The Molecular Basis of Texture in Mashed Potato

Mash production often involves thermal pre-treatments (pre-cooks) that are designed to increase the physical strength and restrict cell separation of cooked potatoes prior to mashing. This improves the mash quality. During pre-cooking, the control of starch swelling pressures during cooking and/or the activation of pectin methylesterase (PME) prior to cooking can occur. The aim of this thesis was to examine changes in texture of cooked potatoes caused by these pre-cook treatments prior to mashing. Cooking was carried out in laboratory conditions. During steam cooking (one-stage cooking) the potatoes quickly reached 60-6