Influence of variety, site and storage on physical, sensory and compositional aspects of mashed potato

Over two seasons, eight potato varieties were grown locally and the three principal UK maincrop varieties at different sites. After periods of storage domestically prepared mashed potato was made from this material and assessed for back extrusion, adhesion, particle and cell size and distribution, ‘free’ starch, dry matter and cell wall polysaccharides in conjunction with sensory textural assessments for mealiness, moisture and structure. The results indicate that there are strong correlations between the physical measurements of work done during back extrusion (EWD) and the deformation to peak adhesion force (ADP) with both dry matter (DM) and the mean sensory scores for mealiness, moisture and structure. The sensory characteristics were also highly interdependent. The r value of these relationships declines after prolonged storage. No significant correlations were found between particle size or cell size and distribution and any of the physical, sensory or compositional data at any storage time. With the three principal UK maincrop varieties, site influenced DM and hence physical and sensory texture more strongly than variety.