ARS | Publication request: Potato Flavor

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: August 15, 2008
Publication Date: July 1, 2010
Citation: Jansky, S.H. 2010. Potato Flavor. In: Hui, V.H., editor. Handbook of Fruit and Vegetable Flavors. Hoboken, NJ:Wiley, John & Sons. p. 935-946.

Technical Abstract: The potato is one of the most popular vegetables worldwide and is the most important vegetable crop in the United States, accounting for nearly one-third of per-capita vegetable consumption. Potatoes can be prepared in many ways, including baking, boiling, roasting, frying, and microwaving, allowing for a diversity of uses. Most people find potatoes to be an agreeable food and very few (less than 1%) actually dislike potatoes. Potato flavor results from the combination of taste, aroma, and texture. Flavor precursors synthesized by the plant are present in raw potatoes and consist mainly of sugars, amino acids, RNA, and lipids. Plant genotype, production environment and storage environment influence the levels of these compounds and the enzymes that react with them to produce flavor compounds. During cooking, flavor precursors react to produce the Maillard reaction compounds and the sugar, lipid and RNA degradation products that contribute to flavor.