PROCESS OF BAKING CHIPPED POTATOES IN CONVECTION OVEN WITH FORCIBLE AIR CIRCULATION

摘要

The present invention relates to a process for making superior quality oven-finished French fries. i.e., French fried potato strips, by baking prebake par-fries in a forced air convection oven or impingement oven for about 0.5 to about 10 minutes at 325 DEG F. (162.8 DEG C.) to about 600 DEG F. (315.6 DEG ) at an air velocity of from about 500 to about 10,000 feet per minute. After baking, the fries are optionally coated with oil. The oven-finished French fries of this invention are like deep fat fried French fries, which are superior in quality compared to the state of the art oven-finished French fries. The oven-finished French fries (shoestring-cut) made by the process of this invention have a bulk moisture of from about 32% to about 46%; a total fat content of from about 12% to about 25%; and a French Fry Texture Value of at least about 200. Preferably the fries have a surface water activity (Aw) of less than about 0.55 and an internal moisture content of from about 55% to about 80%.