer for 20 seconds at a temperature of 150 degrees. The dried layer (0.2 mm) is cut off and crushed into small flakes. A special automatic machine packages and packages the finished product.

Basic preparation

Now that almost everything about this semi-finished product has become known, the most important question remains: “How to make mashed potatoes?”

The basic cooking method is as follows. Boil water, remove from heat (you can cool it a little, but not necessarily). Pour the flakes into the water in the proportion of 1 gram of product to 5 grams of liquid. Stir immediately and cover with a lid. Let stand for 4 minutes and you are ready to serve. It is suggested to add salt, milk, butter, herbs, spices. If liquid (store-bought) milk is added, this must be taken into account in the proportion of liquids to powder.

Recipe from housewives: if you urgently need to feed your family, potato flakes come to the rescue. Take a pack of them (240 g). This amount is enough to prepare 2 kg of finished puree. The price of the product in the supermarket is about 50 rubles. Boil 1 liter of water, then remove from the stove. Add salt to taste. 0.4 liters of heated milk is poured into hot water. After this, you need to add the flakes and stir thoroughly. Add butter to taste to the resulting puree, cover with a lid and wait 4 minutes. Stir again. And now the dish is ready to be served.

Potato pancakes recipe

How to make pancakes from mashed potatoes? You can complicate the cooking process a little and get a new dish:

Here are the instructions:

The beginning of the recipe is the same as in the first case. The finished product is obtained - puree.
Now you need to take the onion and chop it in a blender.
Add eggs - 2 pieces, flour - 3 tablespoons, salt, pepper to taste or seasoning for potatoes.
Place all this in a saucepan with puree and stir.
Next, you need to heat up the frying pan with sunflower or olive oil. Use a tablespoon to scoop and spread the resulting mass in the form of small cakes.
Fry until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning with a spatula.

The pancakes are ready and can be served with sour cream.