Comparative analysis of optimized physiochemical parameters of dried potato flakes obtained by refractive and convective drying techniques

The present study investigates the physicochemical quality of potato flakes obtained by convective tray drying (CD) and refraction‐based dying (RBD) techniques. Drying process was optimized using the Box–Behnken design of Response Surface Methodology to study the effect of drying temperature (CD: 50–70°C; RBD: 70–90°C), blanching time (3–5 min), and total soluble solids (8–12°Brix) on potato flakes characteristics. All polynomial regression response surface models obtained were significant (p 0.836). The dried flakes having high protein content, color (L and b values), hue angle and rehydration ratio; and low reducing sugar, browning index, and water activity were obtained within the overall optimum region defined by drying temperature of 53.63°C, blanching time of 4.98 min and puree total soluble solids 12°Brix for CD. For RBD, the optimized values for drying temperature, blanching time, and puree total soluble solids were 71.18°C, 5 min, and 10.03°Brix, respectively. Practical applications In this article, the optimized process conditions for the drying of potato puree using two different drying methods, namely, convective tray drying and refraction‐based drying were obtained. Potato flakes can be utilized for the fortification of flour, baby foods, and extruded products. The flakes obtained by refraction‐based drying had better nutritive and visible quality thereby enhancing their acceptability for direct use by consumers as well as the food industry.