Processing and quality evaluation of sweet potato chips.

A study was conducted to develop a process for producing sweet potato chips. Sweet potato tubers sliced to 0.5 by 0.5 cm size were dehydrated at 70 degrees C for various times (0, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, 165 min). Determination of the moisture content of the dehydrated chips and sensory evaluation of the dehydrated and fried chips were carried out to establish optimum dehydration time and moisture which corresponded to optimum quality. Blanching the slices in water and 1% sodium metabisulfite solution respectively prior to the dehydration significantly (P greater than 0.05) improved the color and general acceptability of the chips over those immersed in water. The process development resulted in about 26 to 76% decrease in the ascorbic acid content of the chips. Significant changes also occurred in the total and reducing sugars of the chip following partial dehydration.