A rotary potato cutter has a stationary knife with an undulating cutting edge to obtain a corrugated surface on a potato slice. The outer surface of the knife is grooved along its full length to guide the slice therealong as the cut is made. Rotating crosscut knives adapted to cut the slice transversely into french fry size strips having cutting edges similar to the cutting edge on the stationary knife. Alternate ones of the crosscut knives are offset laterally in opposed directions from the sta...

An automated system for processing whole potatoes maintains a substantially constant mass flow of potatoes into an adjustable potato peeler that is capable or removing from the potatoes varying amounts of potato peel. Peeled potatoes are conveyed downstream of the peeler, while being electromagnetically inspected to determined the uniformity of peel removal, the presence of unacceptable material, and to identify oversized potatoes that exceed a predetermined size limitation. A diverter gate sepa...

The planting machine comprises a hopper having a bottom formed by a belt conveyor which extends outside the hopper. A tuber supply device supplies the tubers one by one from the conveyor to the furrow to be sown and comprises a collector cup mounted at the end of the conveyor which receives each tuber from the conveyor. A device responsive to the presence of a tuber in the cup stops the conveyor when the tuber is in the cup. Movable cups for taking up the tuber received in the collector cup driv...

The present invention relates to a process of preparing frozen potato products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for imparting an improved golden-brown color to frozen french fried potato products by passing potato pieces through a solution containing 0.8% to 0.4% by weight of caramel, 0.02% to 0.08% by weight of oleoresin of turmeric, 0.3% to 1.4% by weight of dextrose or any other suitable reducing sugar, and 0.5% to 2.2% by weight of sodium acid pyrophosphate or a...

A sequence from the gene encoding for reduced sugar production is used, in sense or antisense orientation to transform potato such that less sugar is stored in the tubers of the transformed plant.

A method of controlling the removal of peelings from a potato product in a peeling machine having abrasive rollers, a rotatable discharge gate, and a discharge conveyor includes providing a shadow-free lighting structure over the conveyor, taking photographs of product on the conveyor flowing under said lighting structure, determining the number of dark pixels in each photograph and passing that number to a processor, placing a defined value for the preferred number of dark pixels in the process...

Decayed portions of potatoes are removed by supporting and advancing the potatoes on a series of rollers relative to a plurality of water spray nozzles with rubber fingers being mounted on some of the rollers. The rubber fingers contact the potatoes with sufficient force to penetrate the decayed portions without damaging the peel or other sound portions of the potatoes while water sprays contact the potatoes with sufficient force to remove the penetrated decayed portions while leaving the remain...

The invention relates to a method of improving the quality of potatoes stored at reduced temperatures and a method of prolonging dormancy of stored potato tubers, by increasing the level of ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase enzyme activity within the potato tuber during storage at ambient or reduced temperatures. Novel DNA molecules, plant cells, and potato plants are provided which contain the gene for the ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase enzyme.

In a mixing machine having a cylindrical mixing chamber in which a centrifuging agitator coaxially rotates on a horizontal axis, an inlet duct for dry mix material and liquid curves downwardly and towards one end wall of the chamber and an outlet duct for mixture curves downward and away from said end wall. Material to be mixed thus enters the chamber in substantially horizontal flow through an inlet port in said end wall, all portions of said port being spaced radially inwardly from the cylindr...

A method of preparing french fried potato strips includes cutting whole potatoes into strips, preheating the strips in water and impinging a high velocity stream of food particles against the strips to embed the same in outer surfaces of the strips. The particle impacted strips are dried, steam-blanched, parfried and frozen. When reconstituted, the potato strips have a crisp, palatable outer surface, a fluffy interior, enhanced flavor and relatively low oil perception.