Potato flakes are a dehydrated potato product made by cooking, mashing and drum-drying potatoes into thin sheets that are broken into flakes, and are traded for use in instant mashed potato, snack manufacture and food service applications.
In trade practice
Drum-drying conditions are controlled to limit free starch release, which affects the texture of the reconstituted product. QA teams test each batch for moisture, free starch, colour and reconstitution behaviour against agreed reference standards. A common quality issue is over-drying, which produces a gluey texture on rehydration due to excessive cell rupture. Buyers in food manufacturing often require a reconstitution test result alongside the standard certificate of analysis.
In a specification
Specifications state maximum moisture content, free starch percentage, colour values measured on the dry flake, and a reconstitution ratio with a minimum texture or viscosity requirement after rehydration.